Method, system and apparatus for dimensioning items

1. A method of dimensioning an item, comprising:

at a dimensioning system, capturing an image of the item and a graphical dimensioning aid carried by the item;

detecting an edge of the item within the captured image;

determining a measurement of the edge;

detecting the graphical dimensioning aid within the captured image;

determining a measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid;

decoding a physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid from a machine-readable data object carried by the item;

dimensioning the edge based on the measurement of the edge, the measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid, and the physical size.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable data object comprises at least one of a barcode, text and a graphic.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical dimensioning aid comprises a compliance label; and

wherein decoding the physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid from the machine-readable data object comprises identifying the compliance format and determining the physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid based on the identified compliance format.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical dimensioning aid comprises a label; and

wherein detecting the graphical dimensioning aid within the captured image further comprises detecting a color of the label contrasting with a color of the item.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable data object is the graphical dimensioning aid.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable data object includes an RFID device carried by the item, and wherein decoding the physical size includes reading the RFID tag.

7. Dimensioning media for use in dimensioning an item, the dimensioning media comprising:

a printable substrate carrying a machine-readable data object, the printable substrate configured to be attached to the item such that the machine-readable data object is readable by a reader;

a graphical dimensioning aid printed on the substrate;

wherein a physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid is encoded in the machine-readable data object.

8. The dimensioning media of claim 7 , wherein the machine-readable data object is a radio frequency identification (RFID) device comprising memory; and

wherein the physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid is encoded in the memory.

9. The dimensioning media of claim 8 , wherein the RFID device further comprises an antenna; and wherein the graphical dimensioning aid is the antenna.

10. The dimensioning media of claim 7 , further comprising a predetermined symbol; wherein the graphical dimensioning aid is an element of the predetermined symbol.

11. The dimensioning media of claim 7 , wherein the graphical dimensioning aid is an element of the machine-readable data object.

12. The dimensioning media of claim 7 , wherein the graphical dimensioning aid comprises one of a barcode, text, a graphic, and a compliance label formatted according to a compliance format.

13. A media processing system adapted to generate dimensioning assist information for an item comprising:

at least one memory configured to store an application, the application configured to cause the media processing system to:

obtain data associated with a graphical dimensioning aid associated with the item;

determine dimensioning assist information comprising a physical size of the graphical dimension aid; and

encode the dimensioning assist information into a machine-readable data object and

a printhead configured to print the machine-readable data object on dimensioning media configured to be attached to an item to be read by a reader.

14. The media processing system of claim 13 further comprising a RFID encoder configured to write the machine-readable data object to a RFID device.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to receive data associated with a graphical dimensioning aid and generate a printable representation of a machine-readable data object encoding a physical size of the graphical dimensioning aid based on the received data; and

a printhead configured to print at least a portion of dimensioning media in accordance with the printable representation on a printable substrate carrying the machine-readable data object and configured to be attached to an item such that the machine-readable data object is readable by a reader.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer readable program code stored thereon, the program code being configured to, when executed, cause an apparatus to at least obtain data associated with a physical size of a graphical dimensioning aid associated with an item and generate dimensioning assist information by encoding the data into a machine-readable data object for the item.

17. A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having executable computer-readable program code instructions stored thein, the computer-readable program code instructions configured to:

obtain data associated with a physical size of a graphical dimensioning aid associated with an item and generate dimensioning assist information by encoding the data into a machine-readable data object for the item.

18. A dimensioning system configured to:

capture an image of an item and a graphical dimensioning aid associated with the item;

detect an edge of the item within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the edge;

detect the graphical dimensioning aid within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid;

detect a machine-readable data object within the captured image;

decode a physical size of the graphical dimension aid from the machine-readable data object; and

generate a dimension of the item based on the measurement of the edge, the measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid, and the physical size.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer readable program code stored thereon, the program code being configured to, when executed, cause an apparatus to at least:

analyze a captured image of an item and a graphical dimensioning aid associated with the item;

detect an edge of the item within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the edge;

detect the graphical dimensioning aid within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid;

detect a machine-readable data object within the captured image;

decode a physical size of the graphical dimension aid from the machine-readable data object; and

generate a dimension of the item based on the measurement of the edge, the measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid, and the physical size.

20. A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having executable computer-readable program code instructions stored thein, the computer-readable program code instructions configured to:

analyze a captured image of an item and a graphical dimensioning aid associated with the item;

detect an edge of the item within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the edge;

detect the graphical dimensioning aid within the captured image;

determine a measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid;

detect a machine-readable data object within the captured image;

decode a physical size of the graphical dimension aid from the machine-readable data object; and

generate a dimension of the item based on the measurement of the edge, the measurement of the graphical dimensioning aid, and the physical size.