Vision Recognition systems capture and process visual images and automatically recognise particular features, such as marks, characters, code structures. They can also detect natural features for identification purposes. Camera-based systems are being used for surveillance and smart recognition purposes and in laboratory applications for identification.

 

Magnetic Stripe technology is one of the more established and widely used of the AIDC technologies; it is characterised by the familiar brown/black stripe to be found on the back of tickets, bank cards , credit cards and customer loyalty cards. Other related technologies have been developed, including close proximity magnetic tags, capable of carrying small amounts of data in low cost devices. Some specialist applications have been identified for these technologies.

 

Contact Memory (or Button Memory) features robust data carriers, generally offering potential where it would be inappropriate to use RFID. This type of data carrier is often used - across a relatively small application base - for asset and container identification particularly in harsh environments, but has also been used for wrist-band patient identification. Tags can feature special function devices such as temperature sensing and Java Script engines. Contact memory technology is an example of electronic data carrier technology exploiting the type of memory devices usually associated with computers.

 

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology was originally designed to read stylised text on documents and tickets. Now commonplace scanners can have considerable advantage in dealing with archive documents that require conversion to digital format for entry into information systems and where there is a need to edit the text. OCR is useful in many applications requiring capture and automatic processing of text-based information. Advanced facilities for data extraction, indexing, routing and intelligent processing provide a significant tool for text handling. OCR technology continues to develop mainly in the direction of text recognition using page scanners, and in a niche market for the coding of customer and account details on utility bills.

 

Optical Mark Reading (OMR) is a simple form of digital optical encoding and reading technology usefully applied in applications where simple yes or no responses are required. Printed boxes are placed on forms and documents alongside questions. By marking or leaving blank the content of a box provides a yes or no binary input for a scanning device. An example of this technology in everyday use is for selecting numbers on lottery tickets.