System and method to determine whether an image contains a specific barcode
Systems and methods are provided for determining whether an image or location contains a barcode. The systems and methods include comparing visual data extracted from an image to target visual data. The systems and methods also include comparing different portions of captured barcode data to corresponding portions of target barcode data. The systems and methods also include utilizing barcode formatting data when comparing or computing a similarity measure. The systems and methods also include causing a second image to be captured when no match is found in a first image. The systems and methods also include identifying a target barcode from a barcode database based on spatial information about where an image was captured. The systems and methods also include validating a barcode based on different regions of the barcode from two different images of the barcode. The systems and methods also include using two barcodes captured in an image.
1. A method, comprising:
extracting visual data from an image into a first vector;
comparing a first portion of the first vector to a first portion of a second vector representing target visual data to determine a first measure of similarity;
comparing a second portion of the first vector to a second portion of a second vector to determine a second measure of similarity; and
determining whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data based on the first measure of similarity and the second measure of similarity.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining whether there is a match comprises:
applying a first criteria to the first measure of similarity to determine whether the first measure of similarity is sufficient; and
in response to determining that the first measure of similarity is not sufficient, performing the comparison of the second portion of the first vector to the second portion of the second vector.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein:
the second portion of the first vector is a subset of the first vector; and
the determining whether there is a match comprises:
applying a second criteria to the second measure of similarity to determine whether the second measure of similarity is sufficient.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining whether there is a match comprises determining that there is a match in response to determining that the second measure of similarity is sufficient.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second criteria is stricter than the first criteria.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data comprises:
comparing the first measure of similarity to a first threshold; and
comparing the second measure of similarity to a second threshold that is different than the first threshold.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first portion corresponds to one or more of company prefix, serial reference, shipper reference, consignment reference, trade item number, product code, or shipping data, wherein the second portion corresponds to a subset of the first portion, and wherein the second portion has higher uniqueness in a barcode database than data of the first portion not included in the second portion.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
comparing a third portion of the first vector to a third portion of a second vector representing target visual data to determine a third measure of similarity,
wherein the determining whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data is further based on the third measure of similarity.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first portion corresponds to one or more of company prefix, serial reference, shipper reference, consignment reference, trade item number, product code, or shipping data, wherein the second portion corresponds to a subset of the first portion, wherein the third portion corresponds to a subset of the second portion, wherein the third portion has higher uniqueness in a barcode database than data of the second portion not included in the third portion, and wherein the second portion has higher uniqueness in the barcode database than data of the first portion not included in the second portion.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether there is a match comprises:
applying first criteria to the first measure of similarity to determine whether the first measure of similarity is sufficient;
in response to determining that the first measure of similarity is not sufficient, determining whether an artifact is present in the image that obscures a first region of the visual data; and
selecting the second portion of the first vector that corresponds to a second region of the visual data that is not obscured by the artifact.
11. A system, comprising:
communication circuitry configured to receive an image that contains visual data; and
processing circuitry configured to:
extract the visual data from the image into a first vector;
compare a first portion of the first vector to a first portion of a second vector representing target visual data to determine a first measure of similarity;
compare a second portion of the first vector to a second portion of a second vector to determine a second measure of similarity; and
determine whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data based on the first measure of similarity and the second measure of similarity.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether there is a match by:
applying a first criteria to the first measure of similarity to determine whether the first measure of similarity is sufficient; and
in response to determining that the first measure of similarity is not sufficient, performing the comparison of the second portion of the first vector to the second portion of the second vector.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein:
the second portion of the first vector is a subset of the first vector; and
the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether there is a match by:
applying a second criteria to the second measure of similarity to determine whether the second measure of similarity is sufficient.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether there is a match by determining that there is a match in response to determining that the second measure of similarity is sufficient.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the second criteria is stricter than the first criteria.
16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data by:
comparing the first measure of similarity to a first threshold; and
comparing the second measure of similarity to a second threshold that is different than the first threshold.
17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first portion corresponds to one or more of company prefix, serial reference, shipper reference, consignment reference, trade item number, product code, or shipping data, wherein the second portion corresponds to a subset of the first portion, and wherein the second portion has higher uniqueness in a barcode database than data of the first portion not included in the second portion.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
compare a third portion of the first vector to a third portion of a second vector representing target visual data to determine a third measure of similarity,
wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine whether there is a match between the visual data and the target visual data further based on the third measure of similarity.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the first portion corresponds to one or more of company prefix, serial reference, shipper reference, consignment reference, trade item number, product code, or shipping data, wherein the second portion corresponds to a subset of the first portion, wherein the third portion corresponds to a subset of the second portion, wherein the third portion has higher uniqueness in a barcode database than data of the second portion not included in the third portion, and wherein the second portion has higher uniqueness in the barcode database than data of the first portion not included in the second portion.
20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether there is a match by:
applying first criteria to the first measure of similarity to determine whether the first measure of similarity is sufficient;
in response to determining that the first measure of similarity is not sufficient, determining whether an artifact is present in the image that obscures a first region of the visual data; and
selecting the second portion of the first vector that corresponds to a second region of the visual data that is not obscured by the artifact.