U.S. patent application number 13/769833 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-20 for systems and methods for automatic image capture on a mobile device.
This patent application is currently assigned to MITEK SYSTEMS. The applicant listed for this patent is MITEK SYSTEMS. Invention is credited to Kevin Andrew Bell, Robert Couch, Michael Gillen, Grigori Nepomniachtchi, John J. Roach, Oleg Rybakov.
Application Number | 20130155474 13/769833 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47993535 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130155474 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Roach; John J. ; et
al. |
June 20, 2013 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATIC IMAGE CAPTURE ON A MOBILE
DEVICE
Abstract
Real-time evaluation and enhancement of image quality prior to
capturing an image of a document on a mobile device is provided. An
image capture process is initiated on a mobile device during which
a user of the mobile device prepares to capture the image of the
document, utilizing hardware and software on the mobile device to
measure and achieve optimal parameters for image capture. Feedback
may be provided to a user of the mobile device to instruct the user
on how to manually optimize certain parameters relating to image
quality, such as the angle, motion and distance of the mobile
device from the document. When the optimal parameters for image
capture of the document are achieved, at least one image of the
document is automatically captured by the mobile device.
Inventors: |
Roach; John J.; (San Diego,
CA) ; Nepomniachtchi; Grigori; (San Diego, CA)
; Couch; Robert; (Poway, CA) ; Rybakov; Oleg;
(San Diego, CA) ; Gillen; Michael; (San Diego,
CA) ; Bell; Kevin Andrew; (Seattle, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MITEK SYSTEMS; |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
MITEK SYSTEMS
San DIego
CA
|
Family ID: |
47993535 |
Appl. No.: |
13/769833 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13461726 |
May 1, 2012 |
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13769833 |
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12906036 |
Oct 15, 2010 |
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13461726 |
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12778943 |
May 12, 2010 |
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12906036 |
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12346026 |
Dec 30, 2008 |
7978900 |
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12778943 |
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61561772 |
Nov 18, 2011 |
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61022279 |
Jan 18, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
358/505 ;
358/473 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 2201/001 20130101;
G06Q 20/14 20130101; G06K 2209/01 20130101; G06K 9/38 20130101;
H04N 2101/00 20130101; G06Q 20/387 20130101; G06Q 20/042 20130101;
G06Q 20/3276 20130101; H04N 1/00129 20130101; H04N 1/00244
20130101; G06K 9/42 20130101; H04N 1/00307 20130101; G06K 9/3275
20130101; H04N 2201/0084 20130101; G06Q 20/322 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
358/505 ;
358/473 |
International
Class: |
H04N 1/00 20060101
H04N001/00 |
Claims
1. A method of capturing an image of a document on a mobile device,
comprising: initializing an image sensor on the mobile device to
detect at least one image of the document; measuring a value of at
least one parameter related to quality of the at least one image
being detected by the image sensor; and capturing at least one
image of the document when the value of the at least one measured
parameter reaches or exceeds a threshold value.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one measured
parameter is selected from at least one of: an angle of the mobile
device with respect to the document; a distance of the mobile
device from the document, movement of the mobile device, a lighting
level of the image being detected, detection of all four corners of
the document, a level of focus of the image being detected, a level
of reflection of the document, and a size of the document within
the image being detected.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting at least one
parameter if its value does not reach the threshold value.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold value of one
parameter is changed based on the measured value of a separate
parameter.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein a user of the mobile device is
provided with feedback prior to the capturing of the at least one
image which provides the user with at least one instruction for
adjusting the at least one measured parameter.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the feedback is visual feedback
displayed on a display screen of the mobile device that is
represented as a visual "icon" or "symbol," representing how
optimized the image is during the capture process.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the at
least one image being detected by the image sensor in real-time on
a display screen of the mobile device.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying a
rectangular-shaped frame on the display screen while the image
being detected by the image sensor is being displayed on the
display screen.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the size of the
rectangular-shaped frame corresponds to a threshold size of the
document needed before the at least one image can be captured.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the rectangular-shaped frame
changes color when edges of the document fit within the
rectangular-shaped frame.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the rectangular-shaped frame
animates when edges of the document fit within the
rectangular-shaped frame.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein a document-shaped outline is
displayed over the probable document.
13. The method of claim 7, wherein an icon or image is displayed
over the probable document, tracking the probable document per user
movement.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein dynamic user feedback is also
displayed on the display screen as text information.
15. The method of claim 7, wherein dynamic user feedback is also
displayed on the display screen as non-text information.
16. The method of claim 7, wherein dynamic user feedback is given
as audio cues.
17. The method of claim 7, wherein dynamic user feedback is also
given as haptic cues.
18. The method of claim 7, wherein a centering image is displayed
instead of a rectangular shaped frame.
19. A mobile device for capturing an image of a document,
comprising: an image sensor which detects at least one image of the
document; a measurement unit which measures a value of at least one
parameter related to the quality of the at least one image detected
by the image sensor; and an image capture unit which captures the
at least one image of the document when the value of the at least
one measured parameter reaches a threshold value.
20. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein the at least one
measured parameter is selected from at least one of: an angle of
the mobile device with respect to the document; a distance of the
mobile device from the document, movement of the mobile device, a
lighting level of the image being detected, a contrast level of the
image being taken, detection of all four corners of the document, a
level of focus of the image being detected, a level of reflection
of the document, and a size of the document within the image being
detected.
21. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein the at least one
parameter is adjusted if its value does not reach the threshold
value.
22. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein the threshold value of
one parameter is changed based on the measured value of a separate
parameter.
23. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein a user of the mobile
device is provided with feedback prior to the capturing of the at
least one image which provides the user with at least one
instruction for adjusting the at least one measured parameter.
24. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the feedback is visual
feedback displayed on a display screen of the mobile device.
25. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the feedback is audio
played through the speaker output of the mobile device.
26. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the feedback is haptic
actuated through the vibration actuator of the mobile device.
27. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the at least one image
being detected by the image sensor is displayed in real-time on a
display screen of the mobile device.
28. The mobile device of claim 27, wherein a document size
detection unit displays a rectangular-shaped frame on the display
screen while the image being detected by the image sensor is being
displayed on the display screen.
29. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the size of the
rectangular-shaped frame corresponds to a threshold size of the
document needed before the at least one image can be captured.
30. The mobile device of claim 29, wherein the rectangular-shaped
frame changes color or animates when edges of the document fit
within the rectangular-shaped frame.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/461,726, filed May 1, 2012, which claims priority to
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/561,772, filed Nov. 18,
2011, now pending; and which is a continuation in part of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 12/906,036 filed on Oct. 15, 2010, now
pending, which itself is a continuation in part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/778,943 filed on May 12, 2010, now pending,
as well as a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 12/346,026 filed Dec. 30, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,978,900,
which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
Ser. No. 61/022,279 filed Jan. 18, 2008, now expired, all of which
are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set
forth in full. This application is also related to U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/717,080 filed Mar. 3, 2010, which is now
U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,457, which is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety as if set forth in full.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The embodiments described herein generally relate to
automatic capture of an image of a financial or other document on a
mobile device, and more particularly to automatically detecting and
determining image quality on the mobile device prior to capturing
the image of the document.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Banks and other businesses have become increasingly
interested in electronic processing of check and other documents in
order to expedite processing of these documents. Users can scan a
copy of the document using a scanner or copier to create an
electronic copy of the document that can be processed instead of
routing a hardcopy of the document from one place to another for
processing. For example, some banks can process digital images of
checks and extract check information from the image needed to
process the check without requiring that the physical check by
routed throughout the bank for processing.
[0006] Mobile devices that incorporate cameras have also become
ubiquitous. However, the quality of images captured varies greatly,
and many factors cause images captured using a mobile device to be
of poor quality. Therefore, images captured by mobile devices are
often not of sufficiently high quality to be used for electronic
processing of documents. For systems which utilize images of
documents captured on the mobile device, the process of evaluating
a mobile image to determine if it is of sufficient image quality
can be time consuming and cumbersome for the user of the mobile
device. Therefore, it would be advantageous to streamline and
automate the process of capturing images of documents with mobile
devices and verifying that the quality of the image is sufficient
processing.
SUMMARY
[0007] Systems and methods are provided for real-time evaluation
and enhancement of image quality prior to capturing an image of a
document on a mobile device. An image capture process is initiated
on a mobile device during which a user of the mobile device
prepares to capture the image of the document, utilizing hardware
and software on the mobile device to measure and achieve optimal
parameters for image capture. Feedback may be provided to a user of
the mobile device to instruct the user on how to manually optimize
certain parameters relating to image quality, such as the angle,
motion and distance of the mobile device from the document. When
the optimal parameters for image capture of the document are
achieved, at least one image of the document is automatically
captured by the mobile device.
[0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention
should become apparent from the following description of the
preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of
the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The various embodiments provided herein are described in
detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are
provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict
typical or example embodiments. These drawings are provided to
facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and shall
not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability
of the embodiments. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of
illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram which illustrates one embodiment
of a system for mobile image capture and remittance processing,
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method of automatic
image capture on a mobile device, according to one embodiment of
the invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user
interface (GUI) which may be presented to the user on a display
screen of the mobile device during a mobile image capture process,
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0013] FIGS. 4A-4H illustrate visual feedback displayed on the
display screen of the mobile device during the mobile image capture
process, according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a biller lookup process,
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for a second
data recognition process on a remittance coupon, according to one
embodiment of the invention.
[0016] FIGS. 7A and 7B are images of remittance coupons which
illustrate the results of a first data recognition process and a
second data recognition process, according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0017] FIG. 8 is an image of a remittance coupon captured by a
mobile device.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a geometrically corrected image created using
image processing techniques disclosed herein using the mobile image
of the remittance coupon illustrated in FIG. 8.
[0019] FIG. 10 and its related description above provide some
examples of how a perspective transformation can be constructed for
a quadrangle defined by the corners A, B, C, and D according to an
embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example original image,
focus rectangle and document quadrangle ABCD in accordance with the
example of FIG. 10.
[0021] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
correcting defects to mobile image according to an embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 13 is a flow chart for a method that can be used to
identify the corners of the remittance coupon in a color image
according to an embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a method for generating a
bi-tonal image according to an embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 15 illustrates a binarized image of a remittance coupon
generated from the geometrically corrected remittance coupon image
illustrated in FIG. 9, according to one embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method for converting a
document image into a smaller color icon image according to an
embodiment.
[0026] FIG. 17A is a mobile image of a check according to an
embodiment.
[0027] FIG. 17B is an example of a color icon image generated using
the method of FIG. 12 on the example mobile image of a check
illustrated in FIG. 13A according to an embodiment.
[0028] FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a method for reducing the color
depth of an image according to an embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 19A depicts an example of the color "icon" image of
FIG. 17B after operation 1302 has divided it into a 3.times.3 grid
in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
[0030] FIG. 19B depicts an example of the color "icon" image of
FIG. 17B converted to a gray "icon" image using the method
illustrated in FIG. 18 according to an embodiment.
[0031] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for
finding document corners from a gray "icon" image containing a
document according to an embodiment.
[0032] FIG. 21 is a flowchart that illustrates an example method
for geometric correction according to an embodiment.
[0033] FIG. 22A is an image illustrating a mobile image of a check
that is oriented in landscape orientation according to an
embodiment.
[0034] FIG. 22B example gray-scale image of the document depicted
in FIG. 17A once a geometrical correction operation has been
applied to the image according to an embodiment.
[0035] FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating a method for correcting
landscape orientation of a document image according to an
embodiment.
[0036] FIG. 24 provides a flowchart illustrating an example method
for size correction of an image according to an embodiment.
[0037] FIG. 25 illustrates a mobile document image processing
engine (MDIPE) module for performing quality assurance testing on
mobile document images according to an embodiment.
[0038] FIG. 26 is a flow diagram of a process for performing mobile
image quality assurance on an image captured by a mobile device
according to an embodiment.
[0039] FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of a process for performing mobile
image quality assurance on an image of a check captured by a mobile
device according to an embodiment.
[0040] FIG. 28A illustrates a mobile image where the document
captured in the mobile document image exhibits view distortion.
[0041] FIG. 28B illustrates an example of a grayscale geometrically
corrected subimage generated from the distorted image in FIG. 28A
according to an embodiment.
[0042] FIG. 29A illustrates an example of an in-focus mobile
document image.
[0043] FIG. 29B illustrates an example of an out of focus
document.
[0044] FIG. 30 illustrates an example of a shadowed document.
[0045] FIG. 31 illustrates an example of a grayscale snippet
generated from a mobile document image of a check where the
contrast of the image is very low according to an embodiment.
[0046] FIG. 32 illustrates a method for executing a Contrast IQA
Test according to an embodiment.
[0047] FIG. 33A is an example of a mobile document image that
includes a check that exhibits significant planar skew according to
an embodiment.
[0048] FIG. 33B illustrates an example of a document subimage that
exhibits view skew according to an embodiment.
[0049] FIG. 34 is a flow chart illustrating a method for testing
for view skew according to an embodiment.
[0050] FIG. 35 illustrates an example of a mobile document image
that features an image of a document where one of the corners of
the document has been cut off in the picture.
[0051] FIG. 36 illustrates a Cut-Off Corner Test that can be used
for testing whether corners of a document in a document subimage
have been cut off when the document was imaged according to an
embodiment.
[0052] FIG. 37 illustrates an example of a mobile document image
that features a document where one of the ends of the document has
been cut off in the image.
[0053] FIG. 38 is a flow diagram of a method for determining
whether one or more sides of the document are cut off in the
document subimage according to an embodiment.
[0054] FIG. 39 illustrates an example of a mobile document image
where the document is warped according to an embodiment.
[0055] FIG. 40 is a flow diagram of a method for identifying a
warped image and for scoring the image based on how badly the
document subimage is warped according to an embodiment.
[0056] FIG. 41 illustrates an example of a document subimage within
a mobile document image that is relatively small in comparison to
the overall size of the mobile document image according to an
embodiment.
[0057] FIG. 42 is a flow diagram of a process that for performing
an Image Size Test on a subimage according to an embodiment.
[0058] FIG. 43 is a flow chart of a method for executing a code
line test according to an embodiment.
[0059] FIG. 44 illustrates a method for executing an Aspect Ratio
Test according to an embodiment.
[0060] FIG. 45 is a flow chart of a method for processing an image
using form identification according to an embodiment.
[0061] FIG. 46 is a flow chart of a method for processing an image
using dynamic data capture according to an embodiment.
[0062] FIG. 47 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method
of configuring a recurring payment schedule according to an
embodiment.
[0063] FIG. 48 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method
of selecting a specific scheduling preference according to an
embodiment.
[0064] FIG. 49 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method
of enabling a user to set one or more reminders associated with a
recurring bill payment according to an embodiment.
[0065] FIG. 50 is a block diagram of various functional elements of
a mobile device that can be used with the various systems and
methods described herein according to an embodiment.
[0066] FIG. 51 is a block diagram of functional elements of a
computer system that can be used to implement the mobile device
and/or the servers described in the systems and methods disclosed
herein.
[0067] FIG. 52 is a flow diagram of a process for edge and feature
detection, according to an embodiment.
[0068] FIGS. 53A-53D illustrate images being processed using the
edge and feature detection methodologies, according to an
embodiment.
[0069] FIG. 54A-54C illustrate a template-matching method used
during feature detection, according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0070] The embodiments described herein are directed to real-time
evaluation and enhancement of image quality prior to capturing an
image of a document on a mobile device. An image capture process is
initiated on a mobile device during which a user of the mobile
device prepares to capture the image of the document, utilizing
hardware and software on the mobile device to measure and achieve
optimal parameters for image capture. Feedback may be provided to a
user of the mobile device to instruct the user on how to manually
optimize certain parameters relating to image quality, such as the
angle, motion and distance of the mobile device from the document.
When the optimal parameters for image capture of the document are
achieved, at least one image of the document is automatically
captured by the mobile device.
[0071] Automatic capture of an image increases the image quality of
the captured image--and the document contained within that
image--for many reasons. First, by measuring multiple parameters in
real-time, the mobile device will know when the image should be
taken in order to maximize the quality of the image. Second, by
automatically capturing one or more images when the optimal
parameters are achieved, the user of the mobile device is not
required to manually press a button on the mobile device that may
cause movement of the mobile device and degrade the image quality
of the image being captured.
[0072] The capturing and processing of an image of a document with
a mobile device may be used for processing a financial transaction
using the mobile device, such as depositing a check, paying a bill
or transferring money between different bank and credit accounts.
The mobile device includes systems and methods for determining a
plurality of parameters of the mobile device which affect the
quality of an image and automatically capturing one or more images
of the document when the parameters fall within acceptable ranges.
Other features for ensuring the capture of a high-quality image may
be carried out in the form of software running on the mobile device
which provides tools for detecting features of the document in
real-time prior to image capture and for instructing a user of the
mobile device on how to improve the quality of the captured
image.
[0073] The embodiments described herein provide for detecting
parameters on a mobile device related to image quality in real-time
and automatically capturing an image of a document via a camera on
the mobile device that is used to extract information for
performing an electronic financial transaction.
[0074] The processes described herein utilize the high performance
Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) on smartphones and other mobile
devices to ensure a high quality capture of an image within a video
frame. In addition to the previously mentioned settings that exist
at the server, mobile device-based technologies use frame capture
and processing techniques that provide a breakthrough in
identifying high quality images suitable for OCR/ICR
post-processing on the server. This breakthrough adds a significant
increase in the accuracy of data recognition of the document
image.
[0075] In one embodiment of a method of video-based mobile image
capture, as the user prepares to take a photo of a document, an
image capture application is switched into a video mode, and video
frames are immediately captured (using either the available device
APIs or the OpenCV API) and saved in a processing buffer. As the
video frames are captured, selected frames are pre-processed on the
mobile device to determine the image's suitability for OCR
post-proces sing on the server. This pre-processing is a quick
analysis of the image quality to evaluate focus, exposure,
contrast, presence of color, reflection, and other criteria as
defined by customized and dynamic settings resident on the mobile
device or received from the server. Frames that do not meet the
criteria are quickly discarded, and another frame is then selected
for pre-processing. This pre-processing continues until an
acceptable frame is found, at which time the video stream is
stopped and the user receives a message that the image capture
process is complete.
[0076] Once a suitable video frame is identified, deeper processing
continues of the video frames in close proximity to the identified
frame, and the best video frame is identified. This best video
frame may be combined with other nearby frames to create an even
better composite image.
[0077] In real-time, the end-user receives feedback on the quality
of the image. This feedback includes: [0078] 1. Real-time framing
around the `edge` of the document. In one embodiment, a colored
line is drawn around the edge of the document to form a frame. For
example, the frame color is red if the document is too far away or
too close, or if the shape of the document (parallelogram or
quadrilateral) indicates the video camera angle is too steep.
[0079] 2. Image crispness feedback on the crispness of the image.
This feedback may be presented through messages appearing at the
bottom of the screen in a semi-transparent font indicating whether
the user is moving the mobile device too much. Crispness is
determined via edge detection by looking at how `crisp` the edges
of the document are. The user may be given real-time feedback as
they hold the camera steadier, by changing the message or changing
the color of the real-time frame. [0080] 3. Color Indicators. As
the user moves the mobile device over the document, a color
indicator changes from yellow or red to green when the document is
properly placed within the frame and edge detection determines that
the document is in focus. Once the green mode is detected for a
certain period of time, the current video frame is captured and
displayed as a still image to the user, along with a message
indicating that a frame (or several frames together) have been
captured and uploaded to the server. [0081] 4. Contrast Indicators.
If the contrast of the image is too low, a message is displayed on
the mobile device screen which will alert the user to this fact.
[0082] 5. Reflection Indicators. For highly reflective documents
such as driver's licenses, an oval or other shape may appear around
any reflective areas of the document, and a message will be
displayed to the user that they need to change the lighting
conditions or perspective of the mobile device with respect to the
document to remove the reflective area.
[0083] In addition, the image can optionally be pre-cropped on the
mobile device via edge detection so as to reduce the size of the
actual image uploaded to the server.
[0084] Using the techniques discussed herein, the mobile device
will also be capable of capturing and pre-processing video frames
in such a manner as to help uniquely identify the document that is
the subject of the image in the video frame. For example,
techniques will be employed to identify the document as a driver's
license, bank check or credit card bill. Settings, as discussed
herein may be received at the mobile device from a remote server in
order to guide some of the processing parameters in determining the
document type at the mobile device.
[0085] Pre-processing of the video frames will include evaluation
of focus, exposure, contrast, etc. as well as identification of
document features that will help uniquely identify the category of
the document. These document features may be areas of the document
that are compared to known document types of known entities in
order to find a match. Again, the processing to be performed and
the criteria may be defined by the settings received from a remote
server. As described above with regard to image capture, once a
suitable video frame is identified, deeper processing of the video
frames continues in close proximity to the identified frame, and
the best video frame is identified. This best video frame may be
combined with other nearby frames to create an even better
composite image. Additional processing may take place that might
include edge detection, image cropping, and compression in order to
make the smallest payload possible for submission to the remote
server for post-processing.
[0086] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system 100 for mobile
image capture and remittance processing. The system 100 includes a
mobile device 102, such as a cellular phone, smartphone, tablet,
personal digital assistant (PDA) or other portable electronic
device that may be connected with a communications network. The
mobile device 102 will include an image capture device (not shown),
such as a digital camera or a portable scanning device, that uses
an image sensor to capture an image of a document. The mobile
device 102 is connected with a remote server 104 over a network so
that the mobile device 102 can transmit captured images or image
data to the remote server 104. In one embodiment, the remote server
104 may send information to the mobile device 102 (and specifically
an application running on the mobile device) regarding the
parameters that should be measured and the values of the thresholds
required to capture an image. The remote server 104 may perform
additional image processing and data extraction, as will be
described in further detail below, in order to determine
information about the document and identify the appropriate parties
and amounts. In one embodiment, the remote server 104 may be
connected with an address database 106 which is used to verify
address information obtained from the remittance coupon, as will be
described in further detail below. The remote server 104 may also
be connected with a biller database 108 which stores information on
billers, such as address information and billing formats for the
remittance coupons. Once the remote server 104 has extracted and
identified all of the relevant data from the image of the
remittance coupon, the extracted data and the captured and
processed images may be stored in a content database 110 connected
with the remote server 104. The extracted data may then be
transmitted to a banking server 112 for processing the payment from
a bank account belonging to the user of the mobile device 102. The
extracted data may also be first sent back to the mobile device 102
to display the data to a user for confirmation before a bill is
paid.
[0087] The mobile device can comprise a mobile telephone handset,
Personal Digital Assistant, or other mobile communication device.
The mobile device can include a camera or other imaging device,
such as a scanner, or might include functionality that allows it to
connect to a camera or other imaging device. The connection to an
external camera or other imaging device can comprise a wired or
wireless connection. In this way the mobile device can connect to
an external camera or other imaging device and receive images from
the camera or other imaging device.
[0088] Images of the documents taken using the mobile device or
downloaded to the mobile device can be transmitted the remote
server via a network. The network can comprise one or more wireless
and/or wired network connections. For example, in some cases, the
images can be transmitted over a mobile communication device
network, such as a code division multiple access ("CDMA") telephone
network, or other mobile telephone network. The network can also
comprise one or more connections across the Internet. Images taken
using, for example, a mobile device's camera, can be 24 bit per
pixel (24 bit/pixel) JPG images. It will be understood, however,
that many other types of images might also be taken using different
cameras, mobile devices, etc.
[0089] The remote server can be configured to perform various image
processing techniques on images of remittance coupons, checks, or
other documents captured by the mobile device. The remote server
can also be configured to perform various image quality assurance
tests on images of remittance coupons or documents captured by the
mobile device to ensure that the quality of the captured images is
sufficient to enable remittance processing to be performed using
the images. Examples of various processing techniques and testing
techniques that can be implemented on the remote server are
described in detail below.
[0090] According to an embodiment, the remote server can be
configured to communicate to one or more bank servers via the
network. The bank server can be configured to process payments in
some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, mobile device
can be used to capture an image of a remittance coupon and an image
of a check that can be used to make an electronic payment of the
remittance payment. For example, the remote server can be
configured to receive an image of a remittance coupon and an image
of a check from the mobile device. The bank server can
electronically deposit the check into a bank account associated
with the entity for which the electronic remittance is being
performed (payor). According to some embodiments, the bank server
and the remote server can be implemented on the same server or same
set of servers.
[0091] In other embodiments, the remote server can handle payment.
For example, the remote server can be operated by or on behalf of
an entity associated with the coupon of FIG. 8, such as a utility
or business. The user's account can then be linked with a bank,
Paypal.RTM., or other account, such that when remote server
receives the remittance information, it can charge the appropriate
amount to the user's account.
I. Mobile Device Automatic Capture
[0092] In one embodiment, the mobile device is configured to
automatically capture an image of the document when certain
parameters are met. Real-time analysis of various position settings
of the mobile device, image sensor and surrounding environment is
performed to ensure that the captured image is as in-focus as
possible. Automatic capture allows for the mobile device to be held
over the document without the user having to press a button. These
position settings may be standardized for all image capture
processing or dynamically adjusted based on the type of mobile
device and image sensor, the type of document being captured or
even the ambient environment of the mobile device.
[0093] The capturing of the image of the document is the first step
of an end-to-end solution for processing documents using mobile
device cameras, which can be utilized to provide the user with
tools and information to improve the quality of the image and
decrease the chance of errors from poor image quality. However, by
having the mobile device carry out several image processing steps,
the overall user experience may be improved, due to the fact that
the image of the document which is eventually sent to the remote
server will be of substantially higher quality. A higher quality
image means it is much less likely that the image will be rejected
by the remote server, which would otherwise require the user to
capture another image of the document. By running an image capture
application on the mobile device, problems with the captured image
can be immediately identified and corrected without waiting for
transmission of the image to the remote server, analysis at the
server, and feedback from the remote server to the user.
[0094] Furthermore, by measuring multiple parameters related to the
quality of the image in real-time prior to capturing the image, the
quality of the captured image will be significantly increased, the
likelihood that the server rejects the image will be reduced, the
accuracy of processed information from the image will increase, and
the likelihood of needing complex image processing performed will
be reduced.
[0095] The parameters being measured on the mobile device are
related to the ability of the device, and more particularly the
ability of the camera on the mobile device, to capture a high
quality image of the document which can be used to accurately
extract text and other content from the document that is needed for
a financial transaction. Some financial transactions which use
digitally-captured images of documents require certain levels of
image quality in order to verify the authenticity of the document
and ensure that the content of the document--account numbers,
addresses, names, monetary values, etc. --is accurately extracted.
By utilizing technology within a mobile device to help the user
capture a high quality image of the document, the amount of
post-capture image processing can be reduced, as is the likelihood
of having to reject a captured image and force the user to
recapture.
[0096] In one embodiment, the parameters are measured in real time,
so that an application running on the mobile device can
continuously monitor the image quality settings and instruct the
camera to capture one or more images of the document when the
parameters meet certain thresholds of image quality. In one
embodiment, the thresholds of image quality may be defined
individually for each parameter being measured, where a measurement
for each parameter must meet the defined threshold before the image
can be captured. In another embodiment, the parameter values may be
combined into a group threshold or total overall quality score,
such that the combination of all of the measured parameter values
must produce an overall quality score which exceeds a defined
threshold value before the image can be captured by the camera.
[0097] In a further embodiment, some parameters may be weighed
against each other when determining whether to capture the image. A
threshold value of one parameter may be adjusted based on the
actual value of another parameter--for example if a first parameter
with a high value allows for a second parameter to have a low value
but still provide a high quality image, the system will adjust the
threshold value of the second parameter to a lower value so that an
image will still be captured if the first parameter exceeds its
threshold value. For example, if the orientation angle falls within
10 degrees of normal while the degree of motion is negligible, the
application may determine that an image should be captured if the
lack of motion will provide sufficient image quality on its
own.
[0098] In a further embodiment, additional parameters may be
compared on the captured image after image capture and before being
sent to the server. In many cameras, the quality of the real time
images, commonly called preview frames or video frames, are of
lower quality than the final captured image, where the width or
height in pixels is less than the captured image, for various
reasons such as frame rate capability. If so, the parameter
comparisons of the video frame may require different image quality
thresholds based on smaller total pixels or less pixel density in
terms of dots per inch (DPI). Hence, the quality thresholds for
video frames versus captured image will be different.
[0099] In a further embodiment, some or all quality parameters may
not be known when capturing a document. In this case, processing of
the preview frames can choose the best preview image from a
plurality of preview images over a time period. The processor can
store quality measurements and compute quality statistics to
determine a quality threshold for a second pass or a sequence of
passes.
[0100] In a further embodiment, in the case of high quality preview
frames, frames with a sufficient DPI for the type of document being
captured, the best quality preview frame passing quality
measurements in a sequence of preview frames can be stored
temporarily. If, after some variable time, there are no better
quality measurements of other preview frames, then the stored
preview frame with the best quality is chosen as the image to send
for server processing.
[0101] In a further embodiment, automated image quality can be
estimated by cooperation with the camera hardware and camera
focusing mechanisms. A typical camera will indicate whether camera
focusing is in progress, and during that time the preview frame
quality is suspect. Once the focusing is not in progress, the
camera is likely in sharp focus. If other parameters are passing
their thresholds, near the time the camera stops focusing, then the
processing might ignore the focus threshold comparison and capture
the image. This captured image can then be sent for server
processing or compared for final quality before sending.
[0102] In a further embodiment, the mobile processor may interact
with the mobile camera features such as focusing, contrast, shutter
period, and aperture to iteratively change the real-time preview
frames until parameters pass thresholds and image capture
commences.
[0103] In a further embodiment, if the preview frame passes its
thresholds, but the captured image does not pass its thresholds,
the processor can restart processing of the preview frames. This
restarting can continue as long as necessary until the captured
image passes its quality measurements.
[0104] In a further embodiment, if the image quality does not pass
thresholds after a period of time, the thresholds can be adjusted
and the preview processing restarted. This can happen due to the
wide variety and quality of image capture devices which may not be
capable of capturing images which meet the initial thresholds.
[0105] In another embodiment, if the image quality does not pass
thresholds after a period of time, the reason may be due to user
error, such as an obstruction on the camera lens, whether a finger
is over the lens or the lens is dirty. Automatic instructions can
be displayed to instruct to clear the lens.
[0106] In a further embodiment, the processor can aggregate quality
measurements over different parts of the image to determine if
quality thresholds have been achieved overall. For instance,
sharpness thresholds may be critical only in some parts of the
image, and unimportant in others, such as pictures of a face which
may be of no use in server side processing.
[0107] In a further embodiment, the processor can compute quality
measurements over different parts of the preview frame or captured
image to determine likelihood of image quality prior to server
processing. For example, a camera may focus on one side of a
document if not all of the document is the same distance from the
camera. In such cases, one side of a document may be in focus, and
another side out-of-focus. The processor can determine that a
significant portion is out of focus and fail a quality
measurement.
[0108] In a further embodiment, automated quality measurement may
not ensure an image is captured in some time period. In such a
case, the processor can stop automated analysis and give camera
control to the mobile device user and ask the user to attempt to
capture the image manually, either through the mobile device's
built in image capture software application or through the
processor.
[0109] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method of automatic
mobile image capture and remittance processing, as will be further
described herein. The workflow of the methods described herein
start with the mobile device, the steps of which are illustrated on
the left portion of FIG. 2. In a first step S202, a mobile
application is initialized on the mobile device. The mobile
application may be a software application stored on the mobile
device which is configured to interface with the image capture
device (camera) on the mobile device and communicate with the
remote server to send images or data relating to the images and
receive information on the parameters and parameter values to use
when capturing an image. The mobile application will activate the
mobile device camera and begin receiving images from the camera in
real-time. The mobile application may also display one or more
graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on a display screen of the mobile
device that provides instructions and feedback to a user during the
mobile image capture process. In one embodiment, the mobile
application will display the images being received from the camera
on the display screen in real-time as part of the GUI (see FIG. 3),
so that the user can see the image being viewed by the camera in
real time and more easily understand the adjustments that may need
to be made.
[0110] In a next step S204, at least one parameter related to the
image quality of the images being captured by the camera is
measured. The parameters may be measured using hardware and/or
software on the mobile device, such as an accelerometer, the image
sensor in the camera, or image processing software modules running
in the mobile application. A parameter value is determined for each
measured parameter, such as angle of the mobile device, image size
(or document size within the image), lighting, focus, etc. Further
details regarding the parameters and the hardware and/or software
used to measure those parameters are described further below. In
step S206, the measured values of the parameters are compared with
their respective threshold values (or single group threshold value)
and a determination is made as to whether the parameters meet the
thresholds.
[0111] In step S208, if a certain parameter value has not met its
threshold, the user of the mobile device may be provided with
feedback indicating which parameter is deficient or instead
providing a specific instruction to the user as to how the
parameter can be adjusted so that it will meet the threshold value.
In another embodiment, the user feedback may simply affirm that the
threshold values have been met, and that the camera will now
capture one or more images of the document. Step S208 may be
optional if, for example, all of the necessary parameters have met
their thresholds and feedback to the user is unnecessary, or if one
of the parameters which has not met the threshold cannot be
adjusted by the user. One or more of the parameters may require the
mobile application to adjust the parameters automatically without
user input or feedback, such as when the parameter relates to an
image processing setting within the image processing software
running on the mobile device, or such as when image processing
quality is insufficient in a variable amount of time.
[0112] In step S210, one or more images of the document are then
captured by the camera and stored on the mobile device. In one
embodiment, a plurality of images is captured in a short period of
time to ensure that at least one of the images is of high quality.
The plurality of images may be captured in sequence--at several
frames per second--so that the images will look substantially
identical but be slightly different if the user is moving the
mobile device as the images are being captured. In one embodiment
described further below, the plurality of images may be processed
to create a single high quality image using the highest quality
aspects of each image. In another embodiment, the camera may be set
into a video mode so that it captures a high rate of images--for
example 24 frames per second--which may be analyzed individually or
together in order to generate a high quality image of the
document.
[0113] In step S212, the captured images may be processed at the
mobile device to perform image quality analysis (IQA) and determine
if the captured images are of sufficient image quality to be used
for the financial transaction requested by the user. If the images
are of sufficient quality, the processing step S212 may be skipped.
However, the captured images may undergo post-capture image
processing, to correct skew, warping, orientation, contrast,
shadow, lighting, focus, etc. (all of which are described in
further detail below), in order to ensure that the content of the
document can be extracted from the image. The image or images may
also be processed in accordance with previously-described image
processing steps to binarize the image, create a grayscale image or
otherwise clarify the content of the document within the image.
Edge detection and focus algorithms may be used to determine
whether all four sides of the document are within the captured
image, whether the angle of the image capture device is within an
acceptable range relative to the remittance coupon and whether the
size of the image is too small. For example, the mobile device can
be configured to convert the captured image from a color image to a
grayscale image or to bitonal image, identify the corners of the
remittance coupon, and to perform geometric corrections and/or
warping corrections to correct defects in the mobile image.
[0114] Once an image is captured which meets the required
parameters, in step S214, the image may then be re-sized,
compressed, encrypted and converted to a base-64 format before
being uploaded to the remote server connected with the mobile
device over a network using a secure socket layer (SSL) connection.
The image may be re-sized due to the fact that some mobile cameras
capture images with file sizes of up to 8 megapixels (MP), and so
re-sizing and compressing these images allows for faster upload
time.
[0115] The content of the document may be extracted during this
step as well to create data relating to the image, which may be
useful if the image processing on the mobile device is sufficient
to extract the contents and avoid having to transmit the captured
image or images from the mobile device to the remote server. In
step S216, the processed (or un-processed) images or the data
extracted from the image may be transmitted to the remote server.
Once at the remote server, additional processing of the image may
be performed to verify the quality of the document and the
reliability of its content. If the content was already extracted at
the mobile device, the data may be further processed to verify its
accuracy. Once the data from the image has been extracted, the
financial transaction desired by the user may be initiated
(S218).
[0116] Additional details of the various image pre-processing
techniques are described in further detail, below. The
pre-processing of the images at the mobile device also allows for a
further round of image quality assurance (IQA) beyond the
measurement of the parameters prior to capturing the images. If the
initial processing of the image identifies problems with the image,
the user may be provided with feedback to request that another
image be taken, including requesting that settings relating to the
image capture device or the positioning of the remittance coupon be
altered.
[0117] FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user
interface (GUI) which may be presented to the user on a display
screen 302 of a mobile device 300 during the mobile image capture
process. The user launches an application on the mobile device 300
which activates the camera (not shown) and displays a real-time
image 304 of the field-of-view of the camera. The real-time image
304 is therefore continuously updated with new images from the
camera, such that movement of the mobile device 300 would
correspond in real-time to movement of the image being detected by
the camera. The user can therefore position the mobile device and
the camera over a document 308 and immediately see a picture of the
document on the GUI. This will aid the user in adjusting the
parameters related to image quality while immediately seeing the
effect of the adjustments.
[0118] According to one embodiment, the mobile device can also be
configured to optionally receive additional information from the
user. For example, in some embodiments, the mobile device can be
configured to prompt the user to enter data, such as a payment
amount that represents an amount of the payment that the user
wishes to make. The payment amount can differ from the account
balance or minimum payment amount shown on the remittance coupon.
For example, the remittance coupon might show an account balance of
$1000 and a minimum payment amount of $100, but the user might
enter a payment amount of $400.
[0119] In a further embodiment, the mobile device can prompt the
user to point to, or touch, a particular information field on the
image being shown on the mobile device screen to indicate where
that field is on the document. This may occur if a document
information structure is unknown or variable for different
printings. The image being shown on the mobile device may be
real-time or the captured image.
[0120] In a further embodiment, the mobile device can prompt the
user to point to, or touch, a sequence of information fields, one
at a time, to indicate where those fields are on the document.
[0121] In a further embodiment, the mobile device can prompt the
user to adjust a rectangle or polygon being displayed on the mobile
device screen to drag it over an information field or fields to
indicate where the field is on the document. The adjustment may be
a drag gesture, a resize gesture, a rotation gesture, or other
gestures common to touch screens in order to crop the rectangle or
polygon over the information field.
II. Parameters
Angle
[0122] In one embodiment, one of the parameters being measured is
an angle at which the mobile device is oriented with respect to the
document. The angle is measured based on the mobile device camera
being positioned parallel to, or directly facing, the document when
the document is placed on a flat, level surface. An accelerometer
and gyroscope present on the mobile device measure the orientation
and movement of the mobile device. In one embodiment, a degree of
orientation of approximately 5 degrees is set as a maximum
threshold, such that the mobile device would permit automatic
capture of the document if the degree of variance from the parallel
orientation is approximately equal to or less than 5 degrees. In
another embodiment, the threshold of variation in the angle of
orientation is approximately 2 degrees. By limiting the variance of
the angle of orientation of the camera, the amount of perspective
distortion, warping and other image defects will be minimized.
Furthermore, by using the gyroscope in the mobile device, the
orientation of the mobile device can be automatically determined by
the mobile application running on the mobile device. The user can
then be provided with feedback as to whether the orientation of the
mobile device is adequate or needs to be corrected. Once the
orientation falls within the acceptable threshold, the application
may instruct the camera to immediately capture an image without
requiring the user to manually depress a button or other input
function. The automatic capture avoids introducing additional
orientation distortion and other disturbances that may occur when
the user must depress a button on the device to capture an
image.
Motion
[0123] In one embodiment, one of the parameters being measured is a
length of time at which the mobile device remains still or is not
in motion. The degree of motion of the mobile device may be
measured by an accelerometer or gyroscope in the mobile device. The
application may set a threshold period of time for which the mobile
device must remain still before triggering automatic capture,
thereby decreasing the chance that the captured image will be
blurred. The time period may be only a few milliseconds in order to
quickly capture the image at the instant that the phone stops
moving, thereby requiring the user to hold the phone motionless for
as little time as possible. In one embodiment, the time period may
be approximately 80 milliseconds (ms), although in another
embodiment, the time period may be approximately 400 ms.
[0124] In another embodiment, the shutter speed of the camera may
be adjusted depending on the length of time that the mobile device
is held still, so that the camera will capture an image in the time
that the mobile device is primarily motionless.
[0125] In a further embodiment, the time period may be set to or
beyond the length of the shutter speed on the camera to ensure the
user has kept the camera steady during the shutter open time.
Viewfinder Bounding Box
[0126] In one embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4H, a user may be
provided with a bounding box 404 in the form of a semi-transparent
outline of a quadrilateral shape (such as a rectangle) on the
display screen 402 of the mobile device to guide the user to make
sure the document is fully contained in the display screen during
the mobile image capture process. The bounding box 404 is generally
designed to help the user align their mobile device over the
document 406 to-be captured so that the document fits within the
boundaries 408 of the bounding box. As shown in FIGS. 4A-4H, the
bounding box may also be accompanied by a written instruction 410
which indicates one or more reasons why the view of the document by
the camera is inadequate to capture the image.
[0127] The bounding box may also be presented in color combinations
which represent how close the user is at achieving optimal image
quality. For example, in FIG. 4A, the image of the document 406 (in
this case a driver's license) is too large as a result of the
camera being placed too close to the license. Therefore, the
bounding box 404 may appear red, indicating that the document does
not fit and that the auto-capture process cannot capture an image.
The written instruction 410 above the bounding box simply states
"Too Close," indicating to the user that the camera is too close to
the driver's license and should be ported The color of the bounding
box 404 may vary dynamically as the user alters the camera or the
document so that the document fits within the bounding box. When
the document 406 is properly framed within the bounding box 404,
the bounding box 404 may turn green to indicate that one or more of
the parameters have been satisfied. Other visual or auditory aides
may be provided to aid the user in aligning the camera on the
mobile device with the document.
[0128] The bounding box may be useful to help the user fix numerous
different parameters, such as image size, motion, edge detection
and orientation angle, and may also be useful to help identify the
type of document being captured based on the aspect ratio of the
document dimensions. For example, FIGS. 4A-4H depict an image
capture process for a driver's license, which often has a specific,
standardized size and aspect ratio. Therefore, if the mobile
application knows that the user will be capturing an image of a
driver's license (either through manual selection by the user or
through automated process steps which require certain documents),
the bounding box can be generated at the specific dimensions of the
driver's license that will make it easier to capture the license
with the camera and also to verify the authenticity of the
license.
[0129] To further illustrate the benefits of the bounding box, FIG.
4B illustrates the display screen 402 of the mobile device when the
document 406 is too far away from the camera. Thus, the bounding
box 404 is colored in red and the written instruction 410 "too far
away" is written up at the top. FIG. 4C illustrates an out-of-focus
document 406, which provides the specific written instruction 410
"Out of Focus" to the user so that the user will pay more attention
to focusing when taking a picture of the document. FIG. 4D
illustrates an image of the driver's license 406 that is taken from
an angle of orientation ("tilt") that is significantly greater than
desired, thus causing distortion and skew in the images and making
the driver's license very difficult to read. The written
instruction 410 "Tilted Too Much" is then displayed on the screen.
FIG. 4E illustrates the automatic capture process where the image
is blurry as a result of too much movement of the camera or mobile
device. The user may then see the red rectangle 404 along with the
written instruction 410 "Hold Steady" which directly instructs the
user on how to fix the problem. FIG. 4F is an illustration of a
real-time image being displayed on the display screen 402 when
there is insufficient light. As a result, the red rectangle 404 is
displayed as the bounding box and the written instruction 410 "Not
Enough Light" is displayed. In contrast, FIG. 4G illustrates an
image capture process of the driver's license 406 where too much
light has caused a large reflective area 412 to form on a left
portion of the driver's license 406, making it difficult to read
(for human or machine). Once again, written instructions 410
indicating "Too Bright" is displayed at the top, providing the user
with the opportunity to adjust the lighting with the hope of fixing
the problem. Finally, in FIG. 4H, a correctly proportioned driver's
license 406 is presented, and as a result, a green bounding box 404
is displayed along with an affirmative written instruction 410
telling the user that the parameters have been properly
aligned.
[0130] In a further embodiment, a bounding box can be replaced with
a centered reticule, such as a rifle scope reticule, indicating the
center of the display which the user would center over the document
with movement.
[0131] In a further embodiment, an icon or image may be displayed
in real-time above the detected document to give the user a visual
indication of the offset from the mobile device display center.
This icon or image appears to move above the detected document as
the user moves the camera.
Automatic Aspect Ratio Correction
[0132] The outline may be provided in real-time during the image
capture process to aid the user in capturing the entirety of the
document at a correct aspect ratio. The rectangle represents the
dimensions of the document being framed within the image, and
guides the user in centering the document in the image so that the
document is completely within a field of view of the image capture
device. The user may be instructed to match the sides of the
document with the sides of the rectangle, which will encourage the
user to capture an image of the document that includes the entire
document at an appropriate size and aspect ratio. The rectangle may
have a specific width and height based on the type of document
being captured, such as a check, remit coupon, credit card, etc.
The size of the document may be stored in a database on the phone
or a remote server, and the user may be prompted to select the type
of document that is being captured in advance so that the
application can produce a rectangle of the appropriate dimension.
If the type of document is known to have varying dimensions (such
as a remittance coupon), the rectangle outline may be turned
off.
[0133] In a further embodiment, the aspect ratio may be calculated
from the real-time outline of the document. This calculated aspect
ratio may then be applied to the rectangle framing the display,
guiding the user to move the camera over the document into the
rectangle or center the document underneath a centered reticule
image.
Automatic Flash Detection
[0134] The application may also control the use of a flash on the
mobile device to fire the flash in specific instances where the
type of document or ambient lighting conditions requires the use of
a flash. The use of the flash affects the lighting of the document
and the shutter speed of the camera. A decision as to whether or
not to fire the flash may be provided locally by analysis of the
lighting conditions provided by the camera's image sensor or by
parameters stored on a remote server or locally on the phone, such
as information on the selected type of document to be captured. The
remote server may also communicate with the mobile device to
determine whether or not to fire the flash based on stored
parameters such as the type of document or the specifications of
the image sensor on the mobile device. The use of the flash usually
requires a faster shutter speed on the camera and ensures more
consistent lighting of the document. The faster shutter speed
reduces the risk of motion blur as well, improving the quality of
the image and the ability to read the content of the image using
optical character recognition (OCR) and other image-processing
steps described further herein.
[0135] In one embodiment, the flash may be turned off if the type
of document is known to have reflectivity which would overexpose
the image. A driver's license or credit card may be too reflective
to allow for the use of the flash.
[0136] In one embodiment, the application on the phone may request
a plurality of image capture settings from the remote server which
will aid in controlling the flash, phone-based aspect ratio
correction and other automatic capture settings described
above.
Edge and Feature Detection
[0137] Edge detection at the mobile device also allows for
filtering of images that have a high likelihood of being
sub-quality, and allows, in real-time, the ability to indicate to
the user various reasons for altering the phone's parameters or
capturing the image again. Edge detection may be used to identify
the borders of a document within the captured image and to
determine the quality of the captured image. Edge detection
capability may run on the mobile device, using its graphical and
processing CPU's. The capability allows the detection of, and
rejection of images with one or more of the above issues, based on
if, and where, the edges have been found, and their position and
relationships within the image.
[0138] Edge detection may be used to determine whether all four
corners and all four sides of a document are within the captured
image. In order to identify the borders of a document, one
embodiment of edge detection may be performed using document
snippet detection, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,000,514, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety. The first step compresses the mobile image in such a way
that some or all intra-document edges are suppressed whereas
majority of document-to-background edges remain strong. This step
makes the edge detection faster and, on documents with no large
high-contrast internal areas (such as checks and remittance
coupons), helps to avoid false positive edges. Second step finds
edge "primitives", which are linear or piecewise linear segments
separating high-contrast areas within the compressed mobile image.
Such "primitives'" are classified into left/top/right and bottom
ones. For example, any "primitive" located in the leftmost third of
the image and having roughly vertical orientation will be
classified as a "left" one etc. Third step joins same-category
"primitives", making them candidates for left/top/right and bottom
sides of the document snippet. For example, collinear left
"primitives" are merged into a candidate for the left document
snippet side etc. Fourth and last step combines the "candidates"
into a complete snippet candidate, assigning each complete
candidate a confidence which reflects how well the candidate meets
the document-specific assumptions about proportions, orientation,
level of geometrical distortions, color contrast etc. Then the
highest-confidence candidate is chosen to represent the document
snippet's border and its confidence may be used as an indication of
how reliably the snippet was found.
[0139] In another embodiment, edge detection helps to determine the
focus quality of the captured image. If an edge is blurry or fuzzy,
the remainder of the image, including the actual content on the
remittance coupon or document, is also likely to be blurry and
unreadable. A blurry or fuzzy image will produce high "out-of-focus
scores," as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,000,514, the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Blurry or fuzzy images will also produce low confidence scores for
the borders of the document during the border detection embodiment
described immediately above. The drop in confidence occurs due to
worsening of contrasts along one or more of the snippet sides.
Therefore, the high out-of-focus score and low confidence scores
will result in the application determining that the image quality
is blurry or out-of-focus, and request that the user capture
another image.
[0140] In another embodiment, edge detection may be used to
determine an orientation angle of the mobile device with respect to
the document and allow the user to correct perspective distortion
of the captured image. Ideally, if the camera angle was exactly
perpendicular to the document (and the camera did not have any
optical distortions), the document snippet would be rectangular.
That "ideal" rectangle gets distorted into a quadrilateral, often a
trapezoid, when the camera angle deviates from perpendicular.
Assuming the document corners have been detected by the document
snippet's border detection algorithm (see above), the distortion
could be measured using a deviation of the quadrilateral's angles
from 90 degrees and/or the size difference between opposite sides
of the quadrilateral. The orientation angle of the camera closely
correlates with a View Angle Image Quality Assessment (IQA) score,
which explains how the latter is computed based on these distortion
characteristics. Further descriptions are available in U.S. Pat.
No. 8,000,514, the contents of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety. Depending on the document type, the
minimum value of a View Angle IQA (an IQA threshold) could be
chosen between 900 (camera view close to perpendicular, small
distortion of document) and 700 (camera view deviates from
perpendicular by about 15% causing more pronounced distortions of
the document).
[0141] In a further embodiment, edge detection may also be used to
determine whether the remittance coupon within the image is too
small, based on the amount of space within the photograph outside
of the four detected sides.
[0142] Edge detection may also be able to determine whether the
background is busy, based on detection of edges that are either
outside or orthogonal to those detected on the images. A busy
background is one that interferes with the detection of edges of
the desired document. For instance, a plain bill having black text
on white paper, when placed on a larger white paper, would
interfere with detecting the edge of the document. Another busy
background is when a user holds a document in front of themselves,
facing a picturesque scene of ocean and sky, and the camera sees
the document in front of a dark and light background
simultaneously. Other busy backgrounds may be plaid cloth, window
shades, and other non-uniform colored or shaded background.
[0143] The result of applying an edge detector to an image may lead
to a set of corners and document edges, both bounding the document
being sought within the image, as well as any other objects outside
it, or within it. This typically indicates the boundaries of
objects, the boundaries of surface markings as well as curves that
may correspond to discontinuities in surface orientation. By
applying an edge detection algorithm to an image, the amount of
data to be processed may be significantly reduced. The application
may therefore filter out information such as detection of an
out-of-focus image or an image that doesn't contain the entire
document being captured.
[0144] Edges extracted from non-trivial images are often hampered
by fragmentation, meaning that the edges are not connected. Certain
issues such as missing edge segments and/or false edges not
corresponding to the rectangular document being searched for in the
document can complicate the subsequent task of determining the
document type through classification, as well as hampering the
ability to apply knowledge about the structure layout and context
of the document. One example is a user holding a document with a
finger or thumb covering a portion of one edge, where the
information fields are not covered and otherwise the captured image
would be processed accurately if the edge detection were
acceptable.
[0145] Edge detection on the mobile device is carried out using the
graphical and processing units of the mobile device. The edge
detection capability allows the detection of, and rejection of
images with one or more of the above list of issues, based on if,
and where, the edges are found, their position, and their
relationships within the image.
Edge Detection at the Mobile Device
[0146] There are many ways to perform edge detection of both
documents, as well as other objects within an image, from a
smartphone or mobile device. In the ideal case, the result of
applying an edge detector to an image may lead to a set of corners
and document edges, both bounding the document being sought within
the image, as well as any other objects outside it, or within it.
This typically indicates the boundaries of objects, the boundaries
of surface markings as well as curves that may correspond to
discontinuities in surface orientation. By applying an edge
detection algorithm to an image of a document, we can significantly
reduce the amount of data to be processed and may therefore filter
out information such as detection of an out-of-focus image or an
image that doesn't contain the entire document being captured.
Edges extracted from non-trivial images are often hampered by
fragmentation, meaning that the edges are not connected. Certain
issues such as missing edge segments and/or false edges not
corresponding to the rectangular document being searched for in the
document can complicate the subsequent task of determining the
document type through classification, as well as hamper the ability
to apply knowledge about the structure layout and context of the
document.
[0147] Therefore, edge detection at the mobile device allows for
initial filtering of images that have a high likelihood of being
sub-quality, and allows, in real-time, the ability to indicate to
the user various reasons for taking the picture again.
[0148] Edge detection helps directly and indirectly determine the
following: the focus quality of the image; whether all four corners
and four sides of the document are within the photographic image;
what the camera angle is with respect to the document (based on the
perspective distortion of the quadrilateral within the image
compared to the expected rectangle's dimensions); whether the
document within the image is too far away (based on the amount of
space within the photograph outside of the four sides detected);
and whether the background is busy, based on detection of edges
that are either outside or orthogonal to those detected on the
image.
[0149] The edge detection capabilities run on the mobile device,
using their graphical and processing CPU's. The capabilities allow
the detection--and rejection--of images with one or more of the
above issues relating to angle, distance, business, etc., based on
if and where the edges are found, as well as their position and
relationship within the image.
[0150] The first stage of edge detection is image cropping. The
quality of edge detection depends on how existing information about
a document is used. In most cases, a document has a rectangular
shape and is placed on some distinct background, as show in FIG.
53A. Cropping based on edge detection is the proper method for
these types of images with clearly-defined documents and
contrasting backgrounds. Cropping based on edge detection may
include several steps: 1) detecting the edges of the document (as
shown in FIG. 53B); 2) extracting the lines (which can be done by
edge tracing or using Hough transformation) and 3) detecting four
corners of the document through refinement and then cropping the
image using the found corners.
[0151] But in some cases, for example if the document is lying on a
non-distinct background 5312 (as illustrated in FIG. 53C) or on a
cluttered background 5314 (as illustrated in FIG. 53D), the edge
detection steps described above fail. In these cases, prior
knowledge of a document logo, text or picture can be used for
cropping enhancement. For example, for a driver's license, prior
knowledge of key words and the word locations can be used as a
template image 5400, as illustrated in FIG. 54A. The template image
5400 may be matched with the document 5402 in the captured image in
FIG. 54B based on these key words. However, direct template
matching may require significant computational resources; and
therefore feature matching is more preferable.
[0152] In one embodiment, the first stage of proposed cropping is
feature detection, which can be implemented using a multi-scale
Hessian operator. Next, feature points are detected in the local
maxima of the Hessian operator output. In the next stage, the
description of feature points is built. The distributions of local
gradients are calculated in the area of feature points. Because the
document can have some distinct colors (as shown by the red 5308
and blue 5310 keywords in FIG. 53C), color distribution may be
added to feature point descriptors for enhancing feature matching
performance, which is the next step of the algorithm. A matching
example is shown in FIG. 54B). The last stage is cropping using a
transformation matrix, which is calculated based on matched feature
points.
[0153] Sometimes, a document can have several different templates,
for example the template image 5400 in FIG. 54A and a second
template image 5406 as illustrated in FIG. 54C. With two or more
templates, the feature matching steps should be completed for both
templates, and the best cropping parameters should be selected
based on an analysis of output transformation matrixes and prior
information about the document (such as size and aspect ratio). In
one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 52, two channels of image
cropping are proposed, where an input image 5202 is cropped in a
first channel using edge-based cropping 5204, and also in a second
channel using feature-based cropping 5206. The merging block 5208
combines results of the two cropping methodologies based on prior
information about document (size, aspect ratio) and results of
recognition (if OCR was applied on the output of each cropper).
Real-time Feedback
[0154] In one embodiment, one or more image quality assessment
(IQA) tests are performed on the captured image to ensure that the
image is of sufficient quality for further processing. If the image
does not pass one or more of these IQAs, the user may be provided
with a feedback message. Feedback messages from the system to the
user help the user understand and eliminate obstacles to successful
processing. These messages can originate from the mobile device,
from the remote server, or from the financial institution's or the
billers' own system. For alerts to be useful, they should be
specific, which is often difficult. Feedback alerts typically fall
into the following three categories: [0155] a. Image quality
issues, which the user can correct by moving the camera
appropriately or re-capturing the image. [0156] b. Technical issues
which prevent the user from completing an action related to the
captured document, such as a wrong account password or failed
network connection. [0157] c. Business issues, such as unknown
account number or unknown document type, that prevents the user
from completing the action related to the captured document.
[0158] The user may be able to correct the image quality issues,
while the other two issues prevent the user from completing the
desired action related to the document, such as paying a bill or
depositing a check. However, it is still important to let the user
know exactly why the transaction could not be completed and what
they can do about it (e.g. capture the image again, wait for an
Internet connection, or contact a customer support service).
[0159] Of the three types of alerts, the first--image quality
issues--is the most difficult to offer actionable feedback. The
system must offer as much specific assistance as possible to allow
the user to take better pictures, especially considering the large
variety of potential image issues (insufficient lighting, cut-off
corners, blurry image, etc.). The mobile image processing steps
described above, such as orientation angle, amount of motion, edge
detection, de-warping and shadow detection, provide the specific
image analyses needed to generate effective feedback to the user in
order to correct image defects. In accordance with the embodiments
above, the user can be provided with feedback to adjust the angle
of the mobile device, hold it steady to prevent motion, line-up the
quadrilateral outline with the edges of the document or eliminate a
shadow on the document. Numerous additional feedback messages may
be generated based on additional processing steps which take place
on the mobile device or even at the remote server.
[0160] In one embodiment, the feedback may be displayed on the
display of the mobile device, such as a text displayed to the user.
The feedback may also be non-text visual feedback, such as a
check-symbol, an "x" symbol or a color-coded status bar indicating
the quality of the image (green for high quality, yellow for medium
quality, red for poor quality). The feedback may also be
audio--either a spoken voice telling the user what to correct, or a
non-vocal sound (ring, beep chime, etc) that indicates if the image
capture is acceptable or needs fixing. The feedback may also be
tactile as well, with one or more vibrations produced by the mobile
device to indicate whether an image capture quality is acceptable
or not. Other types of feedback are possible as well, and the
aforementioned list should be considered non-limiting.
Document Identification
[0161] There are various technologies that can be used to identify
the document in the captured image and identify the document type
on the mobile device. The benefits of document identification at
the mobile device include the ability to detect the document and
the document type in real-time without the user needing to manually
select it or determine it during server-side processing.
Furthermore, the document can then be reconstituted in its proper
dimensions and cropped on the mobile device, so that a smaller
image can be sent to the server instead of the considerably larger
entire image. The document type can also be provided to the server
to avoid the need for significant document type identification
processing on the server-side. Various features described above may
be used for document identification, including edge detection and
pre-cropping. The dimensions of the cropped image can then be
utilized as one of several clues as to the document type. In
addition, detection of the presence of photos, icons, logos, colors
and color locations and reflectivity may also be used to determine
the document type.
[0162] Specific examples of how the detection of photos, icons,
logos, colors and reflectivity lead to document identification
include: [0163] 1. Knowledge of the various document types can be
hosted in a biller database and utilized by the mobile device-side
technology via phone applications, and updated dynamically with
meta-data sent from the server when the mobile application
initially connects. [0164] 2. Presence of photos, including the
photo positions, significantly narrows down the choice of possible
document types (e.g. 1-2 photos are typical on Driver's Licenses
but not on remittances). [0165] 3. Presence of rounded corners
significantly narrows down the choice of possible document types
(e.g. rounded corners are typical on Driver's Licenses and Credit
Cards but not on remittances). [0166] 4. Detection of
characteristic "key points" using a scale-invariant and
rotation-invariant feature transform algorithm can identify type
and position of the document within the captured image. [0167] 5.
Detection of certain image elements, including geometrical lines,
boxes and text blocks (normalized to achieve scale-invariance and
rotation-invariance) can uniquely identify some known templates
which are rich in such image elements. [0168] 6. Detection of a
readable MICR line can uniquely identify that the document is a
check. [0169] 7. Detection of barcodes, PDF417 codes, QR codes or
other verifiable codes significantly narrows down the selection of
possible document types. [0170] 8. Color-map description
(normalized to achieve scale-invariance and rotation-invariance)
can identify known templates with unique color distribution. [0171]
9. Detection of reflectivity, including that of holographic
elements, significantly narrows down the choice of possible
document types (e.g. reflections/glare are typical on plastic
documents such as Driver's Licenses and Credit Cards but not on
paper-based documents such as remittances).
[0172] Other methods of database-assisted and dynamic data
capture-based form identification are described herein in the
sections entitled "Form Identification" and "Dynamic Data Capture,"
the methods and features of which may be implemented on the mobile
device or the server.
Compression and Mobile Cropping
[0173] In one embodiment, the capture process may include a final
"packaging" step, during which the image is compressed and
optimized for transmission. This results in a smaller document
size, and faster transmission speed. In a further embodiment, the
process may include a mobile cropping algorithm, cropping the image
before compression, eliminating background presence on the image,
which is ultimately of no value to the intended transaction. This
further reduces the size of the image before transmission.
II. Post-Capture Image Processing
[0174] The process that occurs once the image or images have been
captured includes one or more additional image processing and
content extracting steps to capture the content of the document. In
one embodiment, processing at the server also includes use of at
least one database to compare known information about a biller with
the extracted content and confirm the accuracy of the extracted
content. An overview of one embodiment of the workflow of the
processing steps which occur at the mobile device or remote server
is provided in FIG. 2.
Image Correction
[0175] In one embodiment, the captured image undergoes one or more
image processing steps to further correct various aspects of the
image, improving the overall quality and readability of the
remittance coupon before the content is extracted. The captured
image may first undergo conversion from three-dimensions (3D) to
two-dimensions (2D) to correct perspective distortion, and may then
be cropped and reconstituted into a rectangular shape that
resembles the dimensions of the original document. Rotation and
skew correction may also be completed (described in further detail
below). In one embodiment, a pixel-level update is performed (not
shown) to ensure that the characters, fields, logos and other data
found on the image are converted back to the 2D version of the
document. Numerous additional image correction steps may be
executed on the server, as will be described in detail in Section
III, below.
Codeline Read
[0176] In one embodiment, a next step is to read a code line on the
remittance coupon at a code-reading unit which contains important
information about the biller and the bill. FIG. 9 illustrates one
embodiment of a codeline 905. The code-reading unit may also be
configured to read a barcode on the remittance coupon, which will
be described further below. FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a
barcode 925. The type of document in the captured image may then be
identified by a document classifier unit, if possible, through a
variety of methods which may compare the remittance coupon with a
database of documents, look to specific codes, fields or content on
the remittance coupon.
First Content Recognition Process (First Pass)
[0177] A first content recognition pass of the image may be made
using optical character recognition (OCR) or Intelligent Character
Recognition (ICR) to capture all of the data and fields on the
remittance coupon. A processing engine unit may be provided to
coordinate the OCR/ICR of the captured image with an OCR engine. An
output of the OCR/ICR may include both character-level and
field-level strings, the coordinates where the content is found,
the confidence level of the recognition of the content, as well as
the cleaned up and cropped images.
[0178] In one embodiment, dynamic field extraction, described
further herein, may be performed to find fields on an unstructured
document where there are no standards with regard to the location
or context of the information and fields. The methods of
identifying the type of document are described further herein.
[0179] Detection of field coordinates and confidences is part of
the dynamic data capture process described separately herein. The
process starts with accepting an image (which maybe bitonal,
grey-scale or full color) and rules for capturing fields of
interest. Since bills are usually printed in black-and-white, it's
sufficient for data capture to use bitonal (1 bit/pixel) images.
The fields of interest may include Account Number, Amount Due,
Payee Address and Payee Name, Amount and Date Due etc. Each such
field is defined by a set of rules which help the data capture
process to distinguish this field from others. The rules usually
(but not always) include restrictions on field location (e.g. in
the left-top quadrant of the document), format (e.g. contains from
3 to 10 digits and up to 3 alphas), textual clues/keywords (e.g.
adjacent to "Account No"), relation to the keywords and/or other
fields (e.g. located to the right of Amount Due, which by itself is
a field of interest) etc.
[0180] Whatever the color depth of the first pass' input image is,
it gets always detected, cropped and geometrically corrected by the
snippet's border detection algorithm described above.
[0181] The dynamic data capture system usually starts with
full-page OCR of the image (to speed it up, only part of the image
defined by the rules may be used). OCR results, in addition to
ASCII code, contain location, confidence and some other information
for each character. Then, depending on the rules, the data capture
system applies various techniques to locate each field within the
OCR result. For example, if a field is defined by its format, a
fuzzy-search method is used to find a subset of OCR-result which
meets the format. If the field is defined by its limited search
area, only part of the OCR result will be used. If the field is
defined via its relation to certain keywords and/or other fields,
the latter are found prior to finding the field etc.
[0182] Whatever the rule is, it always produces a confidence
value--a numeric measure of how consistent the rule and found field
location (also called field alternative) are. For example, the
"Located in left-top quadrant" rule will produce confidence of 1000
(maximum) if given field alternative is located entirely in the
quadrant and only 500 if one half of the alternative is outside of
the quadrant. The "Field is entirely numeric" format rule will
produce confidence of 1000 if all characters in the alternative are
numeric and reduce the score for each alpha character (the penalty
may vary). Furthermore, the rules may produce character-level
confidences: e.g. the alpha character in the previous example will
have a format confidence of "0," whereas other numeric characters
will have the format confidence of 1000.
[0183] Once all the rules are executed and the field is found, its
overall (field-level) confidence is computed as a function of
individual rules' confidences. Individual character confidences are
computed using their OCR-confidence and character-level rule
confidences.
[0184] In one embodiment, post-process rejections may be made,
where an image is rejected even after successfully cropping and
reading the document based on a combination of low scores across
multiple fields. This is typically when there is either a bad
portion of the image, or the image looked good in the first pass,
but showed low confidences when key field level values were
analyzed. Therefore, in the aggregate, the image is rejected based
on the confidence levels of the extracted content. If the image is
rejected at this stage, a message may be provided to the user at
the mobile device, indicating that another image must be taken and
possibly providing specific advice on how to improve the image
capture.
[0185] According to an embodiment, the remote server can be
configured to report the results of the image quality assurance
testing to the mobile device. This can be useful for informing a
user of the mobile device that an image that the user captured of a
remittance coupon passed quality assurance testing, and thus,
should be of sufficient quality that the mobile image can be
processed by the remote server. According to an embodiment, the
remote server can be configured to provide detailed feedback
messages to the mobile device 102 if a mobile image fails quality
assurance testing. Mobile device 102 can be configured to display
this feedback information to a user of the device to inform the
user what problems were found with the mobile image of the
remittance coupon and to provide the user with the opportunity to
retake the image in an attempt to correct the problems
identified.
[0186] If the mobile image passes the image quality assurance
testing, the remote server can submit the mobile image plus any
processing parameters received from the mobile device to the remote
server for processing.
Barcode Detection
[0187] In one embodiment, a pre-processing step may include barcode
detection and recognition. If a barcode is detected on the
document, the barcode is read and saved alongside the coordinates.
The barcodes on bills may include address information of the biller
in the form of the zip code plus four digit identifier ("zip+4")
value, positioned right below an address block on the remittance
coupon. A comparison can then be made with the optically-read zip+4
value and the barcode-provided value, and a vote is taken on the
two for the best guessed value. The barcodes are typically
address-type information, such as the zip code plus four digit
identifier (i.e. 92101-6789), but may correspond to a payor and
payee of a bill. The location of the barcodes on the document is
useful in determining the type of address (payor or payee) which
the barcode contains.
Address Search
[0188] Use of dictionaries both at the language level and keyword
level, as well as vector location information around particular
fields types helps find fields within a larger semantic or
syntactic meaning. In one embodiment, various dictionaries, or
biller databases, may be used to find the biller based on
information captured from the document. For example, in step, a
fuzzy search of address database will allow for further
qualification and normalization of the address information obtained
from the first pass in, which improves the overall accuracy of the
system. The address search may be carried out by an address search
unit. In one embodiment, this fuzzy search includes search of a
database of nationwide biller information that contains the biller
name, full address, zip+4 and various aliases. The fuzzy search
means that an exact match is not necessary in the event that the
OCR/ICR of the image was not exact and certain address or biller
name fields are not perfectly accurate. The fuzzy search looks for
a best match based on standard algorithms around string comparisons
and scoring, and provides a list of billers where the spelling is
close. The address database can be searched for address
information, such as the zip+4, which corresponds to the zip+4
found during the first pass or through codeline or barcode
detection. The address database may be a United States Postal
Service (USPS) database of valid addresses that can be used to
validate the information read off of a bill with regard to the
Payor and Payee.
Biller Lookup
[0189] Once the payee address is known with a certain degree of
confidence, a biller lookup process may be initiated by a biller
lookup unit to identify the biller (payee) on the remittance
coupon. The biller lookup process attempts to identify the entity
responsible for creating a bill so that a payment made by a user
will be transferred to the correct entity. In one embodiment, the
biller lookup process may perform a "fuzzy" search against the
customized biller database with the fields identified during the
first pass used as input for the search. The biller database may
contain biller profile information on numerous billers (payees).
The biller profile information may include their addresses, various
aliases they might be known as, remittance coupon formats, fields
used, as well as any account number formats, address formats,
codeline formats and other biller-specific fields (determined with
masks/regex). For example, a particular zip+4 zip code,
"92101-1234," may be found on the remittance coupon by the OCR
content capture process. The server-side application may then look
up that zip+4 and determine that both billers "City G&E" and
"Municipal Water District" process bills at this payee address. In
order to determine which biller the remittance coupon is from, the
remittance coupon may then be re-read a second time on a second
data recognition pass, armed with the two possible biller names,
such that in the second read, the application looks for either
"City G&E" text or "Municipal Water District" text. This second
pass puts the Biller Name in greater context and provides further
verification of the biller. Overall, the data in the biller
database allows for the system to "read" the remittance coupon
multiple times, if needed, with increasing levels of knowledge
about the classification of the bill, the biller keywords expected,
and account masks (via use of RegEx).
[0190] The biller lookup process may be broken up into five
different phases, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Data obtained from the
first pass of the data extraction processing engines (sometimes
called "MIP Science Engines") is shown in the boxes on the left
column under "MIP Science," while data stored in the biller
database is shown in the boxes on the right side under "Biller DB."
In phase one, a query of the billing database of billers for a Zip
Code and/or Zip Code plus four which matches the Zip Code found
during the first pass. The output of the phase 1 search is either a
direct hit on a biller or a list of billers and their potential
aliases. If no matches are found, then the search is retried using
the Payor Zip Code and/or Zip Code plus four. If still no match is
found, the system exits the biller lookup process.
[0191] If a biller is found, then phase two proceeds, where an
"exact match" comparison is done for the subset of billers
identified during phase one. The exact match comparison compares
each biller's Coupon-Biller-Name from the biller database with the
Payee Recipient (payee) found during the first pass. If a single
match is found, then the Coupon Name, Payee Recipient Name, and
Account Number Format found during the first pass are replaced with
the biller profile information for that biller name in the biller
database, and the biller lookup process is terminated. If no
matches are found, then the process jumps to phase four. If the
process of phase two results in more than one biller, then the
lookup process proceeds to phase three.
[0192] In phase three, an "exact match" comparison using the subset
of billers found in phase two is performed to compare the biller's
Address Line 1 and/or Address Line 2 from the biller database with
the PO Box and/or reconstructed Address Line 1 found during the
first pass. If a single match is found, then the Coupon Name, Payee
Recipient Name, and Account Number RegEx Format are replaced and
the biller lookup process is terminated. If no matches are found or
more than one match is still found, then the biller lookup process
proceeds to phase four.
[0193] In phase four, the application will build a list of billers
from the biller database to compare against certain fields from the
raw OCR data returned from the OCR engine obtained during the first
pass. If a Coupon Name exists, then the application first searches
the Biller DB for any matching Biller-Coupon-Name. Any matches are
added to a sub-list of Billers. If the MIP Payee Recipient exists,
then the system searches the Biller DB for any matching Payee
Recipient. Any matches are added to a sub-list of Billers. If a
single match is found, then the Coupon Name, Payee Recipient Name,
and Account Number Format are replaced and the biller lookup
process is terminated. If no matches are found, then the biller
lookup process is terminated.
[0194] If more than one biller is identified during phase four, in
phase five, each biller found in phase four is scored by doing a
fuzzy comparison of the biller with the raw OCR data. The highest
ranked biller is then obtained, and if the score is above a certain
threshold level, such as 70%, the Payee Recipient Name, the Coupon
Name and Account Number Format are replaced (S526) and the biller
lookup process is terminated.
[0195] The biller lookup process is configured to identify the
billing entity with great confidence. Once the biller is
identified, additional biller profile information can be obtained
from the biller database. The biller database contains both
nationwide biller address information, as well as specific formats
and masks for various fields found on bills. The "mask" may be a
format or regex (regular expression) that provides details on the
format, layout and characters and potential checksums used for
formatting things like account numbers, and is sometimes very
specific to a particular bill format. This includes account number
formats, address formatting, code line formatting and other
biller-specific fields found.
[0196] In one embodiment, mask information may provide basic
template information on the remittance coupon for that biller (for
instance, an account mask may indicate that a particular credit
card issuer always has account numbers which start with the number
"3" and have 15 digits). With this account mask information, the
account number field identified during the first pass may be
re-read during a second pass to obtain the account number off the
remittance coupon, this time with greater accuracy.
[0197] Additional "dictionaries" may be provided which are specific
to payment of bills and focus on phrases that are common, for
instance "please pay this amount", "the amount due is," and "the
check should be made out to," etc., which may be used to identify
the amount due.
Second Content Recognition Process (Second Pass)
[0198] In one embodiment, a second content recognition process
(second pass) of the captured image may be performed by a engine
processing unit with further hints to the OCR engine based on the
information obtained from the address search and biller lookup
processes. For example, the hints may include more information on
formats masks via regex expressions, as well as information on the
biller, document format, location information and so forth.
[0199] In one embodiment, the second pass is used to re-recognize
an account number by using a narrowed RegEx (regular expression)
provided by the biller lookup process. One embodiment of the second
pass process is illustrated in FIG. 6, and includes the following
steps, which may vary. In a first step, the system will first
verify that a second pass of the document is needed (S602), such as
when the biller lookup process has located a biller and obtained a
new account number format from the biller database. The biller
lookup process can, and will, prevent the second pass process from
running if the account number already matches the biller's regular
expression for known account number format(s). In a second step
S604, a plurality of runtime configurable settings are loaded based
on the biller profile information obtained from the biller database
108. The second pass has various logic settings configured around
how the field level data and outcomes are examined. This logic is
different for different types of documents, such as a driver's
license or a bill. So the logic of this second pass dynamically
depends on what type of document is being captured. In a third step
(S606), the fields which are to be processed again in the second
pass are updated with new RegEx data obtained from the biller
lookup process. For example, an account number RegEx may be updated
with a new RegEx provided by the biller lookup process.
[0200] With the updated settings loaded, the second pass is now
performed (S608) with the updated second pass runtime configuration
by executing one or more OCR/ICR engines or other low level
processing engines. The engines are this time provided with `hints`
via masks which indicate probable locations of fields and the
format of certain fields. For instance, given an account mask where
a biller is known to have account numbers which are 15 digits and
always start with a "3," the account number field is re-read in the
second pass. Further details of the account mask may also be known,
such as the use of a space between digits 7 and 8.
[0201] FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the effect of the second pass
process on a remittance coupon 700 with an account number field
702. The first pass could return results illustrated in FIG. 7A,
which shows the identification of incomplete portions 704 of the
account number. However, with the execution of the biller lookup
process and the second pass process, the complete account number
706 is correctly identified based on the appropriate account number
field 702, as illustrated in FIG. 7B. The incomplete portion 704 of
the account number has been ignored since it did not fit the known
account number mask.
[0202] Once the second pass is complete, the address, account
number and other extracted data may be parsed and cleaned up. The
newly-extracted data is evaluated (S610) to provide new confidence
levels reflective of the additional biller profile information. If
the extracted data meets required confidence thresholds, it will be
deemed the final value and stored in the content database 110 for
output to the user and the appropriate financial institutions for
processing the bill payment, as described below.
Billing Information Output
[0203] Once final values are obtained for the biller, payor and
other content of the document, these final values are stored in the
content database 110 along with other information, including the
original JPG image from the mobile device, a cropped grayscale
image and one or more bitonal images. The grayscale image and
bitonal images may have been created at the mobile device or the
remote server for the image correction steps, as described above.
More details regarding the use of grayscale and bitonal images is
provided below. The extracted data from the remittance coupon may
output from the recognition engines in an XML file and stored in
the content database 110. The content database 110 will also store
all data, locations and confidence values around character field
and document characteristics. In one embodiment, datatime,
geo-locations, and user session information will also be stored,
and may be used for user verification and other security
information. Finally, the version of the system in place at the
time, on both phone and server, may be stored as well.
[0204] In one embodiment, a final output 418 which may include the
final values and images may be presented to the user on a graphical
user interface (GUI) on a display of the mobile device so that the
user can verify the accuracy of the extracted data and then approve
the payment of the bill. The final values will then be submitted to
the banking server 112 which will handle the actual processing of
the payment from a bank account of the user to the payee. In
another embodiment, the final values may be submitted directly to
the banking sever 112 for processing of the payment.
III. Image Processing of Mobile-Captured Images
[0205] The systems and methods provided herein advantageously allow
a user to capture an image of a remittance coupon, and in some
embodiments, a form of payment, such as a check, for automated
processing. Typically, a remittance processing service will scan
remittance coupons and checks using standard scanners that provide
a clear image of the remittance coupon and accompanying check.
Often these scanners produce either gray-scale and bi-tonal images
that are then used to electronically process the payment. The
systems and methods disclosed herein allow an image of remittance
coupons, and in some embodiments, checks to be captured using a
camera or other imaging device included in or coupled to a mobile
device, such as a mobile phone. The systems and methods disclosed
herein can test the quality of a mobile image of a document
captured using a mobile device, correct some defects in the image,
and convert the image to a format that can be processed by
remittance processing service.
[0206] The term "standard scanners" as used herein, but is not
limited to, transport scanners, flat-bed scanners, and specialized
check-scanners. Some manufacturers of transport scanners include
UNISYS.RTM., BancTec.RTM., IBM.RTM., and Canon.RTM.. With respect
to specialized check-scanners, some models include the
TellerScan.RTM. TS200 and the Panini.RTM. My Vision X. Generally,
standard scanners have the ability to scan and produce high quality
images, support resolutions from 200 dots per inch to 300 dots per
inch (DPI), produce gray-scale and bi-tonal images, and crop an
image of a check from a larger full-page size image. Standard
scanners for other types of documents may have similar capabilities
with even higher resolutions and higher color-depth.
[0207] The term "color images" as used herein, pertains to, but is
not limited to, images having a color depth of 24 bits per a pixel
(24 bit/pixel), thereby providing each pixel with one of 16 million
possible colors. Each color image is represented by pixels and the
dimensions W (width in pixels) and H (height in pixels). An
intensity function I maps each pixel in the [W.times.H] area to its
RGB-value. The RGB-value is a triple (R,G,B) that determines the
color the pixel represents. Within the triple, each of the R(Red),
G(Green) and B(Blue) values are integers between 0 and 255 that
determine each respective color's intensity for the pixel.
[0208] The term "gray-scale images" as used herein may be
considered, but is not limited to, images having a color depth of 8
bits per a pixel (8 bit/pixel), thereby providing each pixel with
one of 256 shades of gray. As a person of ordinary skill in the art
would appreciate, gray-scale images also include images with color
depths of other various bit levels (e.g. 4 bit/pixel or 2
bit/pixel). Each gray-scale image is represented by pixels and the
dimensions W (width in pixels) and H (height in pixels). An
intensity function I maps each pixel in the [W.times.H] area onto a
range of gray shades. More specifically, each pixel has a value
between 0 and 255 which determines that pixel's shade of gray.
[0209] Bi-tonal images are similar to gray-scale images in that
they are represented by pixels and the dimensions W (width in
pixels) and H (height in pixels). However, each pixel within a
bi-tonal image has one of two colors: black or white. Accordingly,
a bi-tonal image has a color depth of 1 bit per a pixel (1
bit/pixel). The similarity transformation, as utilized by some
embodiments of the invention, is based off the assumption that
there are two images of [W.times.H] and [W'.times.H'] dimensions,
respectively, and that the dimensions are proportional (i.e.
W/W'=H/H'). The term "similarity transformation" may refer to a
transformation ST from [W.times.H] area onto [W'.times.H'] area
such that ST maps pixel p=p(x,y) on pixel p'=p'(x',y') with
x'=x*W'/W and y=y*H'/H.
[0210] FIG. 8 is an image illustrating an example remittance coupon
800 that can be imaged with the systems and methods described
herein. The mobile image capture and processing systems and methods
described herein can be used with a variety of documents, including
documents such as personal checks, business checks, cashier's
checks, certified checks, and warrants. By using an image of the
remittance coupon 800, the remittance process can be automated and
performed more efficiently. As would be appreciated by those of
skill in the art, remittance coupons are not the only types of
documents that might be processed using the system and methods
described herein. For example, in some embodiments, a user can
capture an image of a remittance coupon and an image of a check
associated with a checking account from which the remittance
payment will be funded.
[0211] FIG. 9 is a geometrically corrected image 900 created using
image processing techniques disclosed herein and using the mobile
image of the remittance coupon 800 illustrated in FIG. 8. A
remittance coupon may include various fields, and some fields in
the documents might be considered "primary" fields. For example,
some remittance coupons also include computer-readable bar codes or
code lines 905 that include text or other computer-readable symbols
that can be used to encode account-related information. The
account-related information can be used to reconcile a payment
received with the account for which the payment is being made. Code
line 905 can be detected and decoded by a computer system to
extract the information encoded therein. The remittance coupon can
also include an account number field 910 and an amount due field
915. Remittance coupons can also include other fields, such as the
billing company name and address 920, a total outstanding balance,
a minimum payment amount, a billing date, and payment due date. The
examples are merely illustrative of the types of information that
may be included on a remittance coupon and it will be understood
that other types of information can be included on other types of
remittance coupons.
[0212] Once the image is captured and corrected, and the data is
extracted and adjusted, then the image, data, and any required
credential information, such as username, password, and phone or
device identifier, can be transmitted to the remote server for
further processing. This further processing is described in detail
with respect to the remaining figures in the description below.
Image Processing
[0213] Mobile device and remote server can be configured to perform
various processing on a mobile image to correct various defects in
the image quality that could prevent the remote server or the
banking server from being able to process the remittance due to
poor image quality.
[0214] For example, an out of focus image of a remittance coupon or
check, in embodiments where the mobile device can also be used to
capture check images for payment processing, can be impossible to
read and process electronically. For example, optical character
recognition of the contents of the imaged document based on a
blurry mobile image could result in incorrect payment information
being extracted from the document. As a result, the wrong account
could be credited for the payment or an incorrect payment amount
could be credited. This may be especially true if a check and a
payment coupon are both difficult to read or the scan quality is
poor.
[0215] Many different factors may affect the quality of an image
and the ability of a mobile device based image capture and
processing system. Optical defects, such as out-of-focus images (as
discussed above), unequal contrast or brightness, or other optical
defects, can make it difficult to process an image of a document,
e.g., a check, payment coupon, deposit slip, etc. The quality of an
image can also be affected by the document position on a surface
when photographed or the angle at which the document was
photographed. This affects the image quality by causing the
document to appear, for example, right side up, upside down,
skewed, etc. Further, if a document is imaged while upside-down it
might be impossible or nearly impossible to for the system to
determine the information contained on the document.
[0216] In some cases, the type of surface might affect the final
image. For example, if a document is sitting on a rough surface
when an image is taken, that rough surface might show through. In
some cases the surface of the document might be rough because of
the surface below it. Additionally, the rough surface may cause
shadows or other problems that might be picked up by the camera.
These problems might make it difficult or impossible to read the
information contained on the document.
[0217] Lighting may also affect the quality of an image, for
example, the location of a light source and light source
distortions. Using a light source above a document can light the
document in a way that improves the image quality, while a light
source to the side of the document might produce an image that is
more difficult to process. Lighting from the side can, for example,
cause shadows or other lighting distortions. The type of light
might also be a factor, for example, sun, electric bulb, florescent
lighting, etc. If the lighting is too bright, the document can be
washed out in the image. On the other hand, if the lighting is too
dark, it might be difficult to read the image.
[0218] The quality of the image can also be affected by document
features, such as, the type of document, the fonts used, the colors
selected, etc. For example, an image of a white document with black
lettering may be easier to process than a dark colored document
with black letters. Image quality may also be affected by the
mobile device used. Some mobile camera phones, for example, might
have cameras that save an image using a greater number of mega
pixels. Other mobile cameras phones might have an auto-focus
feature, automatic flash, etc. Generally, these features may
improve an image when compared to mobile devices that do not
include such features.
[0219] A document image taken using a mobile device might have one
or more of the defects discussed above. These defects or others may
cause low accuracy when processing the image, for example, when
processing one or more of the fields on a document. Accordingly, in
some embodiments, systems and methods using a mobile device to
create images of documents can include the ability to identify poor
quality images. If the quality of an image is determined to be
poor, a user may be prompted to take another image.
Detecting an Out of Focus Image
[0220] Mobile device and remote server can be configured to detect
an out of focus image. A variety of metrics might be used to detect
an out-of-focus image. For example, a focus measure can be
employed. The focus measure can be the ratio of the maximum video
gradient between adjacent pixels measured over the entire image and
normalized with respect to an image's gray level dynamic range and
"pixel pitch". The pixel pitch may be the distance between dots on
the image. In some embodiments a focus score might be used to
determine if an image is adequately focused. If an image is not
adequately focused, a user might be prompted to take another
image.
[0221] According to an embodiment, the mobile device can be
configured to detect whether an image is out of focus using the
techniques disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the remote server
can be configured to detect out of focus images. In some
embodiments, the remote server can be configured to detect out of
focus images and reject these images before performing mobile image
quality assurance testing on the image. In other embodiments,
detecting and out of focus image can be part of the mobile image
quality assurance testing.
[0222] According to an embodiment, an image focus score can be
calculated as a function of maximum video gradient, gray level
dynamic range and pixel pitch. For example, in one embodiment:
Image Focus Score=(Maximum Video Gradient)*(Gray Level Dynamic
Range)*(Pixel Pitch) (eq. 1)
[0223] The video gradient may be the absolute value of the gray
level for a first pixel "i" minus the gray level for a second pixel
"i+1". For example:
Video Gradient=ABS [(Grey level for pixel "i")-(Gray level for
pixel "i+1")] (eq. 2)
[0224] The gray level dynamic range may be the average of the "n"
lightest pixels minus the average of the "n" darkest pixels. For
example:
Gray Level Dynamic Range=[AVE("N" lightest pixels)-AVE("N" darkest
pixels)] (eq. 3)
[0225] In equation 3 above, N can be defined as the number of
pixels used to determine the average darkest and lightest pixel
gray levels in the image. In some embodiments, N can be chosen to
be 64. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the 64 darkest pixels are
averaged together and the 64 lightest pixels are averaged together
to compute the gray level dynamic range value.
[0226] The pixel pitch can be the reciprocal of the image
resolution, for example, in dots per inch.
[0227] In other words, as defined above, the pixel pitch is the
distance between dots on the image because the Image Resolution is
the reciprocal of the distance between dots on an image.
Pixel Pitch=[1/Image Resolution] (eq. 4)
[0228] In other words, as defined above, the pixel pitch is the
distance between dots on the image because the Image Resolution is
the reciprocal of the distance between dots on an image.
Detecting and Correcting Perspective Distortion
[0229] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of perspective
distortion in an image of a rectangular shaped document. An image
can contain perspective transformation distortions 2500 such that a
rectangle can become a quadrangle ABCD 2502, as illustrated in the
figure. The perspective distortion can occur because an image is
taken using a camera that is placed at an angle to a document
rather than directly above the document. When directly above a
rectangular document it will generally appear to be rectangular. As
the imaging device moves from directly above the surface, the
document distorts until it can no longer be seen and only the edge
of the page can be seen.
[0230] The dotted frame 2504 comprises the image frame obtained by
the camera. The image frame is be sized h.times.w, as illustrated
in the figure. Generally, it can be preferable to contain an entire
document within the h.times.w frame of a single image. It will be
understood, however, that some documents are too large or include
too many pages for this to be preferable or even feasible.
[0231] In some embodiments, an image can be processed, or
preprocessed, to automatically find and "lift" the quadrangle 2502.
In other words, the document that forms quadrangle 502 can be
separated from the rest of the image so that the document alone can
be processed. By separating quadrangle 2502 from any background in
an image, it can then be further processed.
[0232] The quadrangle 2502 can be mapped onto a rectangular bitmap
in order to remove or decrease the perspective distortion.
Additionally, image sharpening can be used to improve the
out-of-focus score of the image. The resolution of the image can
then be increased and the image converted to a black-and-white
image. In some cases, a black-and-white image can have a higher
recognition rate when processed using an automated document
processing system in accordance with the systems and methods
described herein.
[0233] An image that is bi-tonal, e.g., black-and-white, can be
used in some systems. Such systems can require an image that is at
least 200 dots per inch resolution. Accordingly, a color image
taken using a mobile device can need to be high enough quality so
that the image can successfully be converted from, for example, a
24 bit per pixel (24 bit/pixel) RGB image to a bi-tonal image. The
image can be sized as if the document, e.g., check, payment coupon,
etc., was scanned at 200 dots per inch.
[0234] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example original image,
focus rectangle and document quadrangle ABCD in accordance with the
example of FIG. 10. In some embodiments it can be necessary to
place a document for processing at or near the center of an input
image close to the camera. All points A, B, C and D are located in
the image, and the focus rectangle 2602 is located inside
quadrangle ABCD 2502. The document can also have a low out-of-focus
score and the background surrounding the document can be selected
to be darker than the document. In this way, the lighter document
will stand out from the darker background.
Image Correction
[0235] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
correcting defects to mobile image according to an embodiment.
According to an embodiment, the method illustrated in FIG. 12 can
be performed by the image correction unit 404 implemented on the
remote server. The method illustrated in FIG. 12 can be implemented
as part of step S212 of the method illustrated in FIG. 2. The image
correction unit can also receive a mobile image and processing
parameters from the mobile device. According to some embodiments,
some or all of the image correction functionality of the image
correction unit can be implemented on the mobile device, and the
mobile device can be configured to send a corrected mobile image to
the remote server for further processing.
[0236] According to an embodiment, the image correction unit can
also be configured to detect an out of focus image using the
technique described above and to reject the mobile image if the
image focus score for the image falls below a predetermined
threshold without attempting to perform other image correction
techniques on the image. According to an embodiment, the image
correction unit can send a message to the mobile device 340
indicating that the mobile image was too out of focus to be used
and requesting that the user retake the image.
[0237] The image correction unit can be configured to first
identify the corners of a coupon or other document within a mobile
image (step 1205). One technique that can be used to identify the
corners of the remittance coupon in a color image is illustrated in
FIG. 12 and is described in detail below. The corners of the
document can be defined by a set of points A, B, C, and D that
represent the corners of the document and define a quadrangle.
[0238] The image correction unit can be configured to then build a
perspective transformation for the remittance coupon (step 1210).
As can be seen in FIG. 8, the angle at which an image of a document
is taken can cause the rectangular shape of the remittance coupon
to appear distorted. FIG. 10 and its related description above
provide some examples of how a perspective transformation can be
constructed for a quadrangle defined by the corners A, B, C, and D
according to an embodiment. For example, the quadrangle identified
in step 1210 can be mapped onto a same-sized rectangle in order to
build a perspective transformation that can be applied to the
document subimage, i.e. the portion of the mobile image that
corresponds to the remittance coupon, in order to correct
perspective distortion present in the image.
[0239] A geometrical transformation of the document subimage can be
performed using the perspective transformation built in step 1210
(step 1215). The geometrical transformation corrects the
perspective distortion present in the document subimage. An example
of results of geometrical transformation can be seen in FIG. 9
where a document subimage of the remittance coupon pictured in FIG.
8 has been geometrically corrected to remove perspective
distortion.
[0240] A "dewarping" operation can also be performed on the
document subimage (step 1220). An example of a warping of a
document in a mobile image is provided in FIG. 38. Warping can
occur when a document to be imaged is not perfectly flat or is
placed on a surface that is not perfectly flat, causing distortions
in the document subimage. A technique for identifying warping in a
document subimage is illustrated in FIG. 39.
[0241] According to an embodiment, the document subimage can also
binarized (step 1225). A binarization operation can generate a
bi-tonal image with color depth of 1 bit per a pixel (1 bit/pixel).
Some automated processing systems, such as some Remote Deposit
systems require bi-tonal images as inputs. A technique for
generating a bi-tonal image is described below with respect to FIG.
13. FIG. 15 illustrates a binarized version of the geometrically
corrected mobile document image of the remittance coupon
illustrated in FIG. 9. As illustrated, in the bi-tonal image of
FIG. 15, the necessary information, such as payees, amounts,
account number, etc., has been preserved, while extra information
has been removed. For example, background patterns that might be
printed on the coupon are not present in the bi-tonal image of the
remittance coupon. Binarization of the subimage also can be used to
remove shadows and other defects caused by unequal brightness of
the subimage.
[0242] Once the image has been binarized, the code line of the
remittance coupon can be identified and read (step 1230). As
described above, many remittance coupons include a code line that
comprises computer-readable text that can be used to encode
account-related information that can be used to reconcile a payment
received with the account for which the payment is being made. Code
line 905 of FIG. 9 illustrates an example of code line on a
remittance coupon.
[0243] Often, a standard optical character recognition font, the
OCR-A font, is used for printing the characters comprising the code
line. The OCR-A font is a fixed-width font where the characters are
typically spaced 0.10 inches apart. Because the OCR-A font is a
standardized fixed-width font, the image correction unit can use
this information to determining a scaling factor for the image of
the remittance coupon. The scaling factor to be used can vary from
image to image, because the scaling is dependent upon the position
of the camera or other image capture device relative to the
document being imaged and can also be dependent upon optical
characteristics of the device used to capture the image of the
document. FIG. 23 illustrates a scaling method that can be used to
determine a scaling factor to be applied according to an
embodiment. The method illustrated in FIG. 23 is related to scaling
performed on a MICR-line of a check, but can be used to determined
a scaling factor for an image of a remittance coupon based on the
size of the text in the code line of the image of the remittance
coupon.
[0244] Once the scaling factor for the image has been determined, a
final geometrical transformation of the document image can be
performed using the scaling factor (step 1235). This step is
similar to that in step 1215, except the scaling factor is used to
create a geometrically altered subimage that represents the actual
size of the coupon at a given resolution. According to an
embodiment, the dimensions of the geometrically corrected image
produced by set 635 are identical to the dimensions of an image
produced by a flat bed scanner at the same resolution.
[0245] During step 1235, other geometrical corrections can also be
made, such as correcting orientation of the coupon subimage. The
orientation of the coupon subimage can be determined based on the
orientation of the text of the code line.
[0246] Once the final geometrical transformation has been applied,
a final adaptive binarization can be performed on the grayscale
image generated in step 1235 (step 1240). The bi-tonal image output
by this step will have the correct dimensions for the remittance
coupon because the bi-tonal image is generated using the
geometrically corrected image generated in step 1235.
[0247] According to an embodiment, the image correction unit can be
configured to use several different binarization parameters to
generate two or more bi-tonal images of the remittance coupon. The
use of multiple images can improve data capture results. The use of
multiple bi-tonal images to improve data captures results is
described in greater detail below.
Detecting Document within Color Mobile Image
[0248] Referring now to FIG. 13, a flowchart is provided
illustrating an example method for automatic document detection
within a color image from a mobile device. According to an
embodiment, the method illustrated in FIG. 13 can be used to
implement step 1205 of the method illustrated in FIG. 12.
Typically, the operations described within method of FIG. 13 are
performed within an automatic document detection unit of the remote
server; however, embodiments exist where the operations reside in
multiple units. In addition, generally the automatic document
detection unit takes a variety of factors into consideration when
detecting the document in the mobile image. The automatic document
detection unit can take into consideration arbitrary location of
the document within the mobile image, the 3-D distortions within
the mobile image, the unknown size of the document, the unknown
color of the document, the unknown color(s) of the background, and
various other characteristics of the mobile engine, e.g.
resolution, dimensions, etc.
[0249] The method of FIG. 13 begins at step 1502 by receiving the
original color image from the mobile device. Upon receipt, this
original color image is converted into a smaller color image, also
referred to as a color "icon" image, at operation 1504. This color
"icon" image preserves the color contrasts between the document and
the background, while suppressing contrasts inside the document. A
detailed description of an example conversion process is provided
with respect to FIG. 16.
[0250] A color reduction operation is then applied to the color
"icon" image at step 1506. During the operation, the overall color
of the image can be reduced, while the contrast between the
document and its background can be preserved within the image.
Specifically, the color "icon" image of operation 1504 can be
converted into a gray "icon" image (also known as a gray-scale
"icon" image) having the same size. An example, color depth
reduction process is described with further detail with respect to
FIG. 18.
[0251] The corners of the document are then identified within the
gray "icon" image (step 1310). As previously noted above with
respect to FIG. 10, these corners A, B, C, and D make up the
quadrangle ABCD (e.g. quadrangle ABCD 2502). Quadrangle ABCD, in
turn, makes up the perimeter of the document. Upon detection of the
corners, the location of the corners is outputted (step 1310).
Binarization
[0252] FIG. 14 illustrates a binarization method that can be used
to generate a bi-tonal image from a document image according to an
embodiment. The method illustrated in FIG. 10 can be used to
implement the binarization step 1225 of the method illustrated in
FIG. 12. In an embodiment, the steps of the method illustrated in
FIG. 14 can be performed within unit of the remote server.
[0253] A binarization operation generates a bi-tonal image with
color depth of 1 bit per a pixel (1 bit/pixel). In the case of
documents, such as checks and deposit coupons, a bi-tonal image is
required for processing by automated systems, such as Remote
Deposit systems. In addition, many image processing engines require
such an image as input. The method of FIG. 14 illustrates
binarization of a gray-scale image of a document as produced by
geometrical operation 1004. This particular embodiment uses a novel
variation of well-known Niblack's method of binarization. As such,
there is an assumption that the gray-scale image received has a the
dimensions W pixel.times.H pixels and an intensity function I(x,y)
gives the intensity of a pixel at location (x,y) in terms one of
256 possible gray-shade values (8 bit/pixel). The binarization
operation will convert the 256 gray-shade value to a 2 shade value
(1 bit/pixel), using an intensity function B(x,y). In addition, to
apply the method, a sliding window with dimensions w pixels.times.h
pixels is defined and a threshold T for local (in-window) standard
deviation of gray image intensity I(x,y) is defined. The values of
w, h, and T are all experimentally determined.
[0254] A gray-scale image of the document is received at step 1402,
the method 1400 chooses a pixel p(x,y) within the image at step
1404. In FIG. 14, the average (mean) value ave and standard
deviation 6 of the chosen pixel's intensity I(x,y) within the
w.times.h current window location (neighborhood) of pixel p(x,y)
are computed (step 1406). If the standard deviation 6 is determined
to be too small at operation 1408 (i.e. .sigma.<T), pixel p(x,y)
is considered to low-contrast and, thus, part of the background.
Accordingly, at step 1410, low-contrast pixels are converted to
white, i.e. set B(x,y) set to 1, which is white; however, if the
deviation .sigma. is determined to be larger or equal to the
threshold T, i.e. .sigma..gtoreq.T, the pixel p(x,y) is considered
to be part of the foreground. In step 1412, if
I(p)<ave-k*.sigma., pixel p is considered to be a foreground
pixel and therefore B(x,y) is set to 0 (black). Otherwise, the
pixel is treated as background and therefore B(x,y) is set to 1. In
the formula above, k is an experimentally established
coefficient.
[0255] Subsequent to the conversion of the pixel at either step
1410 or operation 1412, the next pixel is chosen at step 1414, and
operation 1406 is repeated until all the gray-scale pixels (8
bit/pixel) are converted to a bi-tonal pixel (1 bit/pixel).
However, if no more pixels remain to be converted 1418, the
bi-tonal image of the document is then outputted at step 1420.
Conversion of Color Image to Icon Image
[0256] Referring now to FIG. 16, a flowchart is provided describing
an example method for conversion of a color image to a smaller
"icon" image according to an embodiment. This method can be used to
implement step 1304 of the method illustrated FIG. 13. The smaller
"icon" image preserves the color contrasts between the document
depicted therein and its background, while suppressing contrasts
inside the document. Upon receipt of the original color image from
the mobile device (step 1601), over-sharpening is eliminated within
the image (step 1602). Accordingly, assuming the color input image
I has the dimensions of W.times.H pixels, operation 1602 averages
the intensity of image I and downscales image I to image I', such
that image I' has dimensions that are half that of image I (i.e.
W'=W/2 and H'=H/2). Under certain embodiments, the color
transformation formula can be described as the following:
C(p')=ave{C(q): q in S.times.S-window of p}, where (eq. 5) [0257] C
is any of red, green or blue components of color intensity; [0258]
p' is any arbitrary pixel on image I' with coordinates (x',y');
[0259] p is a corresponding pixel on image I:p=p(x,y), where x=2*x'
and y=2*y'; [0260] q is any pixel included into S.times.S-window
centered in p; [0261] S is established experimentally; and [0262]
ave is averaging over all q in the S.times.S-window.
[0263] Small "dark" objects within the image can then be eliminated
(step 1604). Examples of such small "dark" objects include, but are
not limited to, machine-printed characters and hand-printed
characters inside the document. Hence, assuming operation 1604
receives image I' from step 1602, step 1604 creates a new color
image I'' referred to as an "icon" with width W'' set to a fixed
small value and height H'' set to W''*(H/W), thereby preserving the
original aspect ratio of image I. In some embodiments, the
transformation formula can be described as the following:
C(p'')=max{C(q'):q' in S'.times.S'-window of p'}, where (eq. 6)
[0264] C is any of red, green or blue components of color
intensity; [0265] p'' is an arbitrary pixel on image I''; [0266] p'
is a pixel on image I' which corresponds to p'' under similarity
transformation, as previously defined; [0267] q' is any pixel on
image I' included into S'.times.S'-window centered in p'; [0268]
max is maximum over all q' in the S'.times.S'-window; [0269] W'' is
established experimentally; [0270] S' is established experimentally
for computing the intensity I''; and [0271] I''(p'') is the
intensity value defined by maximizing the intensity function I'
(p') within the window of corresponding pixel p' on image I',
separately for each color plane. The reason for using the "maximum"
rather than "average" is to make the "icon" whiter (white pixels
have a RGB-value of (255,255,255)).
[0272] In the next operation 1606, the high local contrast of
"small" objects, such as lines, text, and handwriting on a
document, is suppressed, while the other object edges within the
"icon" are preserved. Often, these other object edges are bold. In
various embodiments of the invention, multiple dilation and erosion
operations, also known as morphological image transformations, are
utilized in the suppression of the high local contrast of "small"
objects. Such morphological image transformations are commonly
known and used by those of ordinary skill in the art. The sequence
and amount of dilation and erosion operations used is determined
experimentally. Subsequent to the suppression operation 1606, a
color "icon" image is outputted at operation 1608. FIG. 17B depicts
an example of the mobile image of a check illustrated in FIG. 17A
after being converted into a color "icon" image according to an
embodiment.
Color Depth Reduction
[0273] Referring now to FIG. 18, a flowchart is provided
illustrating an example method that provides further details with
respect to the color depth reduction operation 1306 as illustrated
in FIG. 13. At step 1301, a color "icon" image for color reduction
is received. The color "icon" image is divided into a grid (or
matrix) of fixed length and width with equal size grid elements at
operation 1302. In some embodiments, the preferred grid size is
such that there is a center grid element. For example, a grid size
of 3.times.3 may be employed. FIG. 19A depicts an example of the
color "icon" image of FIG. 19B after operation 1302 has divided it
into a 3.times.3 grid in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention.
[0274] Then, at step 1304, the "central part" of the icon, which is
usually the center most grid element, has its color averaged. Next,
the average color of the remaining parts of the icon is computed at
step 1306. More specifically, the grid elements "outside" the
"central part" of the "icon" have their colors averaged. Usually,
in instances where there is a central grid element, e.g. 3.times.3
grid, the "outside" of the "central part" comprises all the grid
elements other than the central grid element.
[0275] Subsequently, a linear transformation for the RGB-space is
determined at step 1308. The linear transformation is defined such
that it maps the average color of the "central part" computed
during operation 1304 to white, i.e. 255, while the average color
of the "outside" computed during operation 1306 maps to black, i.e.
0. All remaining colors are linearly mapped to a shade of gray.
This linear transformation, once determined, is used at operation
1310 to transform all RGB-values from the color "icon" to a
gray-scale "icon" image, which is then outputted at operation 1312.
Within particular embodiments, the resulting gray "icon" image,
also referred to as a gray-scale "icon" image, maximizes the
contrast between the document background, assuming that the
document is located close to the center of the image and the
background. FIG. 15B depicts an example of the color "icon" image
of FIG. 13B once it has been converted to a gray "icon" image in
accordance with one embodiment.
[0276] Referring now to FIG. 20, a flowchart is provided
illustrating an example method for finding document corners from a
gray "icon" image containing a document. The method illustrated in
FIG. 20 can be used to implement step 1308 of the method
illustrated in FIG. 13. Upon receiving a gray "icon" image at
operation 2001, the "voting" points on the gray "icon" image are
found in step 2002 for each side of the document depicted in the
image. Consequently, all positions on the gray "icon" image that
could be approximated with straight line segments to represent
left, top, right, and bottom sides of the document are found.
[0277] In accordance with one embodiment, this goal is achieved by
first looking for the "voting" points in the half of the "icon"
that corresponds with the current side of interest. For instance,
if the current side of interest is the document's top side, the
upper part of the "icon" (Y<H/2) is examined while the bottom
part of the "icon" (Y.gtoreq.H/2) is ignored.
[0278] Within the selected half of the "icon," the intensity
gradient (contrast) in the correct direction of each pixel is
computed. This is accomplished in some embodiments by considering a
small window centered in the pixel and, then, breaking the window
into an expected "background" half where the gray intensity is
smaller, i.e. where it is supposed to be darker, and into an
expected "doc" half where the gray intensity is higher, i.e. where
it is supposed to be whiter. There is a break line between the two
halves, either horizontal or vertical depending on side of the
document sought to be found. Next the average gray intensity in
each half-window is computed, resulting in an average image
intensity for the "background" and an average image intensity of
the "doc." The intensity gradient of the pixel is calculated by
subtracting the average image intensity for the "background" from
the average image intensity for the "doc."
[0279] Eventually, those pixels with sufficient gray intensity
gradient in the correct direction are marked as "voting" points for
the selected side. The sufficiency of the actual gray intensity
gradient threshold for determining is established
experimentally.
[0280] Continuing with method 2000, candidate sides, i.e. line
segments that potentially represent the sides of the document, i.e.
left, top, right, and bottom sides, are found. In order to do so,
some embodiments find all subsets within the "voting" points
determined in step 2002 that could be approximated by a straight
line segment (linear approximation). In many embodiments, the
threshold for linear approximation is established experimentally.
This subset of lines is defined as the side "candidates." As an
assurance that the set of side candidates is never empty, the gray
"icon" image's corresponding top, bottom, left, and right sides are
also added to the set.
[0281] Next, in step 2006 chooses the best candidate for each side
of the document from the set of candidates selected in operation
2004, thereby defining the position of the document within the gray
"icon" image. In accordance with some embodiments, the following
process is used in choosing the best candidate for each side of the
document:
[0282] The process starts with selecting a quadruple of line
segments {L, T, R, B}, where L is one of the candidates for the
left side of the document, T is one of the candidates for the top
side of the document, R is one of the candidates for the right side
of the document, and B is one of the candidates for the bottom side
of the document. The process then measures the following
characteristics for the quadruple currently selected.
[0283] The amount of "voting" points is approximated and measured
for all line segments for all four sides. This amount value is
based on the assumption that the document's sides are linear and
there is a significant color contrast along them. The larger values
of this characteristic increase the overall quadruple rank.
[0284] The sum of all intensity gradients over all voting points of
all line segments is measured. This sum value is also based on the
assumption that the document's sides are linear and there is a
significant color contrast along them. Again, the larger values of
this characteristic increase the overall quadruple rank.
[0285] The total length of the segments is measured. This length
value is based on the assumption that the document occupies a large
portion of the image. Again, the larger values of this
characteristic increase the overall quadruple rank.
[0286] The maximum of gaps in each corner is measured. For example,
the gap in the left/top corner is defined by the distance between
the uppermost point in the L-segment and the leftmost point in the
T-segment. This maximum value is based on how well the
side-candidates suit the assumption that the document's shape is
quadrangle. The smaller values of this characteristic increase the
overall quadruple rank.
[0287] The maximum of two angles between opposite segments, i.e.
between L and R, and between T and R, is measured. This maximum
value is based on how well the side-candidates suit the assumption
that the document's shape is close to parallelogram. The smaller
values of this characteristic increase the overall quadruple
rank.
[0288] The deviation of the quadruple's aspect ratio from the
"ideal" document aspect ratio is measured. This characteristic is
applicable to documents with a known aspect ratio, e.g. checks. If
the aspect ratio is unknown, this characteristic should be excluded
from computing the quadruple's rank. The quadruple's aspect ratio
is computed as follows: [0289] a) Find the quadrangle by
intersecting the quadruple's elements; [0290] b) Find middle-point
of each of the four quadrangle's sides; [0291] c) Compute distances
between middle-points of opposite sides, say D1 and D2; [0292] d)
Find the larger of the two ratios: R=max(D1/D2, D2/D1); [0293] e)
Assuming that the "ideal" document's aspect ratio is known and
Min/MaxAspectRatio represent minimum and maximum of the aspect
ratio respectively, define the deviation in question as: [0294] 0,
if MinAspectRatio<=R<=MaxAspectRatio [0295] MinAspectRatio-R,
if R<MinAspectRatio [0296] R-MaxAspectRatio, if
R>MaxAspectRatio. [0297] f) For checks, MinAspectRatio can be
set to 2.0 and MaxAspectRatio can be set to 3.0. This aspect ratio
value is based on the assumption that the document's shape is
somewhat preserved during the perspective transformation. The
smaller values of this characteristic increase the overall
quadruple rank.
[0298] Following the measurement of the characteristics of the
quadruple noted above, the quadruple characteristics are combined
into a single value, called the quadruple rank, using weighted
linear combination. Positive weights are assigned for the amount of
"voting" points, the sum all of intensity gradients, and the total
length of the segments. Negatives weights are assigned for maximum
gaps in each corner, maximum two angles between opposite segments,
and the deviation of the quadruple's aspect ratio. The exact values
of each of the weights are established experimentally.
[0299] The operations set forth above are repeated for all possible
combinations of side candidates, eventually leading to the "best"
quadruple, which is the quadruple with the highest rank. The
document's corners are defined as intersections of the "best"
quadruple's sides, i.e. the best side candidates.
[0300] In, step 2008 the corners of the document are defined using
the intersections of the best side candidates. A person of ordinary
skill in the art would appreciate that these corners can then be
located on the original mobile image by transforming the corner
locations found on the "icon" using the similarity transformation
previously mentioned. Method 2000 concludes at step 2010 where the
locations of the corners defined in step 2008 are output.
Geometric Correction
[0301] FIG. 21 provides a flowchart that illustrates an example
method for geometric correction in accordance with the invention
according to an embodiment. According to an embodiment, the method
illustrated in FIG. 21 can be used to implement steps 1210, 1215,
and 1235 of the method illustrated in FIG. 12. As previously
mentioned, geometric correction is needed to correct any possibly
perspective distortions that exist in the original mobile image.
Additionally, geometric correction can correct the orientation of
the documentation within the original mobile image, e.g. document
is orientated at 90, 180, or 270 degrees where the right-side-up
orientation is 0 degrees. It should be noted that in some
embodiments, the orientation of the document depends on the type of
document depicted in the mobile image, as well as the fields of
relevance on the document.
[0302] In instances where the document is in landscape orientation
(90 or 270 degrees), as illustrated by the check in FIG. 22A,
geometric correction is suitable for correcting the orientation of
the document. Where the document is at 180 degree orientation,
detection of the 180 degree orientation and its subsequent
correction are suitable when attempting to locate an object of
relevance on the document. A codeline for a remittance coupon can
be located in various locations on the remittance coupon, and might
not be located along the bottom of the coupon. The ability to
detect a codeline in an image of the remittance coupon changes
significantly after the document has been rotated 180-degrees. In
contrast, the MICR-line of check is generally known to be at a
specific location along the bottom of the document, and the
MICR-line can be used to determine the current orientation of the
check within the mobile image. In some embodiments, the object of
relevance on a document depends on the document's type. For
example, where the document is a contract, the object of relevance
may be a notary seal, signature, or watermark positioned at a known
position on the contract. Greater detail regarding correction of a
document (specifically, a check) having upside-down orientation
(180 degree orientation) is provided with respect to FIG. 23.
[0303] According to some embodiments, a mathematical model of
projective transformations is built and converts the distorted
image into a rectangle-shaped image of predefined size. According
to an embodiment, this step corresponds to step 1210 of FIG. 12. In
an example, where the document depicted in mobile image is a check,
the predefined size is established as 1200.times.560 pixels, which
is roughly equivalent to the dimensions of a personal check scanned
at 200 DPI. In other embodiments, where the document depicted is a
remittance coupon, the size of the remittance coupons may not be
standardized. However, the size and spacing of the characters
comprising the code line can be used to determine a scaling factor
to be applied to the image to correct the size of the image of the
remittance coupon relative to a specific resolution.
[0304] Continuing with reference to the method of FIG. 21, there
are two separate paths of operations that are either performed
sequentially or concurrently, the outputs of which are eventually
utilized in the final output. One path of operations begins at step
1504 where the original mobile image in color is received. In step
1508, the color depth of the original mobile image is reduced from
a color image with 24 bit per a pixel (24 bit/pixel) to a
gray-scale image with 8 bit per a pixel (8 bit/pixel). This image
is subsequently outputted to step 1516 as a result of step
1512.
[0305] The other path of operations begins at step 1502, where the
positions of the document's corners within the gray "icon" image
are received. Based off the location of the corners, the
orientation of the document is determined and the orientation is
corrected (step 1506). In some embodiments, this operation uses the
corner locations to measure the aspect ratio of the document within
the original image. Subsequently, a middle-point between each set
of corners can be found, wherein each set of corners corresponds to
one of the four sides of the depicted document, resulting in the
left (L), top (T), right (R), and bottom (B) middle-points (step
1506). The distance between the L to R middle-points and the T to B
middle points are then compared to determine which of the two pairs
has the larger distance. This provides step 1506 with the
orientation of the document.
[0306] In some instances, the correct orientation of the document
depends on the type of document that is detected. For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 22A, where the document of interest is a check,
the document is determined to be in landscape orientation when the
distance between the top middle-point and bottom middle-point is
larger than the distance between the left middle-point and the
right middle-point. The opposite might be true for other types of
documents.
[0307] If it is determined in step 1506 that an orientation
correction is necessary, then the corners of the document are
shifted in a loop, clock-wise in some embodiments and
counter-clockwise in other embodiments.
[0308] At step 1510, the projective transformation is built to map
the image of the document to a predefined target image size of
width of W pixels and height of H pixels. In some embodiments, the
projective transformation maps the corners A, B, C, and D of the
document as follows: corner A to (0,0), corner B to (W,0), corner C
to (W,H), and corner D to (0,H). Algorithms for building projective
transformation are commonly known and used amongst those of
ordinary skill in the art.
[0309] At step 1516, the projective transformation created during
step 1514 is applied to the mobile image in gray-scale as outputted
as a result of step 1512. The projective transformation as applied
to the gray-scale image of step 1512 results in all the pixels
within the quadrangle ABCD depicted in the gray-scale image mapping
to a geometrically corrected, gray-scale image of the document
alone. FIG. 22B is an example gray-scale image of the document
depicted in FIG. 17A once a geometrical correction operation in
accordance with the invention is applied thereto. The process
concludes at operation 1518 where the gray-scale image of the
document is outputted to the next operation.
Correcting Landscape Orientation
[0310] FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating a method for correcting
landscape orientation of a document image according to an
embodiment. As previously noted, the geometric correction operation
as described in FIG. 21 is one method in accordance with the
invention for correcting a document having landscape orientation
within the mobile image. However, even after the landscape
orientation correction, the document still may remain in
upside-down orientation. In order to the correct upside-down
orientation for certain documents, some embodiments of the
invention require the image containing the document be binarized
beforehand. Hence, the orientation correction operation included in
step 1235 usually follows the binarization operation of 1225. While
the embodiment described herein uses the MICR-line of a check or
determine the orientation of an image, the code line of a
remittance coupon can be used to determine the orientation of a
remittance coupon using the technique described herein.
[0311] Upon receiving the bi-tonal image of the check at operation
1702, the MICR-line at the bottom of the bi-tonal check image is
read at operation 1704 and an MICR-confidence value is generated.
This MICR-confidence value (MC1) is compared to a threshold value T
at operation 1706 to determine whether the check is right-side-up.
If MC1>T at operation 1708, then the bi-tonal image of the check
is right side up and is outputted at operation 1710.
[0312] However, if MC1.ltoreq.T at operation 1708, then the image
is rotated 180 degrees at operation 1712, the MICR-line at the
bottom read again, and a new MICR-confidence value generated (MC2).
The rotation of the image by 180 degree is done by methods
commonly-known in the art. The MICR-confidence value after rotation
(MC2) is compared to the previous MICR-confidence value (MC1) plus
a Delta at operation 1714 to determine if the check is now
right-side-up. If MC2>MC2+Delta at operation 1716, the rotated
bi-tonal image has the check right-side-up and, thus, the rotated
image is outputted at operation 1718. Otherwise, if
MC2.ltoreq.MC2+Delta at operation 1716, the original bi-tonal image
of the check is right-side-up and outputted at operation 1710.
Delta is a positive value selected experimentally that reflects a
higher a priori probability of the document initially being
right-side-up than upside-down.
Size Correction
[0313] FIG. 24 provides a flowchart illustrating an example method
for size correction of an image according to an embodiment. The
method of FIG. 24 can be used to implement the size correction step
described in relation to step 1230 of FIG. 12. Specifically, FIG.
24 illustrates an example method, in accordance with one
embodiment, for correcting the size of a remittance coupon within a
bi-tonal image, where the remittance coupon is oriented
right-side-up. A person of ordinary skill in the art would
understand and appreciate that this method can operate differently
for other types of documents, e.g. deposit coupons, remittance
coupons.
[0314] Since many image processing engines are sensitive to image
size, it is crucial that the size of the document image be
corrected before it can be properly processed. For example, a form
identification engine may rely on the document size as an important
characteristic for identifying the type of document that is being
processed. Generally, for documents such as remittance coupons, the
image size should be equivalent to the image size produced by a
standard scanner running at 200 DPI.
[0315] In addition, where the document is a remittance coupon, the
size of the remittance coupons vary widely across different biller.
Hence, in order to restore the size of remittance coupons that have
been geometrically corrected in accordance with the invention at a
predefined image size of 1200.times.560 pixels, the size correction
operation is performed.
[0316] Referring now to FIG. 24, after receiving a bi-tonal image
containing a remittance coupon that is orientated right-side-up at
operation 1802, the codeline at the bottom of the remittance coupon
is read at operation 1804. This allows the average width of the
codeline characters to be computed at operation 1806. In doing so,
the computer average width gets compared to the average size of a
codeline character at 200 DPI at operation 1808, and a scaling
factor is computed accordingly. In some embodiments of the
invention, the scaling factor SF is computer as follows:
SF=AW.sub.200/AW, where (eq. 7) [0317] AW is the average width of
the MICR-character found; and [0318] A W.sub.200 is the
corresponding "theoretical" value based on the ANSI x9.37 standard
(Specifications for Electronic Exchange of Check and Image Data) at
200 DPI.
[0319] The scaling factor is used at operation 1810 to determine
whether the bi-tonal image of the remittance coupon requires size
correction. If the scaling SF is determined to be less than or
equal to 1.0+Delta, then the most recent versions of the remittance
coupon's bi-tonal image and the remittance coupon's the gray-scale
image are output at operation 1812. Delta defines the system's
tolerance to wrong image size.
[0320] If, however, the scaling factor SF is determined to be
higher than 1.0+Delta, then at operation 1814 the new dimensions of
the remittance coupon are computed as follows:
AR=H.sub.S/W.sub.S (eq. 8)
W'=W*SF (eq. 9)
H'=AR*W', where (eq. 10) [0321] H.sub.S and W.sub.S are the height
and width of the remittance coupon snippet found on the original
image; [0322] AR is the remittance coupon aspect ratio which we
want to maintain while changing the size; [0323] W is the width of
geometrically corrected image before it's size is adjusted; [0324]
W' is the adjusted remittance coupon's width in pixels; and [0325]
H' is the adjusted remittance coupon's height in pixels. Subsequent
to re-computing the new dimensions, operation 1814 repeats
geometrical correction and binarization using the newly dimensioned
remittance coupon image. Following the repeated operations,
operation 1812 outputs the resulting bi-tonal image of the
remittance coupon and gray-scale image of the remittance
coupon.
Image Quality Assurance
[0326] Once the remote server has processed a mobile image (see
step S216 of the method illustrated in FIG. 2), the remote server
can be configured to perform image quality assurance processing on
the mobile image to determine whether the quality of the image is
sufficient to submit to banking server 112.
[0327] FIG. 25 illustrates a mobile document image processing
engine (MDIPE) unit 2100 for performing quality assurance testing
on mobile document images according to an embodiment. The MDIPE
unit 2100 can receive a mobile document image captured by a mobile
device, or multiple mobile images for some tests; perform
preprocessing on the mobile document image; select tests to be
performed on the mobile document image; and execute the selected
tests to determine whether the quality of the image of a high
enough quality for a particular mobile application. The MDIPE unit
2100 includes a preprocessing unit 2110 and test execution unit
2130. The preprocessing unit 2110 can be configured to receive a
mobile image 2105 captured using a camera of a mobile device as
well as processing parameters 2107. According to an embodiment, the
mobile image 2105 and the processing parameters 2107 can be passed
to MDIPE 2100 by a mobile application on the mobile device where
the mobile application provides the mobile image 2105 to the MDIPE
2100 to have the quality of the mobile image 2105 assessed.
[0328] The processing parameters 2107 can include various
information that the MDIPE 2100 can use to determine which tests to
run on the mobile image 2105. For example, the processing
parameters 2107 can identify the type of device used to capture the
mobile image 2105, the type of mobile application that will be used
to process the mobile image if the mobile image passes the IQA
testing, or both. The MDIPE 2100 can use this information to
determine which tests to select from test data store 2132 and which
test parameters to select from test parameter data store 2134. For
example, if a mobile image is being tested for a mobile deposit
application that expects an image of a check, a specific set of
tests related to assessing the image quality for a mobile image of
a check can be selected, such as an MICR-line test, or a test for
whether an image is blurry, etc. The MDIPE 2100 can also select
test parameters from test parameters data store 2134 that are
appropriate for the type of image to be processed, or for the type
of mobile device that was used to capture the image, or both. In an
embodiment, different parameters can be selected for different
mobile phones that are appropriate for the type of phone used to
capture the mobile image. For example, some mobile phones might not
include an autofocus feature.
[0329] The preprocessing unit 2110 can process the mobile document
image to extract a document snippet that includes the portion of
the mobile document that actually contains the document to be
processed. This portion of the mobile document image is also
referred to herein as the document subimage. The preprocessing unit
2110 can also perform other processing on the document snippet,
such as converting the image to a grayscale or bi-tonal document
snippet, geometric correction of the document subimage to remove
view distortion, etc. Different tests can require different types
of preprocessing to be performed, and the preprocessing unit 2110
can produce mobile document snippets from a mobile document image
depending on the types of mobile IQA tests to be executed on the
mobile document image.
[0330] The test execution unit 2130 receives the selected tests and
test parameters 2112 and the preprocessed document snippet (or
snippets) 120 from the preprocessing mobile 110. The test execution
unit 2130 executes the selected tests on the document snippet
generated by the preprocessing unit 2110. The test execution unit
2130 also uses the test parameters provided by the preprocessing
unit 2110 when executing the test on the document snippet. The
selected tests can be a series of one or more tests to be executed
on the document snippets to determine whether the mobile document
image exhibits geometrical or other defects.
[0331] The test execution unit 2130 executes each selected test to
obtain a test result value for that test. The test execution unit
2130 then compares that test result value to a threshold value
associated with the test. If the test result value is equal to or
exceeds the threshold, then the mobile image has passed the test.
Otherwise, if the test result value is less than the threshold, the
mobile document image has failed the test. According to some
embodiments, the test execution unit 2130 can store the test result
values for the tests performed in test results data store 2138.
[0332] According to an embodiment, the test threshold for a test
can be stored in the test parameters data store 2134 and can be
fetched by the preprocessing unit 2110 and included with the test
parameters 2112 provided to the test execution unit 2130. According
to an embodiment, different thresholds can be associated with a
test based on the processing parameters 2107 received by the
preprocessing unit 2110. For example, a lower threshold might be
used for an image focus IQA test for image capture by camera phones
that do not include an autofocus feature, while a higher threshold
might be used for the image focus IQA test for image capture by
camera phones that do include an autofocus feature.
[0333] According to an embodiment, a test can be flagged as
"affects overall status." These tests are also referred to here as
"critical" tests. If a mobile image fails a critical test, the
MDIPE 2100 rejects the image and can provide detailed information
to the mobile device user explaining why the image was not of a
high enough quality for the mobile application and that provides
guidance for retaking the image to correct the defects that caused
the mobile document image to fail the test, in the event that the
defect can be corrected by retaking the image.
[0334] According to an embodiment, the test result messages
provided by the MDIPE 2100 can be provided to the mobile
application that requested the MDIPE 2100 perform the quality
assurance testing on the mobile document image, and the mobile
application can display the test results to the user of the mobile
device. In certain embodiments, the mobile application can display
this information on the mobile device shortly after the user takes
the mobile document image to allow the user to retake the image if
the image is found to have defects that affect the overall status
of the image. In some embodiments, where the MDIPE 2100 is
implemented at least in part on the mobile device, the MDIPE 2100
can include a user interface unit that is configured to display the
test results message on a screen of the mobile device.
[0335] FIG. 25 merely provides a description of the logical
components of the MDIPE 2100. In some embodiments, the MDIPE 2100
can be implemented on the mobile device 340, in software, hardware,
or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, the MDIPE 2100 can
be implemented on the remote server, and the mobile device can send
the mobile image 2105 and the processing parameters 2107, e.g., via
a wireless interface, to the remote server for processing, and the
remote server can send the test results and test messages 2140 to
the mobile device to indicate whether the mobile image passed
testing. In some embodiments, part of the functionality of the
MDIPE 2100 can be implemented on the mobile device while other
parts of the MDIPE 2100 are implemented on the remote server. The
MDIPE 2100 can be implemented in software, hardware, or a
combination thereof. In still other embodiments, the MDIPE 2100 can
be implemented entirely on the remote server, and can be
implemented using appropriate software, hardware, or a combination
there.
[0336] FIG. 26 is a flow diagram of a process for performing mobile
image quality assurance on an image captured by a mobile device
according to an embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 26 can
be performed using the MDIPE 2100 illustrated in FIG. 25.
[0337] The mobile image 2105 captured by a mobile device is
received (step 2205). The mobile image 2105 can also be accompanied
by one or more processing parameters 2107.
[0338] As described above, the MDIPE 2100 can be implemented on the
mobile device, and the mobile image can be provided by a camera
that is part of or coupled to the mobile device. In some
embodiments, the MDIPE 2100 can also be implemented at least in
part on a remote server, and the mobile image 2105 and the
processing parameters 2107 can be transmitted to the remove server,
e.g., via a wireless interface included in the mobile device.
[0339] Once the mobile image 2105 and the processing parameters
2107 have been received, the mobile image is processed to generate
a document snippet or snippets (step 2210). For example,
preprocessing unit 2110 of MDIPE 2100 can be used to perform
various preprocessing on the mobile image. One part of this
preprocessing includes identifying a document subimage in the
mobile image. The subimage is the portion of the mobile document
image that includes the document. The preprocessing unit 2110 can
also perform various preprocessing on the document subimage to
produce what is referred to herein as a "snippet." For example,
some tests can require that a grayscale image of the subimage be
created. The preprocessing unit 2110 can create a grayscale snippet
that represents a grayscale version of the document subimage. In
another example, some tests can require that a bitonal image of the
subimage be created. The preprocessing unit 2110 can create a
bitonal snippet that represents a bitonal version of the document
subimage. In some embodiments, the MDIPE 2100 can generate multiple
different snippets based on the types of tests to be performed on
the mobile document image.
[0340] After processing the mobile document image to generate a
snippet, the MDIPE 2100 then selects one or more tests to be
performed on the snippet or snippets (step 2215). In an embodiment,
the tests to be performed can be selected from test data store
2132. In an embodiment, the MDIPE 2100 selects the one or more
tests based on the processing parameters 2107 that were received
with the mobile image 2105.
[0341] After selecting the tests from the test data store 2132,
test parameters for each of the tests can be selected from the test
parameters data store 2134 (step 2220). According to an embodiment,
the test parameters can be used to configure or customize the tests
to be performed. For example, different test parameters can be used
to configure the tests to be more or less sensitive to certain
attributes of the mobile image. In an embodiment, the test
parameters can be selected based on the processing parameters 2107
received with the mobile image 2105. As described above, these
processing parameters can include information, such as the type of
mobile device used to capture the mobile image as well as the type
of mobile application that is going to be used to process the
mobile image if the mobile image passes scrutiny of the mobile
image IQA system.
[0342] Once the tests and the test parameters have been retrieved
and provided to the test execution unit 2130, a test is selected
from tests to be executed, and the test is executed on the document
snippet to produce a test result value (step 2225). In some
embodiments, more than one document snippet may be used by a test.
For example, a test can be performed that tests whether images of a
front and back of a check are actually images of the same document
can be performed. The test engine can receive both an image of the
front of the check and an image of the back of the check from the
preprocessing unit 2110 and use both of these images when executing
the test.
[0343] The test result value obtained by executing the test on the
snippet or snippets of the mobile document is then compared to test
threshold to determine whether the mobile image passes or fails the
test (step 2230) and a determination is made whether the test
results exceed the threshold (step 2235). According to an
embodiment, the test threshold can be configured or customized
based on the processing parameters 2107 received with the mobile
image. For example, the test for image blurriness can be configured
to use a higher threshold for passing if the image is to be used to
for a mobile deposit application where the MICR-line information
needs to be recognized and read from the document image. In
contrast, the test for blurriness can be configured use a lower
threshold for passing the mobile image for some mobile
applications. For example, the threshold for image quality may be
lowered for if a business card is being imaged rather than a check.
The test parameters can be adjusted to minimize the number of false
rejects and false accept rate, the number of images marked for
reviewing, or both.
[0344] The "affects overall status" flag of a test can also be
configured based on the processing parameters 2107. For example, a
test can be marked as not affecting the overall status for some
types of mobile applications or for documents being processed, or
both. Alternatively, a test can also be marked as affecting overall
status for other types of mobile applications or documents being
processed, or both. For example, a test that identifies the
MICR-line of a check can be marked as "affecting overall status" so
that if the MICR-line on the check cannot be identified in the
image, the image will fail the test and the image will be rejected.
In another example, if the mobile application is merely configured
to receive different types of mobile document image, the mobile
application can perform a MICR-line test on the mobile document
image in an attempt to determine whether the document that was
imaged was a check. In this example, the MICR-line may not be
present, because a document other than a check may have been
imaged. Therefore, the MICR-line test may be marked as not
"affecting overall status," and if a document fails the test, the
transaction might be flagged for review but not marked as
failed.
[0345] Since different camera phones can have cameras with very
different optical characteristics, image quality may vary
significantly between them. As a result, some image quality defects
may be avoidable on some camera phones and unavoidable on the
others and therefore require different configurations. To mitigate
the configuration problem, Mobile IQA test can be automatically
configured for different camera phones to use different tests, or
different thresholds for the tests, or both. For example, as
described above, a lower threshold can be used for an image focus
IQA test on mobile document images that are captured using a camera
phone that does not include an autofocus feature than would be used
for camera phones that do include an autofocus feature, because it
can be more difficult for a user to obtain as clear an image on
using a device that doesn't an autofocus feature.
[0346] In certain embodiments, if the test result exceeded or
equaled the threshold, the image passed the test and a
determination is made whether there are more tests to be executed
(step 2240). If there are more tests to be executed, the next test
can be selected and executed on the document snippet (step 2225).
Otherwise, if there were not more tests to be executed, the test
results, or test messages, or both are output by MDIPE 2100 (step
2270). There can be one or more test messages included with the
results if the mobile image failed one more of the tests that were
executed on the image.
[0347] In such embodiments, if the test result was less than the
threshold, then the mobile image has failed the test. A
determination is made whether the test affects the overall status
(step 250). If the test affects the overall status of the image,
detailed test result messages that explain why the image failed the
test can be loaded from the test message data store 134 (step 2255)
and the test result messages can be added to the test results (step
2260). The test results and test messages can then be output by the
MDIPE 2100 (step 2270).
[0348] Alternatively, if the test did not affect the overall
status, the test results can be loaded noted and the transaction
can be flagged for review (step 2265). By flagging the transaction
for review, a user of a mobile device can be presented with
information indicating that a mobile image has failed at least some
of the test that were performed on the image, but the image still
may be of sufficient quality for use with the mobile application.
The user can then be presented with the option to retake the image
or to send the mobile image to the mobile application for
processing. According to some embodiments, detailed test messages
can be loaded from the test message data store 134 for all tests
that fail and can be included with the test results, even if the
test is not one that affects the overall status of the mobile
image.
[0349] According to some embodiments, the mobile IQA test can also
be configured to eliminate repeated rejections of a mobile
document. For example, if an image of a check is rejected as have
too low a contrast by a contrast test, the image is rejected, and
the user can retake and resubmit the image via the mobile
application, the processing parameters 2107 received with the
mobile image can include a flag indicating that the image is being
resubmitted. In some embodiments, the thresholds associated with
the tests that the image failed can be lowered to see if the image
can pass the test with a lower threshold. In some embodiments, the
thresholds are only lowered for non-critical tests. According to an
embodiment, the processing parameters 2107 can also include a count
of the number of times that an image has been resubmitted and the
thresholds for a test are only lowered after a predetermined number
of times that the image is resubmitted.
[0350] FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of a process for performing mobile
image quality assurance on an image of a check captured by a mobile
device according to an embodiment. Like the process illustrated in
FIG. 26, the process illustrated in FIG. 27 can be performed using
the MDIPE 2100 illustrated in FIG. 25. The method illustrated in
FIG. 27 can be used where an image of a check is captured in
conjunction with a remittance payment. The method illustrated in
FIG. 27 can be used to assess the quality of the image of the
check.
[0351] The method illustrated in FIG. 27 illustrates how the mobile
IQA and MDIPE 2100 can be used with the electronic check processing
provided under the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act. The
Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (also referred to as the
"Check 21 Act") is a United States federal law (Pub.L. 108-100)
that was enacted on Oct. 28, 2003. The law allows the recipient of
a paper check to create a digital version of the original check
called a "substitute check," which can be processed, eliminating
the need to process the original physical document. The substitute
check includes an image of the front and back sides of the original
physical document. The mobile IQA tests can be used check the
quality of the images captured by a mobile device. The snippets
generated by the MDIPE 2100 can then be further tested by one or
more Check 21 mobile IQA tests that perform image quality assurance
on the snippets to determine whether the images meet the
requirements of the Check 21 Act as well.
[0352] The mobile image 2105 captured by a mobile device is
received (step 2305). In an embodiment, image of the front and back
sides of the check can be provided. The mobile image 2105 can also
be accompanied by one or more processing parameters 2107. Check
data can also be optionally received (step 2307). The check data
can be optionally provided by the user at the time that the check
is captured. This check data can include various information from
the check, such as the check amount, check number, routing
information from the face of the check, or other information, or a
combination thereof. In some embodiments, a mobile deposition
application requests this information from a user of the mobile
device, allows the user to capture an image of a check or to select
an image of a check that has already been captured, or both, and
the mobile deposit information provides the check image, the check
data, and other processing parameters to the MDIPE 2100.
[0353] Once the mobile image 2105, the processing parameters 2107,
and the check data have been received, the mobile image is
processed to generate a document snippet or snippets (step 2310).
As described above, the preprocessing can produce one or more
document snippets that include the portion of the mobile image in
which the document was located. The document snippets can also have
additional processing performed on them, such as conversion to a
bitonal image or to grayscale, depending on the types of testing to
be performed.
[0354] After processing the mobile document image to generate a
snippet, the MDIPE 2100 then selects one or more tests to be
performed on the snippet or snippets (step 2315). In an embodiment,
the tests to be performed can be selected from test data store
2132. In an embodiment, the MDIPE 2100 selects the one or more
tests based on the processing parameters 2107 that were received
with the mobile image 2105.
[0355] After selecting the tests from the test data store 2132,
test parameters for each of the tests can be selected from the test
parameters data store 2134 (step 2320). As described above, the
test parameters can be used to configure or customize the tests to
be performed.
[0356] Once the tests and the test parameters have been retrieved
and provided to the test execution unit 2130, a test is selected
from tests to be executed, and the test is executed on the document
snippet to produce a test result value (step 2325). In some
embodiments, more than one document snippet can be used by a test.
For example, a test can be performed that tests whether images of a
front and back of a check are actually images of the same document
can be performed. The test engine can receive both an image of the
front of the check and an image of the back of the check from the
preprocessing unit 2110 and use both of these images when executing
the test. Step 2325 can be repeated until each of the tests to be
executed is performed.
[0357] The test result values obtained by executing each test on
the snippet or snippets of the mobile document are then compared to
test threshold with that test to determine whether the mobile image
passes or fails the test (step 2330) and a determination can be
made whether the mobile image of the check passed the test
indicating that image quality of mobile image is acceptable (step
2335). If the mobile document image of the check passed, the MDIPE
2100 passes then executes one or more Check 21 tests on the
snippets (step 2340).
[0358] The test result values obtained by executing the Check 21
test or tests on the snippet or snippets of the mobile document are
then compared to test threshold with that test to determine whether
the mobile image passes or fails the test (step 2345) and a
determination can be made whether the mobile image of the check
passed the test indicating that image quality of mobile image is
acceptable under the requirements imposed by the Check 21 Act (step
2350). Step 345 can be repeated until each of the Check 21 tests is
performed. If the mobile document image of the check passed, the
MDIPE 2100 passes the snippet or snippets to the mobile application
for further processing (step 2370).
[0359] If the mobile document image of the check failed one or more
mobile IQA or Check 21 tests, detailed test result messages that
explain why the image failed the test can be loaded from the test
message data store 134 (step 2355) and the test result messages can
be added to the test results (step 2360). The test results and test
messages are then output to the mobile application where they can
be displayed to the user (step 2365). The user can use this
information to retake the image of the check in an attempt to
remedy some or all of the factors that caused the image of the
check to be rejected.
Mobile IQA Tests
[0360] FIGS. 28A-41 illustrate various sample mobile document
images and various testing methods that can be performed when
assessing the image quality of a mobile document image. As
described above, the preprocessing unit 2110 can be configured to
extract the document subimage, also referred to herein as the
subimage, from the mobile document image. The subimage generally
will be non-rectangular because of perspective distortion; however,
the shape of the subimage can generally be assumed to be
quadrangular, unless the subimage is warped. Therefore, the
document can be identified by its four corners.
[0361] In some embodiments, a mobile IQA test generates a score for
the subimage on a scale that ranges from 0-1000, where "0"
indicates a subimage having very poor quality while a score of
"1000" indicates that the image is perfect according to the test
criteria.
[0362] Some tests use a geometrically corrected snippet of the
subimage to correct view distortion. The preprocessing unit 2110
can generate the geometrically corrected snippet. FIG. 28A
illustrates a mobile image where the document captured in the
mobile document image exhibits view distortion. FIG. 28B
illustrates an example of a grayscale geometrically corrected
subimage generated from the distorted image in FIG. 28A.
Image Focus IQA Test
[0363] According to some embodiments, an Image Focus IQA Test can
be executed on a mobile image to determine whether the image is too
blurry to be used by a mobile application. Blurry images are often
unusable, and this test can help to identify such out-of-focus
images and reject them. The user can be provided detailed
information to assist the user in taking a better quality image of
the document. For example, the blurriness may have been the result
of motion blur caused by the user moving the camera while taking
the image. The test result messages can suggest that the user hold
the camera steadier when retaking the image.
[0364] Mobile devices can include cameras that have significantly
different optical characteristics. For example, a mobile device
that includes a camera that has an auto-focus feature can generally
produce much sharper images than a camera that does not include
such a feature. Therefore, the average image focus score for
different cameras can vary widely. As a result, the test threshold
can be set differently for different types of mobile devices. As
described above, the processing parameters 2107 received by MDIPE
2100 can include information that identifies the type of mobile
device and/or the camera characteristics of the camera used with
the device in order to determine what the threshold should be set
to for the Image Focus IQA Test.
[0365] An in-focus mobile document image, such as that illustrated
in FIG. 29A will receive a score of 1000, while an out of focus
document, such as that illustrated in FIG. 29B will receive a much
lower score, such as in the 50-100 range. Most of the time, images
are not completely out of focus. Therefore, a score of 0 is
uncommon.
[0366] According to an embodiment, the focus of the image can be
tested using various techniques, and the results can then be
normalized to the 0-1000 scale used by the MDIPE 2100.
[0367] In an embodiment, the Image Focus Score can be computed
using the following technique: The focus measure is a ratio of
maximum video gradient between adjacent pixels, measured over the
entire image and normalized with respect to image's gray level
dynamic range and "pixel pitch." According to an embodiment, the
image focus score can be calculated using the following equation
described in "The Financial Services Technology Consortium," Image
Defect Metrics, IMAGE QUALITY & USABILITY ASSURANCE: Phase 1.
Project, Draft Version 1.0.4. May 2, 2005, which is hereby
incorporated by reference:
Image Focus Score=(Maximum Video Gradient)/[(Gray Level Dynamic
Range)*(Pixel Pitch)]
where Video Gradient=ABS [(Gray level for pixel "i")-(Gray level
for pixel "i+1")]
Gray Level Dynamic Range=[(Average of the "N" Lightest
Pixels)-(Average of the "N" Darkest Pixels)]
Pixel Pitch=[1/Image Resolution (in dpi)]
[0368] The variable N is equal to the number of pixels used to
determine the average darkest and lightest pixel gray levels in the
image. According to one embodiment, the value of N is set to 64.
Therefore, the 64 lightest pixels in the image are averaged
together and the 64 darkest pixels in the image are averaged
together, to compute the "Gray Level Dynamic" range value. The
resulting image focus score value is the multiplied by 10 in order
to bring the value into the 0-1000 range used for the test results
in the mobile IQA system.
[0369] The Image Focus Score determined using these techniques can
be compared to an image focus threshold to determine whether the
image is sufficiently in focus. As described above, the threshold
used for each test may be determined at least in part by the
processing parameters 2107 provided to MDIPE 2100. The Image Focus
score can be normalized to the 0-1000 range used by the mobile IQA
tests and compared to a threshold value associated with the test.
If the Image Focus Score meets or exceeds this threshold, then the
mobile document image is sufficiently focused for use with the
mobile application.
Shadow Test
[0370] Shadows frequently occur on mobile photos taken in bright
sunlight, where an object obstructing the direct sunlight causes a
deep shadow on part of the document. This problem does not usually
appear in an indoor setting, and certainly never on an image
scanned in a constrained environment. Undetected or unrepaired
shadows result in unusable images, increasing the number of
rejected images. With advanced mobile imaging techniques, shadows
can not only be detected, but often eliminated, preventing the need
to ask the user to take the photo again
[0371] According to some embodiments, a Shadow Test can be executed
on a mobile image to determine whether a portion of the image is
covered by a shadow. A shadow can render parts of a mobile image
unreadable. This test helps to identify whether a shadow coverage a
least a portion of a subimage in a mobile document image, and to
reject images if the shadow has too much of an effect on the image
quality, so that the user can attempt to take a better quality
image of the document where the shadow is not present.
[0372] According to an embodiment, the presence of a shadow is
measured by examining boundaries in the mobile image that intersect
two or more sides of the document subimage. FIG. 30 illustrates an
example of a shadowed document. The document subimage has been
extracted from the mobile document image and converted to a
grayscale snippet in this example. The shadow boundary clearly
intersects the top and the bottom of the check pictured in the
snippet.
[0373] The presence of shadows can be measured using the area and
contrast. If a shadow covers the entire image, the result is merely
an image that is darker overall. Such shadows generally do not
worsen image quality significantly. Furthermore, shadows having a
very small surface area also do not generally worsen image quality
very much.
[0374] According to an embodiment, the Image Shadowed Score can be
calculated using the following formula to determine the score for a
grayscale snippet:
Image Shadowed score=1000 if no shadows were found, otherwise
Image Shadowed score=1000-min (Score(S[i])), where Score(S[i]) is
computed for every shadow S[i] detected on the grayscale
snippet
[0375] In an embodiment, the Score for each shadow can be computed
using the following formula:
Given shadow S[i] in the grayscale image, the score can be
calculated Score(S[i]) as Score(S[i])=2000*min(A[i]/A,
1-A[i]/A)*(Contrast/256), where A[i] is the area covered by shadow
S[i] (in pixels), A is the entire grayscale snippet area (in
pixels), and Contrast is the difference of brightness inside and
outside of the shadow (the maximum value is 256).
[0376] Due to the normalization factor 2000, Score(S[i]) fits into
0-1000 range. It tends to assume larger values for shadows that
occupy about 1/2 of the snippet area and have high contrast.
Score(S[i]) is typically within 100-200 range. In an embodiment,
the Image Shadowed score calculated by this test falls within a
range of 0-1000 as do the test results from other tests. According
to an embodiment, a typical mobile document image with few shadows
will have a test result value in a range form 800-900. If no
shadows are on are found the document subimage, then the score will
equal 1000. The Image Shadowed score can then be compared to a
threshold associated with the test to determine whether the image
is of sufficiently high quality for use with the mobile application
requesting the assessment of the quality of the mobile document
image.
Contrast Test
[0377] According to some embodiments, a Contrast Test can be
executed on a mobile image to determine whether the contrast of the
image is sufficient for processing. One cause of poor contrast is
images taken with insufficient light. A resulting grayscale snippet
generated from the mobile document image can have low contrast, and
if the grayscale snippet is converted to a binary image, the
binarization unit can erroneously white-out part of the foreground,
such as the MICR-line of a check, the code line of a remittance
coupon, an amount, or black-out part of the background. The
Contrast Test measures the contrast and rejects poor quality
images, and instructs the user to retake the picture under brighter
light to improve the contrast of the resulting snippets.
[0378] FIG. 32 illustrates a method for executing a Contrast IQA
Test according to an embodiment. The Contrast IQA Test illustrated
in FIG. 32 is performed on a grayscale snippet generated from a
mobile document image. The MDIPE 2100 receives the mobile image
(step 2805) and generates a grayscale snippet that comprises a
grayscale version of the document subimage (step 2810). FIG. 31 is
an example of a grayscale snippet generated from a mobile document
image of a check. As can be seen from FIG. 27, the contrast of the
image is very low.
[0379] A histogram of the grayscale values in the grayscale snippet
can then be built (step 2815). In an embodiment, the x-axis of the
histogram is divided into bins that each represents a "color" value
for the pixel in the grayscale image and the y-axis of the
histogram represents the frequency of that color value in the
grayscale image. According to an embodiment, the grayscale image
has pixel in a range from 0-255, and the histogram is built by
iterating through each value in this range and counting the number
of pixels in the grayscale image having this value. For example,
frequency of the "200" bin would include pixels having a gray value
of 200.
[0380] A median black value can then be determined for the
grayscale snippet (step 2820) and a median white value is also
determined for the grayscale snippet (step 2825). The median black
and white values can be determined using the histogram that was
built from the grayscale snippet. According to an embodiment, the
median black value can be determined by iterating through each bin,
starting with the "255" bin that represents pure black and moving
progressively toward the "250" bin which represents pure white.
Once a bin is found that includes at least 20% of the pixels
included in the image, the median black value is set to be the
grayscale value associated with that bin. According to an
embodiment, the median white value can be determined by iterating
through each bin, starting with the "255" bin which represents pure
white and moving progressively toward the "0" bin which represents
pure black. Once a bin is found that includes at least 20% of the
pixels included in the image, the median white value is set to be
the color value associated with that bin.
[0381] Once the median black and white values have been determined,
the difference between the median black and white values can then
be calculated (step 2830). The difference can then be normalized to
fall within the 0-1000 test range used in the mobile IQA tests
executed by the MDIPE 2100 (step 2835). The test result value can
then be returned (step 2840). As described above, the test result
value is provided to the test execution unit 2130 where the test
result value can be compared to a threshold value associated with
the test. See for example, FIG. 26, step 2230, described above. If
the mobile image fails the Contrast IQA Test, the MDIPE 2100 can
reject the image, and load detailed test messages from the test
message data store 134 that include detailed instructions that how
the user might retake the image.
Planar Skew Test
[0382] According to some embodiments, a Planar Skew Test can be
executed on a mobile image to determine whether the document
subimage is skewed within the mobile image. See FIG. 33A for an
example of a mobile document image that includes a remittance
coupon or check that exhibits significant planar skew. Planar skew
does not result in distortion of the document subimage; however, in
an embodiment, the subimage detection unit included in the
preprocessing unit assumes that the document subimage is nearly
horizontal in the mobile document image. If the skew becomes too
extreme, for example approaching 45 degrees from horizontal,
cropping errors could occur when the document subimage is extracted
from the mobile document image.
[0383] According to an embodiment, document skew can be measured by
first identifying the corners of the document subimage using one of
the techniques described above. The corners of the documents
subimage can be identified by the preprocessing unit 130 when
performing projective transformations on the subimage, such as that
described above with respect to FIGS. 28A and 28B. Various
techniques for detecting the skew of the subimage can be used. For
example, techniques for detecting skew disclosed in the related
'071 and '091 Applications, can be used to detect the skew of the
subimage. The results from the skew test can then be to fall within
the 0-1000 test range used in the mobile IQA tests executed by the
MDIPE 2100. The higher the skew of the document subimage, the lower
the normalized test value. If the normalized test value falls below
the threshold value associated with the test, the mobile document
image can be rejected and the user can be provided detailed
information from the test result messages data store 136 for how to
retake the image and reduce the skew.
View Skew Test
[0384] "View skew" denotes a deviation from direction perpendicular
to the document in mobile document image. Unlike planar skew, the
view skew can result in the document subimage having perspective
distortion. FIG. 33B illustrates an example of a document subimage
that exhibits view skew. View skew can cause problems in processing
the subimage if the view skew becomes too great, because view skew
changes the width-to-height ratio of the subimage. This can present
a problem, since the true dimensions of the document pictured in
the subimage are often unknown. For example, remittance coupons and
business checks can be various sizes and can have different
width-to-height ratios. View skew can result in content recognition
errors, such as errors in recognition of the MICR-line data on a
check or CAR/LAR recognition (which stands for Courtesy Amount
Recognition and Legal Amount Recognition) or errors in recognition
of the code line of a remittance coupon. By measuring the view
skew, the view skew test can be used to reject images that have too
much view skew, which can help reduce false rejects and false
accepts rates by addressing an issue that can be easily corrected
by a user retaking the mobile document image.
[0385] FIG. 34 is a flow chart illustrating a method for testing
for view skew according to an embodiment. The MDIPE 2100 receives
the mobile image (step 3005) and identifies the corners of the
document within the subimage (step 3010). A skew test score can
then be determined for the document subimage (step 3015) and skew
test score can then be returned (3040). As described above, the
test result value can then be provided to the test execution unit
2130 where the test result value can be compared to a threshold
value associated with the test.
[0386] According to an embodiment, the view skew of a mobile
document can be determined using the following formula:
View Skew score=1000-F(A, B, C, D), where
F(A, B, C, D)=500*max(abs(|AB|-|CD|)/(|DA|+|BC|),
abs(|BC|-|DA|)/(|AB|+|CD|)), [0387] where |PQ| denotes the distance
from point P to point Q, and the corners of the subimage are
denoted as follows: A represents the top-left corner, B represents
the top-right corner of the subimage, C represents the bottom-right
corner of the subimage, and D represents the bottom-left corner of
the subimage.
[0388] One can see that View Skew score can be configured to fit
into [0, 1000] range used in the other mobile IQA tests described
herein. In this example, the View Skew score is equal to 1000 when
|AB|=|CD| and |BC|=|DA|, which is the case when there is no
perspective distortion in the mobile document image and
camera-to-document direction was exactly perpendicular. The View
Skew score can then be compared to a threshold value associated
with the test to determine whether the image quality is
sufficiently high for use with the mobile application.
Cut Corner Test
[0389] Depending upon how carefully the user framed a document when
capturing a mobile image, it is possible that one or more corners
of the document can be cut off in the mobile document image. As a
result, important information can be lost from the document. For
example, if the lower left-hand corner of a check is cut off in the
mobile image, a portion of the MICR-line of a check or the code
line of a remittance coupon might be cut off, resulting in
incomplete data recognition. FIG. 35 illustrates an example of a
mobile document image that features a receipt where one of the
corners has been cut off.
[0390] FIG. 36 illustrates a Cut-Off Corner Test that can be used
with embodiments of the MDIPE 2100 for testing whether corners of a
document in a document subimage have been cut off when the document
was imaged. The mobile image including height and width parameters
are received (step 3205). In an embodiment, the height and width of
the mobile image can be determined by the preprocessing unit 2110.
The corners of the document subimage are then identified in the
mobile document image (step 3210). Various techniques can be used
to identify the corners of the image, including the various
techniques described above. In an embodiment, the preprocessing
unit 2110 identifies the corners of the document subimage. As
illustrated in FIG. 15, one or more of the corners of a document
can be cut off. However, the preprocessing unit 2110 can be
configured to determine what the location of the corner should have
been had the document not been cut off using the edges of the
document in the subimage. FIG. 35 illustrates how the preprocessing
unit 2110 has estimated the location of the missing corner of the
document by extending lines from the sides of the document out to
the point where the lines intersect. The preprocessing unit 2110
can then provide the corners information for the document to the
test execution unit 2130 to execute the Cut-Off Corner IQA Test. In
an embodiment, test variables and the test results values to be
returned by the test are set to default values: the test value V to
be returned from the test is set to a default value of 1000,
indicating that all of the corners of the document are within the
mobile document image, and a maximum cut off variable (MaxCutOff)
is set to zero indicating that no corner was cut off.
[0391] A corner of the document is selected (step 3220). In an
embodiment, the four corners are received as an array of x and y
coordinates C[I], where I is equal to the values 1-4 representing
the four corners of the document.
[0392] A determination is made whether the selected corner of the
document is within the mobile document image (step 3225). The x
& y coordinates of the selected corner should be at or between
the edges of the image. According to an embodiment, the
determination whether a corner is within the mobile document image
can be determined using the following criteria: (1) C[I].x>=0
& C[I].x<=Width, where Width=the width of the mobile
document image and C[I].x=the x-coordinate of the selected corner;
and (2) C[I].y>=0 & C[I].y<=Height, where Height=the
height of the mobile document image and C[I].y=the y-coordinate of
the selected corner.
[0393] If the selected corner fails to satisfy the criteria above,
the corner is not within the mobile image and has been cut-off. A
corner cut-off measurement is determined for the corner (step
3230). The corner cut-off measurement represents the relative
distance to the edge of the mobile document image. According to an
embodiment, the corner cut-off measurement can be determined using
the following: [0394] (1) Set H[I] and V[I] to zero, where H[I]
represents the horizontal normalized cut-off measure and V[I]
represents the vertical normalized cut-off measure. [0395] (2) If
C[I].x<0, then set H[I]=-1000*C[I].x/Width [0396] (3) If
C[I].x>Width, set H[I]=1000*(C[I].x-Width)/Width, where Width is
the width of the mobile image [0397] (4) If C[I].y<0, set
VW=-1000*C[I].y/Height, where Height is the height of the mobile
image [0398] (5) If C[I].y>Height, set
V[I]=1000*(C[I].y-Height)/Height [0399] (6) Normalize H[I] and V[I]
to fall within the 0-1000 range used by the mobile IQA tests by
setting H[I]=min(1000, H[I]) and V[I]=min (1000, V[I]). [0400] (7)
Set CutOff[I]=min (H(I), V(I)), which is the normalized cut-off
measure of the corner. One can see that the CutOff[I] lies within
[0-1000] range used by the mobile IQA tests and the value increases
as the corner moves away from mobile image boundaries.
[0401] An overall maximum cut-off value is also updated using the
normalized cut-off measure of the corner (step 3235). According to
an embodiment, the following formula can be used to update the
maximum cut-off value: MaxCutOff=max(MaxCutOff, CutOff[I]). Once
the maximum cut-off value is determined, a determination is made
whether more corners are to be tested (step 3225).
[0402] If the selected corner satisfies the criteria above, the
corner is within the mobile document image and is not cut-off. A
determination is then made whether there are additional corners to
be tested (step 3225). If there are more corners to be processed, a
next corner to be test is selected (step 3215). Otherwise, if there
are no more corners to be tested, the test result value for the
test is computing using the maximum test cut-off measurement. In an
embodiment, the test result value V=1000-MaxCutOff. One can see
that V lies within [0-1000] range for the mobile IQA tests and is
equal to 1000 when all the corners are inside the mobile image and
decreases as one or more corner move outside of the mobile
image.
[0403] The test result value is then returned (3245). As described
above, the test result value is provided to the test execution unit
2130 where the test result value can be compared to a threshold
value associated with the test. If the test result value falls
below the threshold associated with the test, detailed test result
messages can be retrieved from the test result message data store
136 and provided to the user to indicate why the test failed and
what might be done to remedy the test. The user may simply need to
retake the image with the document corners within the frame.
Cut-Side Test
[0404] Depending upon how carefully the user framed a document when
capturing a mobile image, it is possible that one or more sides of
the document can be cut off in the mobile document image. As a
result, important information can be lost from the document. For
example, if the bottom a check is cut off in the mobile image, the
MICR-line might be cut off, rendering the image unusable for a
Mobile Deposit application that uses the MICR information to
electronically deposit checks. Furthermore, if the bottom of a
remittance coupon is cut off in the mobile image, the code line may
be missing, the image may be rendered unusable by a Remittance
Processing application that uses the code information to
electronically process the remittance.
[0405] FIG. 37 illustrates an example of a mobile document image
that features a receipt where one of the ends of the receipt has
been cut off in the image. Unlike the Cut-Corner Test described
above which can be configured to allow a document to pass if the
amount of cut-off falls is small enough that the document image
still receives a test score that meets or exceeds the threshold
associated with the test, the Cut-Side Test is either pass or fail.
If one or more sides of the document subimage are cut off in the
mobile document image, the potential to lose critical information
is too high, and mobile document is marked as failing.
[0406] FIG. 38 is a flow diagram of a method for determining
whether one or more sides of the document are cut off in the
document subimage according to an embodiment. The mobile image is
received (step 3405). In an embodiment, the height and width of the
mobile image can be determined by the preprocessing unit 2110. The
corners of the document subimage are then identified in the mobile
document image (step 3410). Various techniques can be used to
identify the corners of the image, including the various techniques
described above. In an embodiment, the preprocessing unit 2110
identifies the corners of the document subimage.
[0407] A side of the document is selected (step 3420). In an
embodiment, the four corners are received as an array of x and y
coordinates C[I], where I is equal to the values 1-4 representing
the four corners of the document.
[0408] A determination is made whether the selected corner of the
document is within the mobile document image (step 3425). According
to an embodiment, the document subimage has four side and each side
S[I] includes two adjacent corners C1[I] and C2[I]. A side is
deemed to be cut-off if the corners comprising the side are on the
edge of the mobile image. In an embodiment, a side of the document
is cut-off if any of the following criteria are met: [0409] (1)
C1[I].x=C2[I].x=0, where x=the x-coordinate of the corner [0410]
(2) C1[I].x=C2[I].x=Width, where Width=the width of the mobile
image [0411] (3) C1[I].y=C2[I].y=0, where y=the y-coordinate of the
corner [0412] (4) C1[I].y=C2[I].y=Height, where Height=the height
of the mobile image
[0413] If the side does not fall within the mobile image, the test
result value is set to zero indicating that the mobile image failed
the test (step 3430), and the test results are returned (step
3445).
[0414] If the side falls within the mobile image, a determination
is made whether there are more sides to be tested (step 3425). If
there are more sides to be tested, an untested side is selected
(step 3415). Otherwise, all of the sides were within the mobile
image, so the test result value for the test is set to 1000
indicating the test passed (step 3440), and the test result value
is returned (step 3445).
Warped Image Test
[0415] In real life, paper documents are often warped (folded) in
various, irregular ways due to long and/or careless handling.
Traditional scanners deal with this situation by physically
smoothing out the paper during scanning by pressing it between two
flat surfaces. However, this is not the case with a mobile photo of
a warped paper document. Failure to de-warp results in an
unreadable document. Without advanced de-warping techniques, a
large number of all document images will be rejected by the bank's
processing system (or flagged for manual processing), since the
information on them cannot be extracted automatically. This leads
to a large proportion of rejected or failed payments and increased
labor costs, frustrated users and damage to the bank's reputation
and business
[0416] The warped image test identifies images where document is
warped. FIG. 39 illustrates an example of a mobile document image
where the document is warped. In some embodiments, the
preprocessing unit 2110 can be configured to include de-warping
functionality for correcting warped images. However, in some
embodiments, a Warped Image Test is provided to detect and reject
warped images. One solution for correcting warped images is to
instruct the user to retake the image after flattening the hardcopy
of the document being imaged.
[0417] FIG. 40 is a flow diagram of a method for identifying a
warped image and for scoring the image based on how badly the
document subimage is warped according to an embodiment. A warped
image test score value is returned by the test, and this value can
be compared with a threshold value by the test execution unit 2130
to determine whether the image warping is excessive.
[0418] The mobile image is received (step 3605). In an embodiment,
the height and width of the mobile image can be determined by the
preprocessing unit 2110. The corners of the document subimage are
then identified in the mobile document image (step 3610). Various
techniques can be used to identify the corners of the image,
including the various techniques described above. In an embodiment,
the preprocessing unit 2110 identifies the corners of the document
subimage.
[0419] A side of the document is selected (step 3615). According to
an embodiment, the document subimage has four side and each side
S[I] includes two adjacent corners C1[I] and C2[I].
[0420] A piecewise linear approximation is built for the selected
side (step 3620). According to an embodiment, the piecewise-linear
approximation is built along the selected side by following the
straight line connecting the adjacent corners C1[I] and C2[I] and
detecting position of the highest contrast starting from any
position within [C1[I], C2[I]] segment and moving in orthogonal
direction.
[0421] After the piecewise linear approximation is built along the
[C1[I], C2[I]] segment, the [C1[I], C2[I]] segment is walked to
compute the deviation between the straight line and the
approximation determined using piecewise linear approximation (step
3625). Each time the deviation is calculated, a maximum deviation
value (MaxDev) is updated to reflect the maximum deviation value
identified during the walk along the [C1[I], C2[I]] segment.
[0422] The maximum deviation value for the side is then normalized
to generate a normalized maximized deviation value for the selected
size of the document image (step 3630). According to an embodiment,
the normalized value can be determined using the following
formula:
NormMaxDev[I]=1000*MaxDev[I]/Dim, where Dim is the mobile image
dimension perpendicular to side SM.
[0423] An overall normalized maximum deviation value is then
updated using the normalized deviation value calculated for the
side. According to an embodiment, the overall maximum deviation can
be determined using the formula:
OverallMaxDeviation=max(OverallMaxDeviation, NormMaxDev[I])
[0424] A determination is then made whether there are anymore sides
to be tested (step 3640). If there are more sides to be tested, an
untested side is selected for testing (step 3615). Otherwise, if no
untested sides remain, the warped image test value is computed.
According to an embodiment, the warped image test value can be
determined using the following formula:
V=1000-OverallMaxDeviation
[0425] One can see that V lies within [0-1000] range used by the
image IQA system and is equal to 1000 when the sides S[I] are
straight line segments (and therefore no warp is present). The
computed test result is then returned (step 3650). As described
above, the test result value is provided to the test execution unit
2130 where the test result value can be compared to a threshold
value associated with the test. If the test result value falls
below the threshold associated with the test, detailed test result
messages can be retrieved from the test result message data store
136 and provided to the user to indicate why the test failed and
what might be done to remedy the test. For example, the user may
simply need to retake the image after flattening out the hardcopy
of the document being imaged in order to reduce warping.
Image Size Test
[0426] The Image Size Test detects the actual size and the
effective resolution of the document subimage. The perspective
transformation that can be performed by embodiments of the
preprocessing unit 2110 allows for a quadrangle of any size to be
transformed into a rectangle to correct for view distortion.
However, a small subimage can cause loss of detail needed to
process the subimage.
[0427] FIG. 41 illustrates an example of a document subimage within
a mobile document image that is relatively small. Small size of the
subimage can cause the loss of important foreground information.
This effect is similar to digital zooming in a digital camera where
image of an object becomes larger, but the image quality of object
can significantly degrade due to loss of resolution and important
details can be lost.
[0428] FIG. 42 is a flow diagram of a process that for performing
an Image Size Test on a subimage according to an embodiment. The
mobile image is received (step 3805). In an embodiment, the height
and width of the mobile image can be determined by the
preprocessing unit 2110. The corners of the document subimage are
then identified in the mobile document image (step 3810). Various
techniques can be used to identify the corners of the image,
including the various techniques described above. In an embodiment,
the preprocessing unit 2110 identifies the corners of the document
subimage. In the method the corners of the subimage are denoted as
follows: A represents the top-left corner, B represents the
top-right corner of the subimage, C represents the bottom-right
corner of the subimage, and D represents the bottom-left corner of
the subimage.
[0429] A subimage average width is computed (step 3815). In an
embodiment, the subimage average width can be calculated using the
following formula:
Subimage average width as AveWidth=(|AB|+|CD|)/2, where |PQ|
represents the Euclidian distance from point P to point Q.
[0430] A subimage average height is computed (step 3820). In an
embodiment, the subimage average height can be calculated using the
following formula:
AveHeight=(|BC|+|DA|)/2
[0431] The average width and average height values are then
normalized to fit the 0-1000 range used by the mobile IQA tests
(step 3822). The following formulas can be used determine the
normalize the average width and height:
NormAveWidth=1000*AveWidth/Width
NormAveHeight=1000*AveWidth/Height
[0432] A minimum average value is then determined for the subimage
(step 3825). According to an embodiment, the minimum average value
is the smaller of the normalized average width and the normalized
average height values. The minimum average value falls within the
0-1000 range used by the mobile IQA tests. The minimum average
value will equal 1000 if the document subimage fills the entire
mobile image.
[0433] The minimum average value is returned as the test result
(step 3865). As described above, the test result value is provided
to the test execution unit 2130 where the test result value can be
compared to a threshold value associated with the test. If the test
result value falls below the threshold associated with the test,
detailed test result messages can be retrieved from the test result
message data store 2136 and provided to the user to indicate why
the test failed and what might be done to remedy the test. For
example, the user may simply need to retake the image by
positioning the camera closer to the document.
Code Line Test
[0434] The Code Line Test can be used to determine whether a high
quality image of a remittance coupon front has been captured using
the mobile device according to an embodiment. The Code Line Test
can be used in conjunction with a Remittance Processing application
to ensure that images of remittance coupon captures for processing
with the Remittance Processing information are of a high enough
quality to be processed so that the remittance can be
electronically processed. Furthermore, if a mobile image fails the
Code Line Test, the failure may be indicative of incorrect subimage
detections and/or poor overall quality of the mobile image, and
such an image should be rejected anyway.
[0435] FIG. 43 is a flow chart of a method for executing a Code
Line Test according to an embodiment. A mobile image of a
remittance coupon is received (step 3955) and a bitonal image is
generated from the mobile image (step 3960). In an embodiment,
preprocessor 110 extracts the document subimage from the mobile
image as described above, including preprocessing such as geometric
correction. The extracted subimage can then be converted to a
bitonal snippet by the preprocessor 110. The code line is then
identified in the bitonal snippet (step 3965). According to an
embodiment, a code line recognition engine is then applied to
identify the code line and to compute character-level and overall
confidence values for the image (step 3970). These confidences can
then be normalized to the 0-1000 scale used by the mobile IQA tests
where 1000 means high quality and 0 means poor code line quality.
The confidence level is then returned (step 3975). As described
above, the test result value is provided to the test execution unit
2130 where the test result value can be compared to a threshold
value associated with the test. If the test result value falls
below the threshold associated with the test, detailed test result
messages can be retrieved from the test result message data store
136 and provided to the user to indicate why the test failed and
what might be done to remedy the test. For example, the user may
simply need to retake the image to adjust for geometrical or other
factors, such as poor lighting or a shadowed document. In some
instances, the user may not be able to correct the errors. For
example, if the code line on the document is damaged or incomplete
and the document will continue to fail the test even if the image
were retaken.
Aspect Ratio Tests
[0436] The width of a remittance coupon is typically significantly
longer than the height of the document. According to an embodiment,
an aspect ratio test can be performed on a document subimage of a
remittance coupon to determine whether the aspect ratio of the
document in the image falls within a predetermined ranges of ratios
of width to height. If the document image falls within the
predetermined ranges of ratios, the image passes the test. An
overall confidence value can be assigned to different ratio values
or ranges of ratio values in order to determine whether the image
should be rejected.
[0437] According to some embodiments, the mobile device can be used
to capture an image of a check in addition to the remittance
coupon. A second aspect ratio test is provided for two-sided
documents, such as checks, where images of both sides of the
document may be captured. According to some embodiments, a
remittance coupon can also be a two-sided document and images of
both sides of the document can be captured. The second aspect ratio
test compares the aspect ratios of images that are purported to be
of the front and back of a document to determine whether the user
has captured images of the front and back of the same document
according to an embodiment. The Aspect Ratio Test could be applied
to various types two-sided or multi-page documents to determine
whether images purported to be of different pages of the document
have the same aspect ratio.
[0438] FIG. 44 illustrates a method for executing an Aspect Ratio
Test for two-sided documents according to an embodiment. In the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 40, the test is directed to
determining whether the images purported to be of the front and
back side of a document have the same aspect ratio. However, the
method could also be used to test whether two images purported to
be from a multi-page and/or multi-sided document have the same
aspect ratio.
[0439] A front mobile image is received (step 4005) and a rear
mobile image is received (step 4010). The front mobile image is
supposed to be of the front side of a document while the rear
mobile image is supposed to be the back side of a document. If the
images are really of opposite sides of the same document, the
aspect ratio of the document subimages should match. Alternatively,
images of two different pages of the same document may be provided
for testing. If the images are really of pages of the same
document, the aspect ratio of the document subimages should
match.
[0440] The preprocessing unit 2110 can process the front mobile
image to generate a front-side snippet (step 4015) and can also
process the back side image to generate a back-side snippet (step
4020).
[0441] The aspect ratio of the front-side snippet is then
calculated (step 4025). In an embodiment, the
AspectRatioFront=Width/Height, where Width=the width of the
front-side snippet and Height=the height of the front-side
snippet.
[0442] The aspect ratio of the back-side snippet is then calculated
(step 4030). In an embodiment, the AspectRatioBack=Width/Height,
where Width=the width of the back-side snippet and Height=the
height of the back-side snippet.
[0443] The relative difference between the aspect ratios of the
front and rear snippets is then determined (step 4035). According
to an embodiment, the relative difference between the aspect ratios
can be determined using the following formula:
RelDiff=1000*abs(AspectRatioFront-AspectRatioBack)/max(AspectRatioFront,
AspectRatioBack)
[0444] A test result value is then calculated based on the relative
difference between the aspect ratios (step 4040). According to an
embodiment, the test value V can be computed using the formula
V=1000-RelDiff.
[0445] The test results are then returned (step 4045). As described
above, the test result value is provided to the test execution unit
2130 where the test result value can be compared to a threshold
value associated with the test. If the test result value falls
below the threshold associated with the test, detailed test result
messages can be retrieved from the test result message data store
136 and provided to the user to indicate why the test failed and
what might be done to remedy the test. For example, the user may
have mixed up the front and back images from two different checks
having two different aspect ratios. If the document image fails the
test, the user can be prompted to verify that the images purported
to be the front and back of the same document (or images of pages
from the same document) really are from the same document.
Form Identification
[0446] Various embodiments of the present invention may utilize a
novel technique of form identification in order to expeditiously
identify key features of a captured mobile image. The form
identification can be provided by a user, or it can be
automatically determined by reading a captured mobile image. This
captured mobile image may include any type of document including,
without limitation: remittance coupons, employment forms, store
receipts, checks, bills or sales invoices, business cards, medical
and dental records, store coupons, educational information such as
progress reports and report cards, birth and death certificates,
insurance policies, legal documents, magazine and newspaper
clippings, forms of personal identification such as passports and
driver licenses, police records, real estate records, etc. In the
form identification step, a template is identified that is
associated with a document that has been captured in a mobile
image. The template identifies the layout of information contained
within the document. This layout information can be used to improve
data capture accuracy because data should be in known locations on
the document.
[0447] Form identification can be helpful in a number of different
situations. If the layout of the document is known, capturing the
data from known locations on the document can be more accurate than
relying on a dynamic data capture technique to extract the data
from the document. Additionally, according to some embodiments, the
identification of a prerequisite minimum number of data fields
associated with only one type of document can enable a faster
lookup of data from other data fields as soon as the specific type
of document has been identified.
[0448] Form identification can also be used for documents that lack
keywords that could otherwise be used to identify key data on the
document. For example, if a document does not include an "Account
Number" label for an account number field, the dynamic data capture
may misidentify the data in that field. Misidentification can
become even more likely if multiple fields have similar formats.
Form identification can also be used for documents having ambiguous
data. For example, a document might include multiple fields that
include data having a similar format. If a document includes
multiple unlabeled fields having similar formats, dynamic data
capture may be more likely to misidentify the data. However, if the
layout of the document is known, the template information can be
used to extract data from known positions in the document
image.
[0449] According to some embodiments, form identification can also
be used for documents having a non-OCR friendly layout. For
example, a document may use fonts where identifying keywords and/or
form data is printed using a non-OCR friendly font. Form
identification can also be used to improve the chance of correctly
capturing data when a poor quality image is presented. A poor
quality image of a document can make it difficult to locate and/or
read data.
[0450] FIG. 45 is a flow chart of a method for processing an image
using form identification according to an embodiment. At step 4205,
a binarized/bi-tonal document image is received. Various techniques
for creating a bi-tonal subimage from a mobile image are provided
above. For example, step 1225 of FIG. 12 describes binarization of
a document subimage. FIG. 14 also illustrates a method of
binarization that can be used to generate a bi-tonal image
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0451] A matching algorithm is executed on the bi-tonal image of
the document in an attempt to find a matching template (step 4210).
According to an embodiment, one or more computing devices can
include a template data store that can be used to store templates
of the layouts of various types of documents. Various matching
techniques can be used to match a template to a document image. For
example, optical character recognition can be used to identify and
read text content from the image. The types of data identified and
the positions of the data on the document can be used to identify a
matching template. According to another embodiment, a document can
include a unique symbol or identifier that can be matched to a
particular document template. In yet other embodiments, the image
of the document can be processed to identify "landmarks" on the
image that may correspond to labels and/or data. In some
embodiments, these landmarks can include, but are not limited to:
positions of horizontal and/or vertical lines on the document, the
position and/or size of boxes and/or frames on the document, and/or
the location of pre-printed text. The position of these landmarks
on the document may be used to identify a template from the
plurality of templates in the template data store. According to
some embodiments, a cross-correlation matching technique can be
used to match a template to an image of a document. In some
embodiments, the positions of frames/boxes found on image and/or
other such landmarks, can be cross-correlated with landmark
information associated a template to compute the matching
confidence score. If the confidence score exceeds a predetermined
threshold, the template is considered to be a match and can be
selected for use in extracting information from the mobile
image.
[0452] A determination is made whether a matching template has been
found (step 4215). If no matching template is found, a dynamic data
capture can be performed on the image of the document (step 4225).
Dynamic data capture is described in detail below and an example
method for dynamic data capture is illustrated in the flow chart of
FIG. 46.
[0453] If a matching template is found, data can be extracted from
the image of the document using the template (step 4220). The
template can provide the location of various data within the
document, such as the document's author(s), the document's
publication date, the names of any corporate, governmental, or
educational entities associated with the document, an amount due,
an account holder name, an account number, a payment due date, etc.
In some embodiments, various OCR techniques can be used to read
text content from the locations specified by the template. Since
the location of various data elements is known, ambiguities
regarding the type of data found can be eliminated. That is, use of
the template enables the system to distinguish among data elements
which have a similar data type.
Dynamic Data Capture
[0454] FIG. 46 is a flow chart of a dynamic data capture method for
extracting data from an image according to an embodiment. The
dynamic data capture method illustrated in FIG. 46 can be used if a
form ID for identifying a particular format of a document is not
available. The method illustrated in FIG. 46 can also be used if
the form ID does not match any of the templates stored in the
template data store. The method begins with receiving a
binarized/bi-tonal document image (step 4305). Various optical
character recognition techniques can then be used to locate and
read fields from the bi-tonal image (step 4310). Some example OCR
techniques are described below. Once data fields have been located,
the data can be extracted from the bi-tonal image (step 4315). In
some embodiments, steps 4310 and 4315 can be combined into a single
step where the field data is located and the data extracted in a
combined OCR step. Once the data has been extracted from the image,
the data can be analyzed to identify what data has been extracted
(step 4320). The data can also be analyzed to determine whether any
additional data is required in order to be able to process the
image.
[0455] According to an embodiment, a keyword-based detection
technique can be used to locate and read the data from the bi-tonal
image in steps 4310 and 4315 of the method of FIG. 46. The method
uses a set of field-specific keywords to locate fields of interest
in the bitonal image. For example, if the captured image is an
image of a remittance coupon, the keywords "Account Number,"
"Account #," "Account No.," "Customer Number," and/or other
variations can be used to identify the customer's account number.
According to an embodiment, text located proximate to the keyword
can be associated with the keyword. For example, text located
within a predetermined distance to the right of or below an
"Account Number" keyword may be identified and extracted from the
image using OCR and the text found in this location can then be
treated as the account number. According to an embodiment, the
distance and directions in relation to the keyword in which the
field data can be located can be configured based on the various
parameters, such as locale or language. The position of the keyword
in relation to field that includes the data associated with the
keyword may vary based on the language being used, e.g. written
right to left versus left to right.
[0456] According to an embodiment, a format-based detection
technique can be used to locate and read the data from the bi-tonal
image in steps 4310 and 4315. For example, an OCR technique can be
used to recognize text in the document image. A regular expression
mechanism can then be applied to the text extracted from the
bitonal image. A regular expression can be used to formalize the
format description for a particular field, such as "contains 7-12
digits," "may start with 1 or 2 uppercase letters," or "contains
the letter "U" in the second position." According to an embodiment,
multiple regular expressions may be associated with a particular
field, such as an account number, in order to increase the
likelihood of a correct match.
[0457] According to yet another embodiment, a combination of
keyword-based and format-based matching can be used to identify and
extract field data from the bi-tonal image (steps 4310 and 4315).
This approach can be particularly effective where multiple fields
of the same or similar format are included within the image. A
combination of keyword-based and format-based matching can be used
to identify field data can be used to disambiguate the data
extracted from the bi-tonal image.
[0458] According to an embodiment, a code-line validation technique
can be used to locate and read the data from the bi-tonal image of
in steps 4310 and 4315. One or more fields may be embedded into a
code-line. In some embodiments, the code-line characters may be
cross-checked against fields recognized in other parts of the
document. In the event that a particular field is different from a
known corresponding value in the code line, the value in the code
line may be selected over the field value due to the relative
difference in the reliabilities of reading the code line versus
reading the field value.
[0459] According to an embodiment, a cross-validation technique can
be used where multiple bi-tonal images of the same document have
been captured, and one or more OCR techniques are applied the each
of the bi-tonal images (such as by any of the techniques described
above). The results from the one or more OCR technique from one
bi-tonal image can be compared to the results of OCR techniques
applied one or more other bitonal images in order to cross-validate
the field data extracted from the images. If conflicting results
are found, a set of results having a higher confidence value can be
selected to be used for document image processing.
Recurring Payment Scheduling
[0460] According to various embodiments, a user of the mobile
device application can set up one or more recurring payment
schedules. A recurring payment schedule may have a variety of
advantages over a series of single payments, including: i.)
utilizing persistent data in order to make the process of paying a
bill more expeditious for the user (i.e., less input may be
required from the user before each bill is submitted), ii.)
enabling a fast lookup of a remittance coupon template associated
with a specified payee (thereby decreasing search time); and iii.)
enabling the remittance application to send one or more payment
reminders to the user so as to safeguard against a payment
default.
[0461] FIG. 47 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method
for configuring a recurring bill payment schedule according to one
embodiment. At block 4702, a user launches a remittance
application. In some embodiments, the remittance application is
resident within the mobile device (see FIG. 1). In other
embodiments, the remittance application is resident within a remote
computing device, such as a remote server (see FIG. 1). Once the
remittance application is launched, a splash screen may appear
(block 4704) indicating the name and/or software version of the
remittance application.
[0462] At block 4706, a login screen can then be displayed,
prompting the user to input one or more security credentials (e.g.,
username and a password). In some embodiments, the security
credentials of all users of the remittance application may be
encrypted and stored locally, for example, within a non-volatile
storage device associated with the mobile device 350. In other
embodiments, the security credentials may be encrypted and stored
in a non-volatile device present at a remote location.
[0463] Once the credentials have been validated, a main menu is
then displayed (block 4708). The main menu may list a number of
functions associated with the remittance application, including the
option to "pay a bill" or to "view the last bill paid." An option
to "configure recurring payments" is also presented to the user as
one of the options, and the application will listen for the user's
selection of this option at decision block 4710.
[0464] At block 4712, a listing of all recurring payment schedules
associated with the user is then displayed. For example, if the
user had previously set up a recurring payment with Time Warner
Cable and San Diego Gas and Electric, these two entries will be
selectable within this listing. However, if no entries had been
previously entered and saved by the user, a message such as: "No
recurring payments have been scheduled" may appear in the display
window in the alternative. An additional option to "set up a new
recurring payment" is also presented to the user, for example, at
the bottom of the display screen.
[0465] At blocks 4714 and 4716, the user will decide whether to
update an existing recurring bill payment or to otherwise set up a
new recurring payment. In the event that the user selected a
preexisting recurring payment entry, previously stored data
regarding this entry will be loaded at block 4718 (such as the name
of the recurring payment entry, the payor, the payee, the selected
payment method, a bank account or check routing number, a credit
card number, and any other preferred payment options). Otherwise,
in the event that the user had selected to set up a new recurring
payment, these data fields may be blank by default.
[0466] At block 4720, a sub-menu is then displayed including
various data fields associated with this recurring payment entry.
In some embodiments, the user may have an option to auto-populate
at least some of these fields by instructing the system to extract
data from a bill that has already been paid. Other fields can be
modified, for example, by a keyboard, touchpad, mouse, or other
such input device.
[0467] At block 4722, the user may then update these fields
accordingly. In some embodiments, a "save" or "apply changes"
option enables the user to save his input after the recurring
payment entry has been updated. In other embodiments, the
remittance application automatically saves the recurring payment
entry after any data field has been modified by the user. Also,
according to some embodiments, the remittance application may
prevent the user from saving changes to the recurring bill payment
entry if a certain minimum number of prerequisite data fields have
not been filled out, or otherwise, if the data entered within any
of these fields is of an invalid format.
[0468] According to some embodiments, the user may be presented the
option of how he wishes to schedule recurring payments with the
payee. FIG. 48 is a flow diagram illustrating this process. At
block 4802, the user may be prompted to select among the options
of: "Immediately," "Manually," "By Schedule," or "Return to
Previous Menu." The remittance application may then check which
option was selected at respective decision blocks 4810, 4820, 4830,
and 4840.
[0469] If the user selected to schedule bill payments with the
payee "Immediately," then at block 4812, the remittance application
configures itself to attempt to make a payment soon after receiving
an image of a check and/or remittance coupon from the user. The
document images can be preprocessed by the mobile device 350 and/or
processed by the remote server in any of the manners already
described above. After the images have been successfully processed,
one or more of the image quality assurance tests already described
can then be run in real-time in order to ensure that the user has
taken an image with a quality sufficient to process a payment.
[0470] If the user selected to schedule bill payments with the
payee "Manually," then at block 4822, the remittance application
configures itself to attempt to make a payment only upon a specific
input from the user. This input might be, for example, a "Pay Bill"
button located in one or more menus or sub-menus of the remittance
application. Images of any remittance coupons/checks received from
the user may then be persistently stored within a non-volatile
storage device until the user acknowledges he is ready to pay a
certain bill by providing the specific input required by the
remittance application.
[0471] If the user selected to schedule payments with the payee "By
Schedule," then at block 4832, a submenu may appear prompting the
user to specify certain scheduling options. In some embodiments,
the user may specify how many days he wishes the application to
submit the payment before (or after) a certain payment due date.
For example, if a utility bill is always due the 15.sup.th of every
month, the user may elect to have these recurring bills paid on the
10.sup.th of every month. Images of any remittance coupons/checks
received from the user may then be persistently stored within a
non-volatile storage device until the scheduled date of payment. In
some embodiments, any preprocessing, processing, or image quality
and assurance tests are run on the document images soon after they
are received from the user. This enables the user to detect and
correct any defects with the image documents well before the
scheduled date of payment.
[0472] Irrespective of the option selected, the user will be
returned to scheduling menu after providing the input from the
recurring payment sub-menu. If the user selected to "Return to
Previous Menu," then at block 4842 the user will be directed to the
previous menu and the process will end.
[0473] According to some embodiments, the user may be presented the
option of whether he wishes to have the remittance application send
him one or more reminders about upcoming payment due dates. The
reminders may thus serve to assist the user in preventing a payment
default due to inattention, inadvertence, or neglect.
[0474] FIG. 49 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process
of enabling a user to set one or more reminders associated with a
recurring bill payment according to one embodiment of the present
invention. At block 4902, a menu is displayed to the user, the menu
including an option (such as a hyperlink or selectable button) for
setting one or more payment reminders associated with a recurring
payment schedule.
[0475] Once this option is selected at block 4904, then at block
4906, a sub-menu may then be displayed to the user. In some
embodiments, the sub-menu presents the user with a number of
configurable options regarding payment reminders. For example, the
user may decide whether to set up a single reminder or a series of
periodic reminders. Additionally, the user may specify when the
reminders are to be sent (for example, on a regularly occurring day
each month, such as on the 5.sup.th, or instead on a day that is
always measured relative to the payment due date, such as 7 days
before the bill is due). In some embodiments, the user may also
specify how frequently the reminders are to be sent (e.g., daily,
every third day, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.).
[0476] Additionally, according to some embodiments, the user may
specify the type of reminders to be provided to the user by the
remittance application. Any number of mechanisms for informing the
user about an upcoming payment may be used according to embodiments
of the present invention (including, but not limited to: e-mail,
popup windows, SMS messages, "push"/PAP messaging, calendar alerts,
scheduled printing, and phone messages/voicemail). Once the user
has finished inputting preferred options at block 4908, the options
are saved at block 4910, and the process then ends. Subsequently,
the remittance application can provide payment reminders to the
user in any manner or manner(s) that the user has specified.
Exemplary Hardware Embodiments
[0477] FIG. 50 is an exemplary embodiment of a mobile device 4400
according to an embodiment. Mobile device 4400 can be used to
implement the mobile device 340 of FIG. 1. Mobile device 4200
includes a processor 4410. The processor 4410 can be a
microprocessor or the like that is configurable to execute program
instructions stored in the memory 4420 and/or the data storage
4440. The memory 4420 is a computer-readable memory that can be
used to store data and or computer program instructions that can be
executed by the processor 4410. According to an embodiment, the
memory 4420 can comprise volatile memory, such as RAM and/or
persistent memory, such as flash memory. The data storage 4440 is a
computer readable storage medium that can be used to store data and
or computer program instructions. The data storage 4440 can be a
hard drive, flash memory, a SD card, and/or other types of data
storage.
[0478] The mobile device 4400 also includes an image capture
component 4430, such as a digital camera. According to some
embodiments, the mobile device 4400 is a mobile phone, a smart
phone, or a PDA, and the image capture component 4430 is an
integrated digital camera that can include various features, such
as auto-focus and/or optical and/or digital zoom. In an embodiment,
the image capture component 4430 can capture image data and store
the data in memory 4220 and/or data storage 4440 of the mobile
device 4400.
[0479] Wireless interface 4450 of the mobile device can be used to
send and/or receive data across a wireless network. For example,
the wireless network can be a wireless LAN, a mobile phone
carrier's network, and/or other types of wireless network.
[0480] I/O interface 4460 can also be included in the mobile device
to allow the mobile device to exchange data with peripherals such
as a personal computer system. For example, the mobile device might
include a USB interface that allows the mobile to be connected to
USB port of a personal computer system in order to transfers
information such as contact information to and from the mobile
device and/or to transfer image data captured by the image capture
component 4430 to the personal computer system.
[0481] As used herein, the term unit might describe a given unit of
functionality that can be performed in accordance with one or more
embodiments of the present invention. As used herein, a unit might
be implemented utilizing any form of hardware, software, or a
combination thereof. For example, one or more processors,
controllers, ASICs, PLAs, logical components, software routines or
other mechanisms might be implemented to make up a module. In
implementation, the various modules described herein might be
implemented as discrete modules or the functions and features
described can be shared in part or in total among one or more
modules. In other words, as would be apparent to one of ordinary
skill in the art after reading this description, the various
features and functionality described herein may be implemented in
any given application and can be implemented in one or more
separate or shared modules in various combinations and
permutations. Even though various features or elements of
functionality may be individually described or claimed as separate
modules, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that
these features and functionality can be shared among one or more
common software and hardware elements, and such description shall
not require or imply that separate hardware or software components
are used to implement such features or functionality.
[0482] Where components or modules of processes used in conjunction
with the operations described herein are implemented in whole or in
part using software, in one embodiment, these software elements can
be implemented to operate with a computing or processing module
capable of carrying out the functionality described with respect
thereto. One such example-computing module is shown in FIG. 51,
which illustrates a computer system that can be used to implement
mobile remittance server according to an embodiment.
[0483] Various embodiments are described in terms of this
example-computing module 1900. After reading this description, it
will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to
implement the invention using other computing modules or
architectures.
[0484] Referring now to FIG. 51, computing module 1900 may
represent, for example, computing or processing capabilities found
within desktop, laptop and notebook computers; mainframes,
supercomputers, workstations or servers; or any other type of
special-purpose or general-purpose computing devices as may be
desirable or appropriate for a given application or environment.
Computing module 1900 might also represent computing capabilities
embedded within or otherwise available to a given device. For
example, a computing module might be found in other electronic
devices. Computing module 1900 might include, for example, one or
more processors or processing devices, such as a processor 1904.
Processor 1904 might be implemented using a general-purpose or
special-purpose processing engine such as, for example, a
microprocessor, controller, or other control logic.
[0485] Computing module 1900 might also include one or more memory
modules, referred to as main memory 1908. For example, random
access memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory might be used for
storing information and instructions to be executed by processor
1904. Main memory 1908 might also be used for storing temporary
variables or other intermediate information during execution of
instructions by processor 1904. Computing module 1900 might
likewise include a read only memory ("ROM") or other static storage
device coupled to bus 1902 for storing static information and
instructions for processor 1904.
[0486] The computing module 1900 might also include one or more
various forms of information storage mechanism 1910, which might
include, for example, a media drive 1912 and a storage unit
interface 1920. The media drive 1912 might include a drive or other
mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media 1914. For
example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape
drive, an optical disk drive, a CD or DVD drive (R or RW), or other
removable or fixed media drive. Accordingly, storage media 1914
might include, for example, a hard disk, a floppy disk, magnetic
tape, cartridge, optical disk, a CD or DVD, or other fixed or
removable medium that is read by, written to or accessed by media
drive 1912. As these examples illustrate, the storage media 1914
can include a computer usable storage medium having stored therein
particular computer software or data.
[0487] In alternative embodiments, information storage mechanism
1910 might include other similar instrumentalities for allowing
computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into
computing module 1900. Such instrumentalities might include, for
example, a fixed or removable storage unit 1922 and an interface
1920. Examples of such storage units 1922 and interfaces 1920 can
include a program cartridge and cartridge interface, a removable
memory (for example, a flash memory or other removable memory
module) and memory slot, a PCMCIA slot and card, and other fixed or
removable storage units 1922 and interfaces 1920 that allow
software and data to be transferred from the storage unit 1922 to
computing module 1900.
[0488] Computing module 1900 might also include a communications
interface 1924. Communications interface 1924 might be used to
allow software and data to be transferred between computing module
1900 and external devices. Examples of communications interface
1924 might include a modem or softmodem, a network interface (such
as an Ethernet, network interface card, WiMedia, IEEE 802.XX or
other interface), a communications port (such as for example, a USB
port, IR port, RS232 port Bluetooth.RTM. interface, or other port),
or other communications interface. Software and data transferred
via communications interface 1924 might typically be carried on
signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic (which includes
optical) or other signals capable of being exchanged by a given
communications interface 1924. These signals might be provided to
communications interface 1924 via a channel 1928. This channel 1928
might carry signals and might be implemented using a wired or
wireless communication medium. These signals can deliver the
software and data from memory or other storage medium in one
computing system to memory or other storage medium in computing
system 1900. Some examples of a channel might include a phone line,
a cellular link, an RF link, an optical link, a network interface,
a local or wide area network, and other wired or wireless
communications channels.
[0489] Computing module 1900 might also include a communications
interface 1924. Communications interface 1924 might be used to
allow software and data to be transferred between computing module
1900 and external devices. Examples of communications interface
1924 might include a modem or softmodem, a network interface (such
as an Ethernet, network interface card, WiMAX, 802.XX or other
interface), a communications port (such as for example, a USB port,
IR port, RS232 port, Bluetooth interface, or other port), or other
communications interface. Software and data transferred via
communications interface 1924 might typically be carried on
signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other
signals capable of being exchanged by a given communications
interface 1924. These signals might be provided to communications
interface 1924 via a channel 1928. This channel 1928 might carry
signals and might be implemented using a wired or wireless medium.
Some examples of a channel might include a phone line, a cellular
link, an RF link, an optical link, a network interface, a local or
wide area network, and other wired or wireless communications
channels.
[0490] In this document, the terms "computer program medium" and
"computer usable medium" are used to generally refer to physical
storage media such as, for example, memory 1908, storage unit 1920,
and media 1914. These and other various forms of computer program
media or computer usable media may be involved in storing one or
more sequences of one or more instructions to a processing device
for execution. Such instructions embodied on the medium, are
generally referred to as "computer program code" or a "computer
program product" (which may be grouped in the form of computer
programs or other groupings). When executed, such instructions
might enable the computing module 1900 to perform features or
functions of the present invention as discussed herein.
[0491] While various embodiments of the present invention have been
described above, it should be understood that they have been
presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. The
breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by
any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. Where this
document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to
one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those
apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the
future. In addition, the invention is not restricted to the
illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the
desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative
architectures and configurations. As will become apparent to one of
ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the
illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be
implemented without confinement to the illustrated example. One of
ordinary skill in the art would also understand how alternative
functional, logical or physical partitioning and configurations
could be utilized to implement the desired features of the present
invention.
[0492] Furthermore, although items, elements or components of the
invention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural
is contemplated to be within the scope thereof unless limitation to
the singular is explicitly stated. The presence of broadening words
and phrases such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to"
or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean
that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where
such broadening phrases may be absent.
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