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AIDC Technology
Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
Most of us are quite
familiar with this type of data input technology. As students, we have
gone through standardized testing that uses optical mark recognition.
This is one of the earliest types of automated data entry. OMR
processes marked data by detecting and measuring reflected light
flooding the form. When a mark has been made within a constrained area
(with a #2 pencil or more recently, a felt-tipped pen), it absorbs
light. Subsequently, electronic circuitry recognizes the mark as valid
and sends a digital signal to the computer. The form data, represented
by mark positions, are translated to ASCII text records for use in a
variety of applications.
Another huge application of OMR is in lotteries, where participants
can quickly and easily mark their selection of numbers on a
machine-readable ticket.
Although less sophisticated than other optical data collection
technologies, OMR can serve certain high-volume data collection
applications very cost-effectively because of labor and cost
efficiencies. It has a lock on the educational market and is growing
steadily in commercial and government applications.
Key Attributes and Limitations
Mark/no mark optical-read, read-only
technology
Relatively low cost scanning equipment
Application-specific forma are required
Accuracy determined by the effectiveness of detecting marks and
accommodating the variability in marks.
Acknowledgement: Some of the
information on AIDC pages is based on the information in AIMGlobal's
website. We would like to thank AIMGlobal for this.
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