optical character recognition

(OCR), method for the machine-reading of typeset, typed, and, in some cases, hand-printed letters, numbers, and symbols using optical sensingoptical sensing,
in general, any method by which information that occurs as variations in the intensity, or some other property, of light is translated into an electric signal. This is usually accomplished by the use of various photoelectric devices.
..... Click the link for more information. and a computer. The light reflected by a printed text, for example, is recorded as patterns of light and dark areas by an array of photoelectric cellsphotoelectric cell
or photocell,
device whose electrical characteristics (e.g., current, voltage, or resistance) vary when light is incident upon it. The most common type consists of two electrodes separated by a light-sensitive semiconductor material.
..... Click the link for more information. in a optical scanner. A computer program analyzes the patterns and identifies the characters they represent, with some tolerance for less than perfect and uniform text. OCR is also used to produce text files from computer files that contain images of alphanumeric characters, such as those produced by fax transmissions. See also computer graphicscomputer graphics,
the transfer of pictorial data into and out of a computer. Using analog-to-digital conversion techniques, a variety of devices—such as curve tracers, digitizers, and light pens—connected to graphic computer terminals, computer-aided design
..... Click the link for more information. ; pen-based computerpen-based computer,
computer that uses software to enable it to accept handwriting or drawing as a form of input. A stylus, which may contain special electronic circuitry, may be used to write on the computer display or on a separate tablet.
..... Click the link for more information. ; personal digital assistantpersonal digital assistant
(PDA), lightweight, hand-held computer designed for use as a personal organizer with communications capabilities; also called a handheld. A typical PDA has no keyboard, relying instead on special hardware and pen-based computer software to enable the
..... Click the link for more information. .

optical character recognition

[′äp·tə·kəl ′kar·ik·tər ‚rek·ig‚nish·ən] (computer science) That branch of character recognition concerned with the automatic identification of handwritten or printed characters by any of various photoelectric methods. Abbreviated OCR. Also known as electrooptical character recognition.