SBIR Phase I: IBARS - An Image Barcode Acquisition and Recognition System for Mobile Commerce

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This Small Business Innovation Research(SBIR) Phase I research project seeks to leverage the convergence of processing and sensor technologies in widely available camera-equipped cellular telephones to develop e-commerce applications centered on the acquisition and recognition of barcode images. Modern handheld devices present a convergence of many technologies in a handy package, including networking, voice, cameras, processing, location- sensing and displays. However, small-size and long battery-life requirements lead to limited processing power, limited-resolution cameras, and varying available network bandwidth on such handheld devices. To make the concept feasible, improvements are needed in the algorithms performing computer-vision, image processing, and pattern-recognition, so that they are both computationally efficient and small enough to fit in the memory of consumer devices. Challenges to overcome include being able to unwarp images to account for distortions due to perspective imaging, warping of the substrate, or non-flat surfaces. The image needs to be processed to account for imaging artifacts such as non-uniform lighting, blurring, and highlights. The recognition algorithms in the system must be able to recognize many symbologies, make use of extra information available in images to tackle degradations, and be efficient and small. This Phase I research will tackle these issues to demonstrate feasibility.The proposed downloadable component for barcode and signs recognition will enable many applications including sales, order-fulfillment, information-delivery and others. Merchants, advertisers, information providers and other service providers are likely partners and customers for the proposed technology besides service-providers and OEMs. Medical care delivery, military applications, sign recognition for the visually challenged are also potential users of this technology.