SCANNABLE FORM, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMAGE ALIGNMENT AND IDENTIFICATION
First Claim
1. A scannable form having at least one answer response area comprising:
- a generally rectangular sheet; and
at least three digitally encoded symbols, each encoded symbol having an identifiable center for forming a control point, the symbols being printed on the sheet in a spatial arrangement relative to the at least one answer response area, wherein when the form is scanned as an image, the control points in the image are compared to pre-determined control points in a known template for determining an alignment of the image with the known template.
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Abstract
A scannable form, and a method and system of use which incorporates digitally encoded symbols which have identifiable centers that act as control points to permit a digital image to be aligned with a template containing the same control points. The digital encoding permits identification of the type of form and the spatial arrangement of the symbols permits alignment of the form with the template. Preferably, the digital symbols are geometrically symmetrical and the identifiable centers are centroids. Recognition of any three centroids is sufficient to allow the system to calculate transformation parameters to realign the image. Due to the geometrical symmetry, error correction is possible if any of the symbols are incorrectly identified.
26 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A scannable form having at least one answer response area comprising:
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a generally rectangular sheet; and
at least three digitally encoded symbols, each encoded symbol having an identifiable center for forming a control point, the symbols being printed on the sheet in a spatial arrangement relative to the at least one answer response area, wherein when the form is scanned as an image, the control points in the image are compared to pre-determined control points in a known template for determining an alignment of the image with the known template. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for image alignment and recognition of a scannable form comprising:
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providing a plurality of digitally encoded symbols, each symbol encoding a unique number or character, and having an identifiable center for forming a control point;
positioning at least three of the plurality of digitally encoded symbols on the scannable form in a spatial arrangement;
generating a digital image of the scannable form including the spatial arrangement;
identifying a known template having pre-determined control points for comparison of the scannable form thereto; and
determining the spatial arrangement of the control points in the digital image of at least three of the at least three digitally encoded symbols for determining alignment of the digital image compared to pre-determined control points of the known template. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for image alignment and recognition comprising:
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providing a plurality of digitally encoded symbols, each symbol encoding a unique number or character, and being geometrically symmetrical and having a fixed centroid for forming a control point;
positioning at least three of the plurality of digitally encoded symbols on the scannable form in a spatial arrangement;
generating a digital image of the scannable form including the spatial arrangement;
identifying a known template having pre-determined control points for comparison of the scannable form thereto; and
determining the spatial arrangement of the centroids of at least three of the at least three digitally encoded symbols for determining alignment of the digital image compared to the known template. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for preparing, administering and marking an examination comprising:
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creating an examination having a plurality of user-defined questions;
selecting an answer sheet template from a plurality of customizable templates and customizing the template to contain markings representative of the answers to the plurality of user-defined questions;
printing a plurality of examination response sheets using the selected answer sheet template and having at least three digitally encoded symbols printed thereon, each symbol encoding a unique number or character for identification of the template, and each symbol having a center wherein the at least three digitally encoded symbols form at least three control points, the at least three control points being positioned on the plurality of response sheets in a spatial arrangement to permit recognition of an alignment of each of the printed answer sheets;
administering the examination, each exam answer sheet being marked at predetermined locations to indicate an answer to each of the plurality of user-defined questions;
scanning each of the plurality of answer sheets for forming a scanned digital image;
processing the scanned digital images for determining a location of the at least three control points for aligning each answer sheet with the known template; and
if aligned, comparing the scanned digital image to the template for matching markings thereon for scoring the answer sheet. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification