An image reader includes a document reading unit, and a control unit that functions as an individual image cutting section, character string detection section, mismatch detection section, judgment section, and correction section. The individual image cutting section cuts out individual images from image data obtained through reading by the document reading unit. The character string detection section detects character strings present on the individual images. The mismatch detection section detects, for the character strings detected by the character string detection section, a mismatching portion by making comparison between the individual images with considering character strings having contents identical or similar to each other as same information. The judgment section judges for the mismatching portions whether a ratio of majority characters reaches a predefined ratio. Upon judging that the ratio of the majority characters has reached the predefined ratio, the correction section replaces a minority character with the majority character.

Provided is a method for recognizing handwritten characters in a terminal through federated learning. In the method, a first common prediction model for recognizing text from handwritten characters input from a user is applied, the handwritten characters are received from the user, feature values are extracted from an image including the handwritten characters, the feature values are input to the first common prediction mode, first text information is determined from an output of the first common prediction model, the first text information and a second text information received from the user for error correction of the first text information are cached, and the first common prediction model is learned using the image including the handwritten characters, the first text information, and the second text information. In this way, the terminal can determine the text from the handwritten characters input by the user, and can learn the first common prediction model through a feedback operation of the user.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor. The processor is configured to acquire an evaluation form image in which an item and correct answer data indicating a correct answer of a recognition result for the item are associated with each other in advance; and output, when the acquired evaluation form image is processed in at least one step of form processing, an evaluation result of the at least one step of the form processing.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor. The processor is configured to accept designation of an area including an item and a set of one or more options for the item, the item being contained in a form image to be recognized, to define the form image, extract the item and the set of one or more options from the area, and perform control to display a definition that associates the item with the set of one or more options.

An image processing device including: a first feature quantity selecting unit configured to select a first feature quantity of a document image that is a character recognition target among first feature quantities that are recoded in advance and represent features of character strings of an item; a character recognition processing unit configured to perform a character recognition process for the document image; a character string selecting unit configured to select a character string of a specific item corresponding to the first feature quantity among the character strings acquired as a result of the character recognition process; and a determination result acquiring unit configured to acquire a determination result indicating whether or not a character string that has been input in advance matches the character string of the specific item in a case in which the character string selecting unit has not selected any one of the character strings.

A document classification system uses an image file as a file of an image serving as a model for classifying a document to classify, by machine learning, an image read from a form as a document by a scanner of an image forming apparatus, and reports a classification failure image as an image of the document when the document is unsuccessfully classified.

A character recognition device is configured to convert characters on a scanned image obtained by reading a document into digital data. The character recognition device includes control circuitry. The control circuitry is configured to perform character recognition processing on the scanned image; generate data in which candidate characters or character strings of a character or character string recognized by the character recognition processing are associated with recognition degrees representing probabilities of the candidate characters or character strings; display a first candidate having a highest recognition degree among the candidate characters or character strings; and generate a document file in a format in which another candidate, other than the first candidate, of the candidate characters or character strings is displayed simultaneously with the first candidate, in association with the first candidate, and in a form different from a form of the first candidate.

An image forming apparatus includes: a document reading device that reads a plurality of original documents on a document support surface in a batch; an individual image cutouter that cuts individual images of the original documents out of image data obtained by batch reading; a character recognizer that recognizes, for each individual image, characters in the individual image; a document determiner that determines, for each individual image, whether the recognized characters contain a type name; an acquirer that acquires, from the characters determined to contain the type name, a plurality of informative character strings associated one-to-one with a plurality of item names; a data generator that generates, for each individual image, a piece of document data in which the type name is associated with the plurality of acquired informative character strings; and a document data storage that stores the pieces of document data generated one for each individual image.

Provided are an image processing apparatus, a control method, and a control program for further shortening the time required for recognition processing. An image processing apparatus includes, an operation module, a display module, an imaging module to successively generate an input image, an evaluation point calculation module to calculate, for each of the successively generated input images, an evaluation point for each of a plurality of character candidates for a character in each input image, and a character recognition module to recognize, when a character candidate whose degree of certainty based on the plurality of evaluation points calculated for each of the successively generated input images is equal to or greater than a threshold value is present, the character candidate as a character in the input image. The character recognition module terminates processing of calculating the evaluation point, even when a character candidate having the degree of certainty equal to or greater than the threshold value is not present, in a case where a predetermined condition is satisfied since processing of calculating the evaluation point starts, displays, on the display module, the plurality of character candidates in order based on the evaluation point, and sets, when one of character candidates displayed on the display module is designated by a user with the operation module, the designated character candidate as a character in the input image.

System and method for improving recognition of characters. A system for improving recognition of characters is disclosed. The system comprises at least one processor (10), configured to receive an image (1004) of an article (102) comprising characters to be recognized. The system (100) displays characters as recognized on a display screen (1006). Further, the system (100) is configured to receive user feedback comprising correction of an error made by the system (100) in recognizing at least one character and provide a system feedback comprising display of images or textual descriptions of one or more variants (1012, 1014, 1016, 1018, 1020, 1022) of a character, which is incorrectly recognized by the system, which enables the natural person to adapt writing style to enable better quality inputs to the recognition module. The article (102) is a handwritten paper form (102), filled and captured by the natural person.