Identity Document Segmentation Using Visual Reference Markers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for capturing identity documents using mobile devices face challenges due to issues such as varying illumination, focus, orientation, and background clutter, leading to inaccurate segmentation and authentication failures.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a visual representation of encoded data, such as a barcode or Machine Readable Zone, to determine the location and dimensions of a region-of-interest within the identity document, allowing precise outlining and processing even under non-ideal conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If edge detection methods are used to segment identity documents, then the process can be automated, but the detection fails when contrast is low between the document and background
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a reference object with known geometric features and high-contrast markers as an intermediary element. This reference object serves as a mediator between the imaging system and the identity document, providing stable reference points that enable accurate segmentation even when the document itself has low contrast with the background. The reference object's known geometry allows the system to compute transformation parameters that compensate for imaging variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the approach from directly detecting document edges to detecting the reference object's features and using those to derive document boundaries. By shifting the detection target to the high-contrast reference object with known parameters, the system transforms an unreliable detection problem into a reliable one, then uses the reference frame to locate the actual document boundaries.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users capture documents with mobile devices in various environments, then the system becomes versatile and accessible, but the illumination, focus, orientation, and background vary导致detection failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent places a reference object with known geometric characteristics and encoded data on the document before capture. This preliminary preparation ensures that regardless of imaging conditions, there will always be high-contrast, geometrically precise features available for detection. The reference object is pre-positioned to provide reference points that can be reliably detected even when other document features are obscured by poor illumination or angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference object acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between variable imaging conditions and the need for precise measurement. Its known geometry and high-contrast features provide a stable reference frame that compensates for variations in illumination, focus, and orientation, enabling the system to achieve consistent measurement precision across diverse environments.
3Measurement precision
If the background is simple and uniform, then detection accuracy improves, but the system becomes less adaptable to real-world usage scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The reference object serves as a mediator that decouples detection accuracy from background simplicity. By providing its own high-contrast features and known geometry, the reference object makes the detection process independent of the background, allowing users to capture documents in cluttered or varied environments without sacrificing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference object contains encoded data about the document's identity and structure, enabling the system to self-correct for variations in capture conditions. The reference object essentially provides its own reference framework, eliminating the need for controlled backgrounds or manual calibration, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining precision.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
The invention concerns an identity document comprising a visual representation of encoded data, the encoded data allowing a capturing device to determine location of at least a part of the outlines of a region-of-interest of the identity document, relative to at least one reference point of the visual representation, the region-of-interest being different from the visual representation.