Optical Character Recognition
Our code reading tools can read all code types, in any orientation at high speeds.
Delivering accurate results in some of the toughest and most demanding manufacturing environments.
Machine Vision Applications
OCV & OCR
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the identification of scribed, stamped, printed or pre-printed text. This can be carried out in all languages, fonts, sizes and styles. Optical Character Verification (OCV) is the authentication that an identified character string matches expected values stored in your PLC, database or FTP server.
Advanced Character Recognition
Typical Vision System OCR and OCV Applications
- Verify content of packaging labels
- Checking expiration dates on food packaging
- Preventing mistakes in books
- Reading engraved text
- Checking human-readable text matches 2D code
- Verifying the orientation of the printed text
- Reading the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on numerous car parts
- Reading handwritten characters
- Identification of special characters
- Traceability of printed or handwritten text
- Reading and logging car number plates
- OCR data entry
Latest Generation Advanced Algorithms
Optical Character Recognition and Verification Vision Systems
Machine vision OCR is used to automatically read printed, scribed or stamped text at high speed to confirm text readability, quality and form. More detailed analysis such as missing or touching characters, dimensional checks, skew and distortion can also be analysed. In addition to this, OCV tools can also be used to verify text and numbers against expected results communicated from a PLC, printer, database or FTP server. IVS latest generation deep OCR uses Ai to read even under the most difficult conditions such as distorted letters and inconsistent surfaces with background noise.
Simple and reliable systems designed by experts
Explore some of the key features and benefits of using an IVS system for OCV and OCR
Identify Mistakes in Real-Time
Extremely fast and powerful character recognition algorithms can verify text strings in fractions of a second, ensuring your production isn’t compromised.
Remove The Human Element
Subconsciously, the human brain may read incorrectly spelt words and mistakenly decipher the information to understand them correctly. Machine vision eliminates the human error factor and consistently produces accurate results.
Reliable Information Management
Keep track of all read text with spreadsheet or SQL data logging for comprehensive production traceability.
OCR Using Machine Vision
Extremely Powerful Algorithms
The OCR wizard within our vision systems allows new datasets and styles to be added easily to enable the training, classification and verification of character sets.
Powerful algorithms locate text and easily identifies characters that are translated, rotated and scaled to sub-pixel accuracy. IVS® neural network tools can learn to recognise characters, symbols and digits, etc.
Once the vision system has identified a potential character candidate, it is assessed against the trained character set. If the candidate is a match, the vision system will identify the candidate as a readable character and output the read result.
Locate, Read & Verify
The Technology Behind Machine Vision OCR
There are a variety of ways an IVS vision system can recognise and classify text, these include:
- Matching and OCR tools
- Classifiers
- Ai deep learning
Matching and OCR Tools: pre-trained ready to use fonts are available in the toolkit or each character can be trained individually to allow for greater control for complex symbols etc. The system will quickly locate and read all characters in the region of interest.
Classifiers: this function sorts characters into classes based on their characteristics.
Ai deep learning OCR: The latest IVS® machine vision technologies mimic human brain activity when learning a task, allowing vision systems to identify and read text in the same way that humans can
Vast Application Experience
The Benefits of Machine Vision OCR
We have a library of pre-trained fonts, characters, digits and symbols from a vast amount of application areas that can be utilised to ensure your OCR applications are executed quickly and accurately. We understand each application is unique, therefore our training wizard also allows further optimisation for each application.
Our vision systems can read in any language, whether printed, laser engraved, dot printed, and even handwritten text. Pre-trained fonts for OCR-A and OCR-B are also included in our systems.
Intelligent and Reliable Solutions
The Benefits of Machine Vision OCV
Once the text has been read, each character in the string is evaluated for quality and class. A 100% quality score would indicate a perfect match for any given character. The class verification is simply analysing if the candidate is the correct character.
The read text can be sent to a factory automation system, appended to filenames for image archiving, and kept in a spreadsheet or SQL database, allowing the part to be tracked completely.
More about IVS machine vision OCR solutions
OCR vision systems can:
- Acquire familiarity with any printed font and be able to read it
- Cope with print variation
- Find and verify text even in low contrast areas
- Read multiple character strings in one scene
What is character class?
- The class is assigned to a read character candidate, e.g. a bottle label is printed with the string ‘abdc’ instead of ‘abcd’, the third candidate has been printed incorrectly and has therefore been assigned to class ‘d’, instead of class ‘c’, thus failing the vision inspection.
What are OCR-A and OCR-B fonts?
OCR-A and OCR-B fonts were designed during the early progression of OCR to aid the recognition process of printed characters. All characters have the same thickness and width and are distinctly different from each other.
With the latest machine vision technology, the need to use OCR fonts has been reduced and even handwritten characters can now be read by machine vision systems. Some manufactures still choose to use OCR fonts because they are easy to read and each character is unique.