[macvoiceover] Re: Prizmo OCR app
- From: David Chittenden <dchittenden@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2013 12:21:26 +1300
Each of the following will degrade quality of the image.
If the light is too bright, the text washes out. So, you do not want the page
in direct sunlight. That said, a nice, well-lit room is best. Do not have any
of your body between the light source and the page. Blocking the light creates
shadow which darkens the page, or parts of the page.
Any angling of the phone off the true vertical or horizontal is called skew. As
skew increases, recognition decreases. Tilting the iOS device from the plain of
the image causes parts of the page to lose focus. You need to keep the iOS
device flat relative to the page.
Finally, any movement of the device whilst taking the photo causes blurring
known as jitter in the image. more movement equates to increased jitter.
The camera is in the upper right corner of the back of the iPhone. I suspect it
is in the same location of the iPod Touch. You need at least a 5 MP camera, so
an iPhone 3GS and an iTouch 4th gen will not work.
After opening Prizmo, select the capture type you need. If I know the text is a
bill or a business card, I choose either option. I usually choose text.
Double-tap or split-tap to select your choice.
Select camera.
Change flash to on rather than automatic. Even with flash, you still want good
lighting. I use flash to correct for any inadvertent shadows I might be
causing. That said, glossy paper is often highly reflective, so when scanning
such paper, you might try turning flash off if the scans persist in being
problematic.
Prizmo has a speech recognition capacity. When activated, it will take the
picture when you say 'take picture'. However, when using this option, sound is
routed to the earpiece, so you really want to use a headset. I usually use the
split-tap method instead.
1) Lay the iOS device flat on the paper with the camera in the middle of the
page. Make sure the device is aligned to the edges of the paper.
2) Place the middle and / or the ring fingers of both hands around and under
the iOS device. Use both hands because this provides greater stability, and it
is easier to tell if you are skewing and tilting the device.
3) After the device is stable in your hands and fingers, and you are sure you
are not blocking the camera, slowly lift the device straight up from the page.
When you hear VO announce 'autofocus', stop movement. Wait for a second or
three to ensure you are not moving at all. Note: if you are too close to the
page, slowly lift until the next time VO speaks. If you go up too far, start
over from the paper.
4) After waiting, if using speech recognition, say 'take picture' to activate
the camera.
5) If using the split-tap method, before lifting the device, locate the take
picture button on the display with an index finger. Keep that finger still. It
is the anchoring finger for activating split-tap. iOS activates when fingers
are removed from the screen, not when the screen is touched, except when
locating something directly on the display.
After selecting the take picture button with the anchoring finger, lightly
touch the display with the index finger of your other hand. This sets up the
split-tap. After lifting the device to the proper height and waiting, slowly
and gently lift the other finger from the device to activate split-tap and take
the picture.
6) Select choose image.
7) Select continue. If you wish, you can double-tap on OCR first, but in my
experience, OCR is automatically selected.
8) Prizmo will now process the picture. When finished, the text is displayed in
an edit box. If you wish to keep the text, activate continue to save or email
it. I usually activate back to start over without saving since I mainly use
Prizmo to read mail and such.
It took me three days, several hours per day, to become proficient at taking
clear images for OCR. I now usually get a good image on my first picture.
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: dchittenden@xxxxxxxxx
Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
Sent from my iPhone
On 05/01/2013, at 10:38, Ian Edwards <ianedwards42@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Thanks David, good to know it's possible. Any tips and tricks? Anything
> you've found that it just plain doesn't work for?
>
> Ian
>
> On 2013-01-04, at 1:16 PM, David Chittenden <dchittenden@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I have been using Prizmo almost daily for the past two years. I use it quite
>> successfully with Voice-Over. Prizmo has a steep learning curve. It requires
>> lots of practice to take a clear, still, aligned, properly focused image.
>> Also, lighting must be good.
>>
>> David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
>> Email: dchittenden@xxxxxxxxx
>> Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On 05/01/2013, at 8:26, Ian Edwards <ianedwards42@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Check in on iPhone OCR every once in a while, just read that Prizmo has
>>> worked on their Voiceover accessibility. Anyone working with this app? Any
>>> positive results, or just frustration?
>>>
>>> Ian>
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>
>>
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