Machine Learning Enabled Zonal OCR for Text extraction

Big projects, huge infrastructures, mesmerizing modern structures across the world were built with discipline and the utmost productivity within the minimum time possible. With economies around the world progressing rapidly, the construction industry is becoming increasingly responsible for building sustainable infrastructure within a comparatively shorter duration. Accuracy, speed, and creativity are in demand, appreciated and the need of the hour. 

The meaning of accuracy and the least human errors in this sector is way deeper than most of the other sectors.

The present construction industry is facing one core issue:

Documents in the form of drawing sheets for the construction industry.

Engineers and assistants have to manually copy the text data available on these documents and use it wherever needed. Searching, copying, sharing and completing the data is done manually, allowing room for human errors and slow operations. Reading drawing numbers/Part numbers from drawing sheets is an overhead for large quantities. 

OCR- Optical Character Recognition can resolve and ensure a smooth transfer of data as well as vital statistical information.

 Introduction to OCR:

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a smart technology built to read machine-printed text on a document. OCR is widely used in automated document classification and automated data gathering solutions. If one decides to document, categorize and utilize the data manually it will become time-consuming and ensure a smooth transfer of data as well as vital statistical information. 

OCR “reads” documents, identifies them and decides which data to extract in the given business process. OCR when integrated with other programs like Data Management Systems, brings elaborated benefits for organizations.

Types of OCR:

• Optical character recognition
• Optical word recognition
• Intelligent word recognition
• Intelligent character recognition

 How OCR software benefits your organization?

Implementing OCR solutions in the construction organization will revolutionize your internal and external operations. 

• Improved speed: It reduces the dependency on manual efforts and deploys automation in the process, hence adding to the speed.
• Workforce Optimization: Reduced human efforts facilitate the use of staff to more productive areas of the business where their skills could be utilized more effectively.
• Decreased costs: Due to technologically optimized business operations, the labor cost is cut down.
• Intelligent capture solutions: Once guided, OCR will automatically find the required data on each document and get it ready for the extraction. The commands given to the program are customizable and can be changed as well as modified.

What Technology is running OCR?

OCR enables you to convert different types of documents, such as scanned papers, PDF files or images into editable and searchable text data. Suppose you received a document or a PDF file from your client. What a scanner could do is create an image or a snapshot of the document called a ‘raster image’. On the other hand, OCR would extract every single letter from the image, put them into words and then convert words into sentences as per the command. 

As per the reports by Transparency Market Research, the value of the OCR industry by the end of 2025 will be US$ 25.182 billion and will grow annually at 14.8% from 2017 to 2025. These are huge numbers and one cannot ignore them. 

So let us look into OCR deeper and find out how nCircle Tech is looking at this: 

What exactly is meant by “Machine Learning Enabled powered Zonal OCR for Text extraction?”

Scientists are yet to find the mechanism that allows the human mind to recognize objects. However, we know that the brain has a tendency to see and analyze based on the purpose, objective and then make meaning out of it. nCircle strives to do exactly the same for you through its OCR solutions. OCR can recognize the text and extract it from other sources of media. 

Current OCR tools are well suited for recognizing text that is part of a predefined region/command. Since text can be located in any location within the drawing, there is a need for an advanced text detection system. Though there are a few end-to-end systems in the market, they are not comparable to specialized text detection. These existing systems include programs like Connected Components Analysis (CCA). 

nCircle Tech uses an implementation based on a convolutional neural network trained in a weakly supervised manner.

How does it work?

Our ML powered OCR Solution looks at the object as a “whole”. It scans all the available data on the document and considers every word as interrelated to each other. The program is designed to accept that the data always has some purpose and everything it has scanned so far must lead somewhere as a whole. Once the data is extracted the OCR program analyzes it and comes up with a final result on its own. OCR is a smart program which can perform as a human (using the available data and learning)

Our Solution’s Benefits. 

nCircle’s ML powered OCR solution captures and converts tons of construction documents, including highly complicated project plans into a well-categorized text format. This format is easy to edit and easy to share. It further boosts productivity and improves the documentation. It enhances efficiency through:

1. Identifying all the text in the document irrespective of its size and complexity with accuracy
2. Precision in the interpretation of data. For e.g. “6017” is misinterpreted as six zero ‘I’ seven or six ‘o’ one ‘z’. With our ML powered OCR, this situation is overridden
3. Ability to read text despite multiple alignment or orientations in one document
4. Capture and convert text from labels of objects with correctness for input into the facility management system or for any further use
5. Reduction of human error through complete and correct data extraction
6. Customization in our machine learning to read words, numbers, and/or letters

nCircle Tech (incorporated in 2012) empowers passionate innovators to create impactful 3D visualization software for desktop, mobile, and cloud. Our domain expertise in CAD-BIM customization drives automation with the ability to integrate advanced technologies like AI/ML and VR/AR; empowers our clients to reduce time to market and meet business goals. nCircle has a proven track record of technology consulting and advisory services for the AEC and Manufacturing industry across the globe. Our team of dedicated engineers, partner ecosystem and industry veterans are on a mission to redefine how you design and visualize.