Document recognition serving people with disabilities

James R. Fruchterman

doi:10.1117/12.713247

29 January 2007 Document recognition serving people with disabilities

James R. Fruchterman

Proceedings Volume 6500, Document Recognition and Retrieval XIV; 65000Q (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.713247
Event: Electronic Imaging 2007, 2007, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Document recognition advances have improved the lives of people with print disabilities, by providing accessible documents. This invited paper provides perspectives on the author's career progression from document recognition professional to social entrepreneur applying this technology to help people with disabilities. Starting with initial thoughts about optical character recognition in college, it continues with the creation of accurate omnifont character recognition that did not require training. It was difficult to make a reading machine for the blind in a commercial setting, which led to the creation of a nonprofit social enterprise to deliver these devices around the world. This network of people with disabilities scanning books drove the creation of Bookshare.org, an online library of scanned books. Looking forward, the needs for improved document recognition technology to further lower the barriers to reading are discussed. Document recognition professionals should be proud of the positive impact their work has had on some of society's most disadvantaged communities.

Citation Download Citation

James R. Fruchterman "Document recognition serving people with disabilities", Proc. SPIE 6500, Document Recognition and Retrieval XIV, 65000Q (29 January 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.713247

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