A2iA Launches Enhancements to Checkreader for Better Image Recognition and Quality Analysis

A2iA, a provider of solutions for handwritten and machine printed text recognition, information extraction and intelligent classification of paper documents, has announced improvements for its A2iA CheckReader toolkit.

The A2iA CheckReader comprises of advanced image analysis and intelligent recognition engines, and has been utilized by a number of end users globally in the fields of branch capture, merchant applications, point-of-deposit applications, fraud detection, ATMs, centralized and de-centralized capture, remittance applications, image quality analysis (IQA) and image usability analysis (IUA).

The solution features various software applications that are used to capture handwritten and machine-printed information from all areas of checks and related payment documents, and helps in enhancing business process automation and cutting down manual labor.

With the help of CheckReader, handwritten data can be seamlessly integrated into IT applications, and paper documents can be turned into meaningful information. The solution is available in six languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and German.

Software developers can seamlessly integrate the A2iA CheckReader into various front-end and back-end bank operations software, image-enabled ATMs for check acceptance, branch or distributed capture, remittance, check cashing, accounting, online banking, point-of-sale document management, and proof operations. The recognition engines of the solution also provide information about check image quality, usability and negotiability.

In the latest enhancement to the toolkit, A2iA has incorporated enhanced recognition and image quality analysis for the 23 country specific versions of the product. All these versions now offer support for recognition of printed fields with OCR-7B font.

According to a company press release, the different country versions provide specific enhancements – for exmaple the US version enables recognition of the codeline on deposit tickets, improved recognition of the amount on money orders, improved detection of the MICR codeline on checks and improved detection of piggyback images.

The Chilean version of the toolkit now offers improved recognition accuracy on amount field, while the French one is able to detect check-document type on French checks. And the enhanced release of A2iA CheckReader’s Malaysian version enables recognition of amount, account number and codeline on deposit tickets, coupled with improved recognition accuracy on amount field.

In September 2008, A2iA & ReadSoft signed a global partnership for A2iA DocumentReader, under which ReadSoft expanded its solution for document classification with handwritten recognition from A2iA DocumentReader. Recently, in May this year, the company announced that Britannia Hotels, the largest privately owned hotel chain in the United Kingdom, had streamlined its reservation process with an integrated solution containing A2iA DocumentReader and Eptica Fax-Letter-SMS.