Patent Publication Number: US-9418304-B2

Title: System and method for recognizing text information in object

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/502,781, filed on Jun. 29, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to recognizing text information. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for recognizing a text block in an object having a specified form. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Modern mobile devices have evolved to include image capturing capabilities through the use of cameras as well as high speed processors. Taking advantage of such features, some mobile devices have provided text recognition capability to recognize text from a captured image of a document. Users of such mobile devices have extended the use of such capabilities to objects beyond paper documents such as credit cards, ID cards, etc. to recognize text information in the objects. 
     Conventional text recognition methods in mobile devices have generally recognized text blocks in an object based on a single object image. For example, mobile devices with conventional text recognition capabilities typically allow a user to capture a single image of an object. Text blocks in the object image are then recognized by processing the object image. 
     However, such conventional text recognition methods based on a single object image often suffer from inaccuracies in recognizing the characters in the text blocks due to varying conditions under which the image may be captured. For example, an image of an object may be captured under less than optimum lighting conditions such as light reflection, poor lighting, etc., which may degrade the quality of the captured image. Further, in a mobile device setting, some portions of the image may be captured out of focus or may suffer from blurring due to unwanted motion of the mobile device in the user&#39;s control. 
     Thus, there is a need for a method and system that allow recognition of text blocks in objects more accurately in various conditions under which the object images are captured. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides systems and methods for recognizing a text block in an object using a temporal filtering. 
     According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for recognizing a text block in an object is disclosed. The text block has a set of characters. The method includes receiving a plurality of images of an object. Each image of the object includes the text block. The text blocks in the images of the object are identified. The set of characters is determined based on the identified text blocks in the plurality of images of the object. This disclosure also describes a device, an apparatus, a combination of means, and a computer-readable medium relating to this method. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a system for recognizing text blocks in an object from object images, including a client device and a server according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a client device system for recognizing text blocks in an object from object images according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  depicts an image of an exemplary object in the form of a credit card including text blocks that can be recognized according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an image of an exemplary object in the form of a driver license including text blocks that can be recognized according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of an exemplary object database including identification and configuration information for various objects having text blocks according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a detailed block diagram of the client device for recognizing text blocks from object images according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method for recognizing a text block in an object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a flowchart of a method for identifying an object from an image of an object based on predetermined patterns of objects according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a flowchart of a method for identifying an object from an image of an object based on an object database according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a flowchart of a method for detecting a boundary of an object and identifying text blocks in the images of the object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 11 and 12  show detected boundaries of an object according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram showing a relationship between a detected boundary of an object and an actual boundary of the object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates identified text blocks of an object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a flowchart of a method for inferring a set of characters in a text block in an object based on interim sets of characters according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a block diagram of a temporal filter for determining a set of characters in a text block in an object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 17  illustrates a diagram of inferring a set of characters in a text block in an object based on interim sets of characters according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 18  depicts a group of interim sets of characters on a character basis for use in inferring a set of characters in a text block in an object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 19  depicts a group of interim sets of characters on a word basis for use in inferring a set of characters in a text block in an object according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 20  is a flowchart of a method for verifying a recognition result by a user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates a diagram displaying an intermediate recognition result on a display according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 22  illustrates a diagram displaying a final recognition result on a display according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 23  shows a configuration of an exemplary mobile device in a wireless communications system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that such embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a system  100  for recognizing text blocks in an object from a plurality of images of the object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system  100  includes a client device  110  and a server  120  in communication through a network  130 . The client device  110  is configured to capture a plurality of images of an object having one or more specified text blocks of characters such as a credit card, a business card, a driver license, a passport, an identification document, etc., and recognize the text blocks in the object. In one embodiment, the client device  110  may identify the object based on a specified pattern in an object image and provides the server  120  with object identification information. The client device  110  may be any suitable computer or mobile device, such as a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet computer, or the like, equipped with an image capturing capability, e.g., a camera or a video camera, and communication capability through a communication network. 
     The server  120  receives the object identification information from the client device  110  and accesses an object database  140  based on the object identification information. The object database  140  provides information on a plurality of objects, including information on objects such as object identification and configuration information such as object layout and text block information. In the case of a credit card, for example, the object identification information may include information on the type of credit cards (e.g., Visa card or MasterCard), the name of an issuing bank, etc. The object configuration information includes information on the layout of an object including the size of the object, location and character format of text blocks, etc. The object database  140  may include additional information as will be described later with reference to  FIG. 5 . The server  120  provides the configuration information of the identified object to the client device  110 . 
     The client device  110  may receive configuration information for the identified object including associated information on the object configuration and text blocks from the server  120  via the network  130 . Based on the received configuration information, the client device  110  identifies and recognizes text blocks, and infers the characters in the text blocks. 
     In another embodiment, the object database  140  may be provided in the client device  110  instead of the server  120 .  FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a client device system  200  that includes the object database  140  for recognizing text blocks in an object from a plurality of images of the object according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the client device  210  operates in a similar manner as the client device  110 . The client device  210  may identify an object based on a specified pattern in the object image. Further, from the object database  140  stored in the client device  210 , the client device  210  retrieves configuration information for the identified object including information on the size of the object, the location and format of text blocks, etc. 
     The method and system of the present disclosure applies to any objects, which include text information. For example, the objects may be documentary objects in either electronic or paper format, or physical objects such as credit cards, business cards, driver licenses, identification documents, etc. In general, an object may have identification and may be associated with configuration information that distinguishes it from other objects. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an image of an exemplary object in the form of a credit card  300  that can be captured for recognizing text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the credit card  300  includes a plurality of text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308  that include alphanumeric characters, which can be recognized. The text block  304  includes a unique card number while the text block  306  contains an expiration date consisting of month/year. Further, the text block  308  includes a cardholder name. 
     The credit card  300  also includes a block  302  having identification information of a card issuer. For example, the block  302  may contain text information and/or an image such as a pattern or logo of the card issuer (e.g., ABC bank) that can identify the object  300  as a credit card. The specific type of the credit card  300  may be determined by recognizing the identification information in the block  302  and/or other identification information or patterns provided in the card  300 . 
     Generally, the layout and format of the credit card  300  are predetermined by the card issuer and are the same for credit cards of the same type from the same issuer. In particular, configuration information such as the size of the card  300  and the location, layout, and format of the blocks  302  to  308  are typically the same for cards of the same type. For example, the locations of the text blocks  304  to  308  may be defined by specified points such as a top left-hand corner point and a bottom right-hand corner point with respect to a reference location of the credit card  300 . The configuration information and identification information for the credit card  300  are pre-stored in an object database  140 , as will be described in more detail below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 4  depicts an image of another exemplary object in the form of a driver license  400  that can be captured for recognizing text blocks  404 ,  406 ,  408 , and  410  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The driver license  400  includes a block  402 , which provides identification information of the name of the card issuer. For example, the block  402  includes text information and/or an image such as a pattern or logo that can identify the object  400  as a driver license of a particular issuing authority (e.g., ABC state). 
     As shown, the driver license  400  also includes a plurality of text blocks  404  to  410 . The text block  404  includes a license number while the text block  406  contains an expiration date consisting of month-day-year. Further, the text block  408  includes the name of the owner, and the text block  410  includes the address of the owner. 
     Typically, configuration information such as the layout and format of the driver license  400  is predetermined by a card issuer and is the same for other license cards of the same type from the same issuer. Such configuration information is stored in an object database  140  with the identification information, as will be described later in more detail. In some embodiments, the client device  110  (or client device  210 ) retrieves such configuration information from the object database  140  to recognize the text blocks based on the configuration information. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary object database  140  including identification and configuration information for a plurality of objects having one or more text blocks according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The object database  140  may be generated and stored in the server  120  and/or client device  210 . For each object, the database  140  includes the identification information and configuration information of the object. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the object database  140  includes identification and configuration information of the credit card  300  in  FIG. 3 , the driver license  400  in  FIG. 4 , etc. The identification information for each object includes an object type and a name of the object issuer or source. In the case of the credit card  300 , for example, the issuer&#39;s name “ABC Bank” is stored along with the object type “Credit Card” in the object database  140 . Similarly, an object type “Driver License” and the issuer name “ABC State” are stored in the object database  140  to identify the object. In addition, the database  140  may also store other types of identification information for each object such as a logo or pattern. 
     The object database  140  also contains configuration information for each of the objects including the size of the object and the location, layout, and format of each text block that can be recognized. The size information may provide an aspect ratio of the object such as the credit card  300  and the driver license  400 . The size information may be provided to the client device  110 , which can verify whether a detected boundary of an object in the image is correct in comparison to the size information from the database  140 . Text blocks I, II, and III of the credit card  300  include location information of text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308  in  FIG. 3 , respectively, while the text blocks I, II, III, and IV of the driver license  400  contain location information of text blocks  404 ,  406 ,  408 , and  410  in  FIG. 4 , respectively. In this arrangement, each of the text blocks I, II, III, and IV provides two coordinates with a specified unit (e.g., pixel in an object image) to indicate the locations of an upper-left vertex and a lower-right vertex of the respective blocks with respect to a reference location of the object. In this case, the location of each text block may be identified by using the two coordinates with respect to a reference location at the top left-hand corner of the object, since each text block is configured as a rectangle. For example, from the two coordinates (1.2, 4.4) and (12, 5.4) of the text block I of the credit card  300 , the location of the text block I of the credit card  300  can be defined by coordinates of four vertices (1.2, 4.4), (12, 4.4), (1.2, 5.4), and (12, 5.4). Thus, the width and the height of the text block I are determined to be 10.8 (=12−1.2) and 1 (=5.4−4.4), respectively. Such location information of the text blocks may be provided to the client device  110  such that the geometric locations of the text blocks can be identified in the object such as the credit card  300 , the driver license  400 , etc. 
     The object database  140  also includes a character format of each of the text blocks I, II, III, and IV such as the number of characters within each text block, an arrangement of characters, and/or a type of character. For example, the character format of the text block I of credit card  300  provides a character format “**** **** **** ****,” which indicate the number and arrangement of characters in the text, block  304 , and “Number,” which indicates that the characters in the text block are numbers. The character format of the text blocks may be provided to the client device  110  for use in recognizing characters in the text blocks. In some embodiments, the configuration information may also include the shape of the object, color/font of the text characters, language of the characters, etc. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a detailed block diagram of the client device  110  in  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The client device  110  includes an image capturing unit  610 , an object recognition unit  620 , a boundary detector  630 , a rectification unit  640 , a masking unit  650 , an OCR engine  660 , a temporal filter  670 , and a graphics processing unit  680 . The image capturing unit  610  includes an image sensor (e.g., a video camera or a digital camera) to capture a plurality of images of an object (e.g., a sequence of images) having a specified configuration or layout. The image capturing unit  610  provides an image of the object to the object recognition unit  620  for identifying the object. From the object image, the object recognition unit  620  extracts a pattern, and compares the pattern with predetermined patterns of various known objects provided by the server  120  or the client device  110 . When the pattern is found to match the pattern of a known object, the object is identified to be the known object. Alternatively, the object recognition unit  620  may receive identification of the object from a user input through a user interface (not shown) provided by the client device  110 . As will be described in more detail below, the object identification information is provided to the server  120  to retrieve object configuration information from the object database  140 . 
     The image capturing unit  610  provides the images of the object to the boundary detector  630  for detecting a boundary of the identified object in the images. The boundary detector  630  also receives configuration information (e.g., an object size or aspect ratio) for the object from the server  120 . For each image, the boundary detector  630  identifies a boundary of the object in the image that defines the object region by determining boundary features of the object region such as corners and edges, based on the received configuration information. Based on the identified boundary, the boundary detector  630  extracts an image of the object region from each of the images and provides the images of the object regions to a rectification unit  640 . 
     Since an image of an object region from the captured object images may not accurately reflect the size, shape, and/or orientation of the object, each object region image is rectified in the rectification unit  640 . The rectification unit  640  is configured to receive configuration information such as size information (e.g., an aspect ratio, a length, and a width) of the object from the server  120 , and rectify the images of object regions based on the size information of the object. For example, the object regions in the images may be transformed to match the aspect ratio of the object. The images of the rectified object regions may be provided to the masking unit  650 . 
     From the extracted and rectified object regions, text blocks are identified by masking their locations. The masking unit  650  receives configuration information of the text blocks in the object from the server  120  such as locations and sizes of text blocks, etc. Based on the configuration information of the text blocks, the masking unit  650  identifies the text blocks in the object region in each of the images. In some embodiments, the masking unit  650  uses information on locations of the text blocks in the object region to identify a geometric location of each text block within the object region. By identifying the geometric locations of the text blocks, the masking unit  650  can avoid reading or processing unnecessary information from other regions in the object image. 
     For each of the identified text blocks in an object region, the OCR engine  660  recognizes the characters in the text blocks. The OCR engine  660  is configured to receive the identified text blocks in each of the images from the masking unit  650  and the object configuration information including character formats of the text blocks from the server  120 . Based on the object configuration information, the OCR engine  660  recognizes the characters in each of the text blocks to generate an interim set of characters for each text block. The interim sets of characters of a text block from the images are then used by the temporal filter  670  to determine a final set of characters for the text block. The character format information may include the number of characters in each of the text blocks, an arrangement of the characters, a text color/font of the characters, the language type of the characters, etc. In this configuration, the interim sets of characters may be recognized using a holistic method or a segmentation-based method, which will be described in detail later. 
     The temporal filter  670  determines a final set of characters for each of the text blocks in an object based on interim sets of characters from a plurality of images of the object captured over a period time. Initially, the temporal filter  670  receives the interim sets of characters corresponding to each text block in the object images from the OCR engine  660 . The temporal filter  670  determines a final set of characters by inferring a set of characters from interim sets of characters for each of the text blocks of the object. In determining the final set of characters, the characters may be inferred on a character-by-character basis or word-by-word basis based on the number of occurrences for each character or each word in the interim sets of characters. Thus, each character or each word in the text blocks may be inferred from the interim sets of characters when the number of occurrences for a character or a word exceeds a predetermined threshold. 
     In one embodiment, the set of characters is inferred based on confidence levels of the interim sets of characters reflecting the sharpness of the characters in the text blocks. When the OCR engine  660  generates an interim set of characters, it compares similarity values between reference characters or words stored in the OCR engine  660  and each character or word in a text block in an object image. Based on the similarity values, characters or words having the greatest similarity value are identified as characters or words in the interim set of characters. In this case, the similarity value of a character or word may be used as a confidence level in determining a final set of characters in the text block. 
     In addition, the temporal filter  670  may provide the character recognition result to the graphics processing unit  680  to be displayed simultaneously as the text recognition is being performed. The client device  110  may include a display for displaying the recognition result of at least one text block in the object. Alternatively, the display may be installed in another device separate from the client device  110 , and connected to the client device  110  via a network. The display may be any suitable electronic visual display including LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), or LED (Light Emitting Diode), etc. to output an object image and/or a recognition result for text blocks in the object. 
     Although  FIG. 6  describes the client device  110  in  FIG. 1  that communicates with the server  120 , the configuration and operation of the client device  110  in  FIG. 6  may be applied to the client device  210  having the object database  140  in the system  200  in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method for recognizing a text block in an object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At  710 , the image capturing unit  610  captures and receives a plurality of images of an object including one or more text blocks. The images of an object may be a sequence of images (e.g., video frames of the object) captured over a period time. The captured images are provided to the object recognition unit  620 , which is configured to identify the object in the received images, at  720 . Once the object has been identified, the object recognition unit  620  provides identification information of the object to the server  120 , which sends configuration information of the identified object to the client device  110 . At  730 , text blocks in each of the images of the object are identified by determining the locations of the text blocks based on the configuration information such as location information of the text blocks. Before identifying the text blocks in the object, a boundary of the object in each image may be detected and verified by the boundary detector  630  based on the size information such as an aspect ratio of the object, etc., as will be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 10 . 
     At  740 , a set of characters for each text block in an object image is determined based on the identified text blocks in object images. Specifically, each of the identified text blocks is recognized by the OCR engine  660  to generate an interim set of characters, which is provided to the temporal filter  670  to determine a final set of characters for each text block. The graphics processing unit  680  receives the final set of characters for output to a display, on which the final set of characters are displayed, at  750 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a more detailed flow chart of  720  in  FIG. 7  for identifying an object of the received images according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At  810 , a database of predetermined patterns identifying a plurality of objects is stored in the client device  110  and is accessible to the object recognition unit  620 . At  820 , the object recognition unit  620  receives a captured image from the image capturing unit  610  and extracts a pattern from the image that can identify the object. In general, a pattern such as a logo and/or a set of feature points is predetermined by the source of the object (e.g., credit card issuing bank) and is provided on objects of the same type. Thus, the predetermined pattern of an object is generally different from those of other objects of a different type. 
     In some embodiments, a predetermined pattern may be extracted from a portion of a reference object that is unique to the type of the object when the database is built. Specifically, the portion of the reference object may be located in an inverse mask region, which refers to a region in the reference object where text blocks are not located. In this manner, predetermined patterns can be extracted from inverse mask regions of objects to build the database associated with a plurality of reference objects. 
     During identification of an object, any region of the object may be extracted as a portion of a pattern. When patterns in a mask region including a text block are extracted from an object image, they do not need to be considered in identifying the object since predetermined patterns are extracted from inverse mask regions of the object where text blocks are not located. That is, such a mask region can be assumed not to contain any pattern useful for identifying the object. Thus, the accuracy in identifying an object can be improved while reducing the processing time. 
     Given the extracted pattern, the object recognition unit  620  identifies, at  830 , a predetermined pattern from the pattern database that matches the extracted pattern. Specifically, the predetermined pattern is determined by comparing the extracted pattern with the predetermined patterns in the database. At  840 , the object recognition unit  620  identifies the object in the received image from the pattern database based on the matching predetermined pattern. Information on the identified object is then provided to the server  120 , which sends configuration information of the identified object to the client device  110 , at  850 . 
     In another embodiment, the pattern database may be provided in the object database  140 .  FIG. 9  illustrates a more detailed flowchart of  720  in  FIG. 7  for identifying an object of the received images by accessing the object database  140  according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. At  910 , predetermined patterns are stored in the object database  140 , which can be stored in the client device  110  or the server  120 . At  920 , a pattern in an image of an object is extracted from a portion of the object (e.g., the inverse mask region) by the object recognition unit  620  in a similar manner to the step of  820  in  FIG. 8 . In this case, the object recognition unit  620  obtains a predetermined pattern corresponding to the extracted pattern from the object database  140 , at  930 . 
     Based on the predetermined pattern, the object recognition unit  620  identifies an object in the received image, at  940 . Information on the identified object is then provided to the server  120 , which sends configuration information of the identified object to the client device  110 . The client device  110  then obtains configuration information of the identified object from the object database  140 , which is stored in the client device  110 . Alternatively, in the case that the object database  140  is stored in the server  120 , the object recognition unit  620  provides the identified object to the server  120  and receives configuration information related to the identified object from the server  120 . Although  FIGS. 8 and 9  describe identifying an object from a single image, the object recognition unit  620  may also be configured to identify the object from a plurality of the received images. 
     Alternatively, an object may be identified based on a user input. In this case, the object recognition unit  620  identifies the object according to a user input through a user interface (not shown) provided in the client device  110 . In one embodiment, the object recognition unit  620  may provide a list of available objects such that a user can select one of the objects through the user interface. Accordingly, the object recognition unit  620  may identify the object in the received images accurately without the processing required for extracting a pattern from a received image. 
     Once an object of the received images has been identified, the images can be processed to identify text blocks.  FIG. 10  illustrates a more detailed flow chart of  730  for identifying text blocks in the object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At  1010 , the client device  110  receives configuration information on the object identified from the object database  140 . The configuration information includes size information of the object (e.g., aspect ratio, actual size, etc.), location information of text blocks in the object, character format of the text blocks, etc. In the case where the object database  140  is stored in the server  120 , the received configuration information may be stored in a memory (not shown) in the client device  110  for use in identifying and recognizing the text blocks in the object. For example, the boundary detector  630 , the rectification unit  640 , the masking unit  650 , and the OCR engine  660  may access the configuration from the memory in the client device  110 . 
     At  1020 , the boundary detector  630  detects a boundary of the object in each image by determining boundary features of the object region such as corners and edges. At  1030 , the detected boundary of the object in each image may be verified to determine whether the boundary has been correctly identified based on the boundary features, a focal length used in capturing the images, and the aspect ratio of the object. Each of the object images within the identified boundary of the object may be provided to the masking unit  650  for identifying text blocks in the object images. The masking unit  650  receives the location information of the text blocks in the object and identifies each text block in each received image of the object, at  1040 . In some embodiments, before identifying the text blocks, the rectification unit  640  may rectify the object region in each image to match the aspect ratio of the object received as part of the configuration information. 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  show object boundaries  1110  and  1210  detected from object images  1100  and  1200 , respectively, of the credit card  300  according to one embodiment. In  FIG. 11 , the detected boundary  1110  of the credit card  300  does not match the boundary of the object  300  and is thus inaccurately identified. In this case, the boundary detector  630  may discard the detected boundary and detect a boundary of the credit card  300  from another object image of the credit card  300 . Thus, if a boundary from one image of the credit card  300  has been inaccurately identified, a boundary may be detected from another image. Such boundary detection may be repeated until an accurate boundary is detected.  FIG. 12  shows a case of accurate boundary detection where the detected boundary  1210  of the credit card  300  matches the actual boundary of the object  300 . 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram showing a relationship between a detected boundary  1330  of an object region  1320  having four points a, b, c, and din a received image  1310  and an actual boundary of a rectangular object  1340  having four points A, B, C, and D according to one embodiment of the present. The object region  1320  is shown with a perspective distortion, which may be caused from a non-parallel alignment of the camera with respect to the object in capturing an image. As shown, the points a, b, c, and d correspond to four corner points of the detected boundary  1330  of the object region  1320 . From a reference origin  1300  of the camera (e.g., camera center), lines are projected to points A, B, C, and D through points a, b, c, and d, respectively. In this case, the points A, B, C, and D define four corner points of a rectangle  1340  of the object. With a focal length f of the camera and coordinates (x 1 , y 1 ), (x 2 , y 2 ), (x 3 , y 3 ) and (x 4 , y 4 ) of the four corner points a, b, c, and d at the detected boundary  1330  of the object region  1320 , the coordinates of the four corner points a, b, c, and d may be expressed in three-dimensional coordinates, as follows:
 
 O   a =( x   1   ,y   1   ,f )  [1]
 
 O   b =( X   2   ,y   2   ,f )  [2]
 
 O   c =( x   3   ,y   3   ,f )  [3]
 
 O   d =( x   4   ,y   4   ,f )  [4]
 
As shown, vectors {right arrow over (AB)} and {right arrow over (AD)} of the rectangle  1340  may be calculated based on a geometrical relationship among the reference origin  1300  of the camera, the detected boundary  1330  consisting of the corner points a, b, c, and d, and the rectangle  1340  consisting of the corner points A, B, C, and D, as follows:
 
 {right arrow over (AB)} ≡( O   a   ×O   b )×( O   d   ×O   c )  [5]
 
{right arrow over ( AD )}≡( O   b   ×O   c )×( O   a   ×O   d )  [6]
 
Further, an equation of a line passing through the points A and B in the rectangle  1340  may be expressed with a parameter t 1  as follows:
 
                     (             X   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )                   Y   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )                   Z   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )             )     =     A   +       t   1     ⁢     h   -&gt;                 [   7   ]                 h   -&gt;     =       AB   →            AB   →                    [   8   ]               
where coordinates of point A may be set to O a , which is equal to the coordinates of point a, without substantial discrepancy because an aspect ratio of a rectangle consisting of the points A, B, C, D rather than the actual size thereof will be computed. Further, a vector {right arrow over (h)} may be calculated according to the equations [5] and [8]. Similarly, an equation of a line AD in the rectangle  1340  with a parameter t 2  may be expressed as follows:
 
                     (             X   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )                   Y   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )                   Z   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )             )     =     A   +       t   2     ⁢     v   -&gt;                 [   9   ]                 v   -&gt;     =       AB   →            AB   →                    [   10   ]               
where the coordinates of point A may also be set to O a , as described above, and a vector {right arrow over (v)} may be calculated according to the equations [6] and [10].
 
     Two-dimensional coordinates of points b and d may be expressed in terms of coordinates of equations [7] and [9] consisting of parameters t 1  and t 2  respectively, as follows: 
                     (       f   ⁢         X   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )           Z   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )           ,     f   ⁢         Y   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )           Z   1     ⁡     (     t   1     )             )     =     (       x   2     ,     y   2       )             [   11   ]                 (       f   ⁢         X   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )           Z   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )           ,     f   ⁢         Y   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )           Z   2     ⁡     (     t   2     )             )     =     (       x   4     ,     y   4       )             [   12   ]               
According to the above equations [9] to [12], the unknown quantities t 1  and t 2  can be determined, and the coordinates of B and D may be obtained. With the calculated coordinates of A, B, and D, an aspect ratio of
 
             AB   AD         
may be calculated. Thus, if a difference between the calculated aspect ratio and the actual aspect ratio received from the object database  140  is within a threshold, the boundary detector  630  may verify the detected boundary to be correct.
 
     After a boundary has been detected and verified, the boundary detector  630  may extract an image of the object lying within the detected boundary of the object image. Such an image corresponds to an object region of the object image. In some embodiments, the extracted image may be provided to the rectification unit  640 , which rectifies the object region. For example, the rectification unit  640  may receive configuration information such as an aspect ratio of the object from the server  120  and rectify the object region by transforming the object region to match the aspect ratio of the object. 
     After an object region in each image of the object has been rectified, the rectified image is processed to identify one or more text blocks in the rectified image.  FIG. 14  depicts an image  1400  of the credit card  300  within a verified boundary  1410  having identifiable text blocks  1420 ,  1430 ,  1440  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this case, the masking unit  650  receives location information of the text blocks  1420 ,  1430 , and  1440  in the credit card image  1400 . For example, the location information may include geometric locations and sizes of the text blocks  1420 ,  1430 , and  1440 . Based on the location information, the masking unit  650  then identifies the text blocks  1420 ,  1430 , and  1440  in the image  1400  of the credit card  300  that may be recognized. Such image  1400  of the credit card  300  with the identified text blocks  1420 ,  1430 , and  1440  may be provided to the OCR engine  660  for character recognition of the text blocks  1420 ,  1430 , and  1440 . 
       FIG. 15  illustrates a more detailed flowchart of  740  in  FIG. 7  for determining a set of characters in a text block in an object based on interim sets of characters of corresponding text blocks in a plurality of images of the object according to one embodiment. The OCR engine  660  initially receives a plurality of images of an object, each having an identified text block, from the masking unit  650 . Further, the OCR engine  660  receives format information on a set of characters in a text block of the object from the client device  110  or the server  120 , at  1510 . For example, the format information includes the character format of the text blocks such as the number, arrangement, type of characters, language of characters, etc. in the text block. 
     The OCR engine  660  recognizes each of the text blocks in the object images to generate interim sets of characters based on the format information, at  1520 . In one embodiment, the interim sets of characters are generated based on a holistic method, which refers to recognizing each word in a text block in an object as a whole. In another embodiment, the interim sets of characters are generated based on a segmentation-based method, which segments each word in a text block to individual characters and then recognizes each character in the word. Both holistic method and segmentation-based method may generate the interim sets of characters in the text blocks in the object images based on the received format information. At  1530 , the temporal filter  670  receives the interim sets of characters for the text blocks from the OCR engine  660  and then infers a set of characters for the text block in the object based on the received interim sets of characters, as will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 16 to 19 . 
       FIG. 16  illustrates a block diagram of the temporal filter  670  for determining a set of characters in a text block of an object based on interims sets of characters generated from text blocks in a plurality of images of the object according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The temporal filter  670  includes a buffer  1610 , a text inference unit  1630 , and a text display unit  1650 . The buffer  1610  stores interim sets of characters generated from the text blocks in the plurality of object images that are received from the OCR engine  660 . Based on the interim sets of characters, the text inference unit  1630  determines a set of characters for the text block in the object. The text display unit  1650  receives the sets of characters in the text blocks recognized by the text inference unit  1630 , which are provided to the graphics processing unit  680 , for displaying the sets of characters for the text blocks in the object on a display. Although the temporal filter  670  determines a set of characters for a text block, the object may include a plurality of text blocks, for each of which a set of characters may be determined from corresponding interim sets of characters. That is, the temporal filter  670  may determine a set of characters for each text block in the object from interim sets of characters corresponding to the text block in the object images. 
     In some embodiments, the number of sample images of an object may be increased to enhance accuracy in recognition of the text blocks. In this case, the text inference unit  1630  may send a request to the image capturing unit  610  to capture additional images of the object such that additional interim sets of characters for the text block in the object can be generated from the OCR engine  660 . This process may continue until a desired accuracy in the text blocks has been achieved. 
     The text inference unit  1630  may infer a set of characters in a text block on a character or word basis based on the number of occurrences for each character or word in interim sets of characters stored in the buffer  1610 . In addition, a confidence level of each of the interim sets of characters, such as the sharpness of the characters in the text block or similarity values of identified characters or words in the interim set of characters, may be considered for inferring the set of characters. 
       FIG. 17  depicts a diagram of inferring a set of characters  1718  in the exemplary text block  304  in the credit card  300  from a plurality of object images  1700 ,  1702 , and  1704  captured over a period of time according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Initially, the OCR engine  660  receives the plurality of credit card images  1700 ,  1702 , and  1704  either sequentially or in parallel. For each of the object images  1700 ,  1702 , and  1704 , the OCR engine  660  generates an interim set of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  for the text blocks  1706 ,  1708 , and  1710 , respectively. In this process, the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  are generated using character format information such as the number of characters in the text block  304 , the arrangement of characters in the text block  304 , and the type of characters in the text block  304 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     In some embodiments, the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  are generated based on a holistic method or a segmentation-based method, as mentioned above. Under the holistic method, for example, a plurality of words such as “1234,” “5678,” “9876,” and “5432” in the text block  1706  are recognized on a word basis and combined to form the interim set of characters  1712 . Alternatively, in the segmentation-based method, each interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , or  1716  is generated by segmenting the characters in the text block  1706 ,  1708 , or  1710 , respectively, to individual characters (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.) and recognizing each character individually. 
     The plurality of interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  are then used to infer the final set of characters  1718  for the text block  304  in the temporal filter  670 . The temporal filter  670  receives the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  from the OCR engine  660  and a confidence level of each of the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 . The final set of characters  1718  for the text block  304  is then inferred on a character basis or a word basis based on the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 . In the character-based method, for example, a first character (e.g., digit) of the final set of characters  1718  may be inferred based on the first characters “1,” “4,” and “1” in the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 , respectively. Other characters in the final set of characters  1718  may be determined in a similar manner based on the characters in the corresponding positions in the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 . In the word-based method, a first word of the final set of characters  1718  for the text block  304  is inferred based on the first words “1234,” “4234,” “1234” in the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 . In a similar manner, other words in the final set of characters  1718  are inferred from words in the corresponding positions in the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 . In some embodiments, the final set of characters  1718  may be inferred based on the number of occurrences of characters or words in the interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  and/or confidence levels of interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716 , as will be described in more detail below. Although three interim sets of characters  1712 ,  1714 , and  1716  are illustrated to infer the final set of characters  1718 , more or less than three interim sets of characters may be used to determine a set of characters in a text block in an object. 
       FIG. 18  illustrates a plurality of interim sets of characters  1810 ,  1820 ,  1830 ,  1840 ,  1850 ,  1860 , and  1870  for use in inferring characters in the final set of characters for the text block  304  in the credit card  300  on a character-by-character basis according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the characters in the interim sets  1810  to  1870  are grouped into a plurality of groups  1800 ,  1802 ,  1804 , and  1806  according to their positions in the text block  304 . For example, the group  1800  consists of first characters in the interim sets of characters  1810  to  1870 . Similarly, the groups  1802 ,  1804 , and  1806  include the second, third, and fourth characters in the interim sets  1810  to  1870 , respectively. 
     Based on the grouping of characters in the same positions, a character for a text block in an object is inferred from the number of occurrences of characters in each position in interim sets of characters in the text blocks of a plurality of images of the object. In the first character group  1800 , for example, the text inference unit  1630  infers that the first character for the text block  304  is “1,” since the occurrence of “1” is greater than that of any other characters in the first character position in the interim characters  1810  to  1870 . 
     To ensure further accuracy, the text inference unit  1630  may be configured to infer a character only when the number of occurrences of a character at a position exceeds a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 3). In the case of the first character group  1800 , the occurrence of character “1” is four and thus, character “1” is determined to be the first character in the text block  304 . In the case where a predetermined threshold has not been exceeded, the text inference unit  1630  may be configured to send a request to the image capturing unit  610  to capture additional images of the credit card  300 . Once new interim sets of characters are generated based on the additional object images, the text inference unit  1630  infers the characters for the final set of characters for the text block  304  based on recent interim sets of characters including the new interim sets of characters. 
     In some embodiments, a character in a set of characters for a text block in an object is inferred based on a confidence level of an interim character as well as the number of occurrences in the corresponding position in interim sets of characters in text blocks from a plurality of images of the object. In the first character group  1800 , for example, an average (e.g., 90) of confidence levels of first characters “4,” “4,” and “4” may be higher than that (e.g., 60) of first characters “1,” “1,” “1,” and “1.” In this case, the text inference unit  1630  may infer that the first character is “4” since the average of the confidence level times the number of occurrences of the first characters “4” is higher than that of the first characters “1” (i.e., 90*3=270&gt;60*4=240). Thus, the inferring process for the first character of the text block  304  may be applied to each of the other characters in the text block  304 . In addition, characters in other text blocks  306  and  308  in the credit card  300  may be inferred from interim sets of characters recognized from a plurality of object images in a similar manner. 
       FIG. 19  illustrates a plurality of interim sets of characters  1910 ,  1920 ,  1930 ,  1940 ,  1950 ,  1960 , and  1970  for use in inferring words in the final set of characters for the text block  304  in the credit card  300  on word-by word basis according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the words in the interim sets  1910  to  1970  are grouped into a plurality of groups  1900 ,  1902 ,  1904 , and  1906  according to their positions in the text block  304 . For example, the group  1900  consists of first words in the interim sets of characters  1910  to  1970 . Similarly, the groups  1902 ,  1904 , and  1906  may include the second, third, and fourth words in the interim sets  1910  to  1970 , respectively. 
     Based on the grouping of words in the same positions, a word for a text block in an object is inferred from the number of occurrences of words in each position in interim sets of characters in the text blocks of a plurality of images of the object. In the first word group  1900 , for example, the text inference unit  1630  infers that the first word for the text block  304  is “1234”, since the occurrence of “1234” is greater than that of any other words in the first character position in the interim words  1910  to  1970 . In this case, if a predetermined threshold value for the number of occurrences has not been exceeded, the text inference unit  1630  may be configured to send a request to the image capturing unit  610  to capture additional images of the credit card  300 . In this case, new interim sets of characters are generated from the additional object images, and are utilized to infer the words for the final set of characters for text block  304 . 
     In some embodiments, a word in a set of characters for a text block in an object is also inferred based on a confidence level of an interim set of characters. In the first word group  1900 , for example, it may be determined that the average of the confidence levels of “4234” is higher than that of “1234.” In some cases, even though the number of occurrences of “1234” is higher than that of the first word “4234,” the text inference unit  1630  may infer that the first word in the set of characters is “4234” since the average of the confidence levels of “4234” are higher than those of “1234.” Thus, the inferring process for the first word of the text block  304  may be applied to each of the other words in the text block  304 . In addition, words in other text blocks  306  and  308  in the credit card  300  may be inferred from interim sets of characters recognized from a plurality of object images in a similar manner. 
     Once a final set of characters in each text block in an object is inferred, the set of characters can be displayed on a display as a recognition result, which may be verified by a user.  FIG. 20  is a more detailed flowchart of  750  in  FIG. 7  for verifying a displayed recognition result on a display by a user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At  2010 , the graphics processing unit  680  receives a final set of characters in a text block from the text display unit  1650  in the temporal filter  670 . At  2020 , the graphics processing unit  680  sends the final set of characters to the display, which displays the characters as a recognition result. In one embodiment, whenever a character or a word in the final set of characters for each text block is determined by the text inference unit  1630 , the determined character or word is provided to the display to display the determined character or word via the graphics processing unit  680 . Further, the text inference unit  1630  may update the characters or words for each text block in the object by performing a new inference for the set of characters based on an interim set of characters generated using a newly captured image of the object, and provide the updated recognition information for display. Such updating process may be performed until all the characters in the set of characters for each text block in the object are recognized and displayed on the display. At  2030 , the recognition result displayed on the display is then verified by a user. If the recognition result is not verified by the user, additional images of the object may be captured for text block recognition until the user finally verifies the result. 
       FIG. 21  illustrates a diagram  2100  displaying an intermediate recognition result for the credit card  300  on the display according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, a plurality of blocks  2110 ,  2120 , and  2130  contains intermediate recognition results for the text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308 , respectively. In this case, the intermediate recognition results include one or more non-recognized characters, each of which is shown as an asterisk (i.e., “*”) indicating either that the character is in the process of being recognized or a failure in inferring the character. As the characters for the non-recognized characters are recognized and displayed, the asterisks may be changed to the recognized characters. In this manner, the interim recognition result may be displayed and updated until all characters in the text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308  are recognized. 
       FIG. 22  illustrates a diagram  2200  displaying a final recognition result for the credit card  300  on a display according to one embodiment. A plurality of blocks  2210 ,  2220 , and  2230  contain characters in the text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308  that have all been recognized. In this case, the user may verify whether the final recognition result is correct in comparison to the actual characters in the text blocks  304 ,  306 , and  308 . 
       FIG. 23  shows a configuration of an exemplary mobile device  2300  in a wireless communication system. The configuration of the mobile device  2300  may be implemented in the client devices  110  and  210 . The mobile device  2300  may be a cellular phone, a terminal, a handset, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a cordless phone, etc. The wireless communication system may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, Long Tern Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Advanced system, etc. Further, the mobile device  2300  may communicate directly with another mobile device, e.g., using Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, or FlashLinq technology. 
     The mobile device  2300  is capable of providing bidirectional communication via a receive path and a transmit path. On the receive path, signals transmitted by base stations are received by an antenna  2312  and are provided to a receiver (RCVR)  2314 . The receiver  2314  conditions and digitizes the received signal and provides samples such as the conditioned and digitized digital signal to a digital section for further processing. On the transmit path, a transmitter (TMTR)  2316  receives data to be transmitted from a digital section  2320 , processes and conditions the data, and generates a modulated signal, which is transmitted via the antenna  2312  to the base stations. The receiver  2314  and the transmitter  2316  may be part of a transceiver that may support CDMA, GSM, LTE, LTE Advanced, etc. 
     The digital section  2320  includes various processing, interface, and memory units such as, for example, a modem processor  2322 , a reduced instruction set computer/digital signal processor (RISC/DSP)  2324 , a controller/processor  2326 , an internal memory  2328 , a generalized audio encoder  2332 , a generalized audio decoder  2334 , a graphics/display processor  2336 , and an external bus interface (EBI)  2338 . The modem processor  2322  may perform processing for data transmission and reception, e.g., encoding, modulation, demodulation, and decoding. The RISC/DSP  2324  may perform general and specialized processing for the mobile device  2300 . The controller/processor  2326  may perform the operation of various processing and interface units within the digital section  2320 . The internal memory  2328  may store data and/or instructions for various units within the digital section  2320 . 
     The generalized audio encoder  2332  may perform encoding for input signals from an audio source  2342 , a microphone  2343 , etc. The generalized audio decoder  2334  may perform decoding for coded audio data and may provide output signals to a speaker/headset  2344 . The graphics/display processor  2336  may perform processing for graphics, videos, images, and texts, which may be presented to a display unit  2346 . The EBI  2338  may facilitate transfer of data between the digital section  2320  and a main memory  2348 . 
     The digital section  2320  may be implemented with one or more processors, DSPs, microprocessors, RISCs, etc. The digital section  2320  may also be fabricated on one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and/or some other type of integrated circuits (ICs). 
     In general, any device described herein may represent various types of devices, such as a wireless phone, a cellular phone, a laptop computer, a wireless multimedia device, a wireless communication personal computer (PC) card, a PDA, an external or internal modem, a device that communicates through a wireless channel, etc. A device may have various names, such as access terminal (AT), access unit, subscriber unit, mobile station, mobile device, mobile unit, mobile phone, mobile, remote station, remote terminal, remote unit, user device, user equipment, handheld device, etc. Any device described herein may have a memory for storing instructions and data, as well as hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. 
     The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. Those of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     For a hardware implementation, the processing units used to perform the techniques may be implemented within one or more ASICs, DSPs, digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, a computer, or a combination thereof. 
     Thus, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. 
     For a firmware and/or software implementation, the techniques may be embodied as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), FLASH memory, compact disc (CD), magnetic or optical data storage device, or the like. The instructions may be executable by one or more processors and may cause the processor(s) to perform certain aspects of the functionality described herein. 
     If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, a server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, the fiber optic cable, the twisted pair, the DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal. 
     The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. 
     Although exemplary implementations may refer to utilizing aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter in the context of one or more stand-alone computer systems, the subject matter is not so limited, but rather may be implemented in connection with any computing environment, such as a network or distributed computing environment. Still further, aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter may be implemented in or across a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage may similarly be effected across a plurality of devices. Such devices may include PCs, network servers, and handheld devices. 
     Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.