ICR Technology revolutionised the modern world in the same manner that Gutenberg’s press revolutionised mediaeval Europe. It enabled businesses to handle and store data in a more efficient manner. Although the system’s accuracy is depending on how a document is created and produced, it can handle a wide range of characters with ease.
Scanners may now provide information in a searchable, editable format thanks to significant developments in intelligent character recognition. Big data companies were able to improve their data management and storage as a result of this.
What is Intelligent Character Recognition Technology (ICR) and how does it work?
Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) is a data extraction technology that can recognise and collect simple text. It’s a more polished and advanced version of the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology that came before it, and it can read and save data from paper documents. ICR technology has taken things a step further by recognising complete characters from an image file, whether printed or handwritten, whereas the predecessor could only pick up printed data.
In terms of cost and manual oversight of digitising paper-based data, this is a game-changer. According to IMF surveys, ICR scanners will play a big part in the abandonment of crude methods in favour of modern ones, as 65% of global GDP will be digitised in a year.
Brain of ICR
An artificial neural network serves as the brain of ICR software (ANN). Unlike legacy systems that must be maintained and rebuilt on a regular basis, this network, thanks to AI and ML roots, works like a person. As a result, when the ICR algorithm is exposed to new types of data, it continuously learns and enhances its capabilities.
Instead of focusing on characters, ICR Solutions begins by attempting to determine a generic path in a document. This enables them to develop a premise or context, resulting in greater accuracy in the process.
The confidence and accuracy of an ICR recognition tool will be discussed in the next section.
ICR Reader Accuracy and Confidence:
Automatic systems and processes have always been judged on their accuracy to determine their efficiency. This is useful for determining how much manual supervision an automation system requires.
Precision and functionality are measured in ICR technology using both accuracy and confidence, which are not synonymous terms.
Accuracy
The fraction of the text that is successfully read by the software is referred to as accuracy. Self-accuracy is not calculated by ICR technology, and it can only be computed after the automated process has been completed and reviewed.
Confidence
The confidence level indicates how confident an ICR technology system is regarding a character or field before assigning a number to it. The confidence index has a range of 0 to 100 and is governed by the context of recognition. In the event of a tie, the system will return the data with the request that it be examined manually.
In addition, the system can be configured to assign confidence values to suspect characters, allowing them to be corrected afterwards.
How can ICR Technology’s accuracy and confidence be improved?
Limiting the context of readable information, especially in the case of handwriting, can improve the accuracy and confidence of ICR technology. For example, if you set the system to solely read numbers, it will accurately read handwritten information.
Other measures that can help ICR algorithms perform better are listed below.
Make a point to the users
Avoid cursive writing and use bold characters. The form will be processed automatically.
Examples of effective character writing include how to write 1 or 7, or how to tell the difference between 8 and 3.
Benefits of ICR
As each dataset is gathered, artificial neuron networking assists the system in anticipating and improving OCR. It means that when the Intelligent character recognition programme is exposed to new forms of input, it automatically refreshes its recognition database.
- Filling out forms or obtaining information from a digital record can be sped up with ICR software.
- It has the ability to detect and identify unauthorised individuals or actions.
- It allows you to track and identify your customers’ activity.
- Enhanced security through the detection of illegal people and objects
- Improved data entry and navigation accuracy.
- Information retrieval and search are now faster and more efficient.
- Costs associated with manual data entering are reduced.
- Communication and teamwork have become more efficient.
Sum it up:
For a variety of reasons, businesses are leaving the old ways, and digitization is the only way forward. According to a Forrester poll from 2018, 21% of North American and European businesses claimed to be entirely digital. Intelligent character recognition online system is powered by AI algorithms, which means that once they’ve solved a new set of challenges, they get even better at what they’re doing. The system will become more accurate as deep learning (DL) and predictive modelling progress.
