Method for capturing high-quality document images

1. A method for capturing high-quality document images, comprising the steps of:

acquiring, by electronic device, an electronic representation of an image containing at least a first document;

scoring said image by;

converting said electronic image representation to grayscale;

creating a vector of delta values between adjacent horizontal pixels;

calculating a first mean by averaging said delta values

for each delta value, squaring the difference between it and said first mean;

calculating a second mean by averaging said squared differences; and

assigning the Log10 of said second mean as the image quality score

associating said image with said image quality score;

comparing said image quality score with a threshold value; and

accepting said image for further use, only if said image quality score equals or exceeds said threshold value.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of acquiring, by electronic device, an electronic representation of an image containing at least a first document, is further comprised of:

transforming said electronic representation, such that any geometric distortions are either minimized or fully eliminated.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of acquiring, by electronic device, an electronic representation of an image containing at least a first document, is further comprised of:

enhancing said electronic representation, by performing at least one of:

increasing its contrast; and

reducing its noise.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of scoring said image is further comprised of:

at least one of:

detecting overexposure within said image, by inspecting said electronic representation for saturated pixels;

detecting degree of focus within said image, by performing a Fourier transform on said electronic representation and examining the resulting spacial frequencies;

detecting contrast within said image, by generating at least a first histogram for said electronic representation, and calculating a mean and standard deviation quantity for said at least a first histogram; and

detecting contrast within said image, by inspecting said electronic representation for adjacent pixel intensity difference.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of accepting said image for further use, is further comprised of:

presenting to a user the opportunity to reacquire a new electronic representation of a new image containing at least a first document, where said score does not equal or exceed said threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of scoring said image is performed on a separate computing device.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of transforming said electronic representation, is further comprised of:

detecting one or more visible edges of said first document;

displaying said electronic representation to a user, and highlighting said one or more visible edges;

enabling said user to manipulate said one or more highlights; and

cropping said electronic representation, utilizing the position of said one or more highlights to determine the location of the new borders.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of transforming said electronic representation, is further comprised of:

detecting one or more visible edges of said first document; and

cropping said electronic representation, utilizing the position of said one or more visible edges to determine the location of the new borders.

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of transforming said electronic representation, such that any geometric distortions are either minimized or fully eliminated is performed on a separate computing device.

10. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of enhancing said electronic representation is performed on a separate computing device.