Preprocessing for Images Captured by Cameras
Chih-Chang Yu, Ming-Gang Wen, Kuo‐Chin Fan, Hsin-Te Lue · InTech eBooks · 2012
Due to the rapid development of mobile devices equipped with cameras, the realization of what you get is what you see is not a dream anymore. In general, texts in images often draw people’s attention due to the following reasons: semantic meanings to objects in the image (e.g., the name of the book), information about the environment (e.g., a traffic sign), or commercial purpose (e.g., an advertisement). The mass development of mobile device with low cost cameras boosts the demand of recognizing characters in nature scenes via mobile devices such as smartphones. Employing text detection algorithms along with character recognition techniques on mobile devices assists users in understanding or gathering useful information around them. A useful mobile application is the translation tool. Using handwriting as the input is widely used in current translation tools on smartphones. However, capturing images and recognizing texts directly is more intuitive and convenient for users. A translation tool with character recognition techniques recognizes texts on the road signs or restaurant menus. Such application greatly helps travelers and blinds.