UNSD Census Workshop Day 2 - Session 7 Data Capture: Intelligent Character Recognition Andy Tye – International Manager DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) Elements Form design Hardware/Software requirements –Scanners –Computer infrastructure Workflow Accuracy Advantages Disadvantages DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Forms design Typical stock grade paper (90GSM) Corner Stones advised Dropout colour is recommended but not essential DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Hardware requirements Image Scanners –TWAIN or ISIS Database Server (Full redundancy) Storage Server – Terabytes –(Raid 5, Mirrored, etc.) Network (Gb preferred) Administrator PC CS-Pro PCs Key correction PCs (Verification) Character Inspection PCs –(Mass verification - optional) Scanner PCs Automatic data capture PCs Software requirements MS-SQL or other database Data Storage, Archive and Retrieval Backup Software Software for Administrator PC CS-Pro for analysis and reporting PCs Software for Key correction PCs Software for Character inspection PCs Software for Scanner PCs Software for automatic data capture Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Typical Workflow ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Typical Workflow Paper Movement – Processing Centre/s DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Typical Workflow Receiving DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Logging/Checking Open Batch Verify Contents Register Batch

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Sifting Orientation Other Forms

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Spine removal Cut Booklets 30,000/day

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Scanning Double Sided High Speed Double Detection Ease of Use

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Scanning/sorting Automatic Identification Data Capture

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Storage Conditions Retrieval Space

Data Capture - ICR Typical Workflow Image Movement/Data Extraction – Processing Centre/s DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Image interpretation Automated Process Background Task Page Identification De-skew Image Clean up Pre-defined Areas

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Character inspection Tiling High Confidence Operator Decision Field Context Tall to Short

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Key correction Low Confidence Operator Decision From Context External Verification

Data Capture - ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture Typical Workflow Key Correction ASCII File CSV Format 1 Line/Form CSPro Import

Data Capture - ICR Typical Workflow ICR DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Accuracy This is always the first question Handprint Numeric only in isolated fields 98% Numeric only in semi constrained fields 95-96% Alpha upper case only 90% Alpha lower case only 85-87% Alpha mixed case 75-80% Alpha/Numeric mixed case 50% or less –reduce by 5% if there are special characters not a-z and 0-9 The accuracy level post data correction (e.g. the final output accuracy) should be 100% (subject to good operators) DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Accuracy continued… The accuracy of all modern ICR engines are pretty much comparable The major differences with suppliers solutions are the methods and workflow utilised with each offering False positive detection takes 10 times longer than entry of characters recognised with low confidence – false positives (substitutions) are the most expensive errors DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Accuracy continued… Accuracy can be improved by: Restricting the responses to any given question Using external verification Using multiple ICR engines to ‘vote’ which is expensive Training your ICR engines on local hand writing styles (If possible) DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Advantages No specialist hardware required An image archive can be automatically produced of every form Very high speed scanning can be achieved Both OMR and ICR can be interpreted using ICR software Forms designed for ICR relatively easy to fill in. Locally printed forms can be used. Allows capturing much more complex data than with OMR alone DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Disadvantages Significant hardware/software and trained IT staff will be required Accuracy dependant on manual intervention High calibre IT staff are required to support the ICR system More complex cost/benefit analysis than with OMR alone DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - ICR Indicative Costs For 65 Million Population Census (20M Single Sided A4 household form) Processing period of 12 Weeks (8 hours/day 5 days/week) Hardware $800k-$1M in total Software $700k-$1.3M in total Total Indicative Costs are $1.5M to $2.3M No. of Staff in total –6-10 Managers – PC Operators DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

Data Capture - OMR Summary ICR offers considerable flexibility at the cost of higher skilled IT personnel The single most important factor for timely and accurate data capture is to make sure ‘the forms are filled in correctly and are returned in good condition’ DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture

UNSD Census Workshop Day 2 - Session 7 Thank you for listening Andy Tye – International Manager DRS are Worldwide specialists in Census data capture