Camera-Based Document Scanning with OCR and Image Stitching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for scanning physical documents, such as whole document scanners, cameras, and line scanners, are often bulky, slow, expensive, inefficient, and produce bulky, undifferentiated files, with tiny text being difficult to capture effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method using a standard camera to capture multiple images of a document from different angles, with firmware or software performing page boundary finding, optical character recognition, and image stitching to create a composite document that can be edited and saved as a low-bulk copy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional whole document scanners or line scanners are used to scan documents, then scanning capability is achieved, but the devices are bulky, expensive, and produce large file sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a standard camera to capture images of documents, replacing specialized scanning hardware. The camera creates digital copies of physical documents through photographing, eliminating the need for bulky scanner devices while maintaining document capture functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical scanning systems with optical photography followed by software-based image processing. Instead of using mechanical line scanners or document feeders, the system uses a camera to capture the entire document image and then uses software to extract and process text, substituting mechanical complexity with computational processing
2Loss of information
If conventional scanners are used to capture documents, then document content is captured, but the process is slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary image capture using a camera to photograph the entire document at once, rather than scanning line by line or page by page sequentially. This preliminary capture of the complete document image enables faster processing since the entire content is captured simultaneously, and subsequent text extraction can proceed in parallel
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces slow mechanical scanning processes with rapid optical photography followed by software-based optical character recognition (OCR). The camera captures the document image almost instantly, and software algorithms automatically extract text, replacing the slow mechanical movement of traditional scanners with computational processing that occurs much faster
3Area of stationary object
If multiple images are captured and stitched to form composite documents, then complete document coverage is achieved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the document capture process into multiple image segments taken from different positions or angles. Each image captures a portion of the document, and the system then stitches these segments together to form a complete composite document. This segmentation allows coverage of large document areas using a standard camera with limited field of view
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses software-based image stitching algorithms as an intermediary process to combine multiple captured images into a single composite document. The stitching software automatically aligns, merges, and processes the multiple image segments, managing the processing complexity through automated computational methods rather than manual manipulation
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment provides a method, including: capturing, using an image capture device of an electronic device, image data of a document; processing, using a processor, the image data; the processing including identifying text within the image data to form two or more images into a composite document of the document; and storing, in a memory, data related to the composite document. Other aspects are described and claimed.