How to Perform Optical Character Recognition with Doctr

Apr 15, 2022 | Educational

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a remarkable technology that converts different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDFs, or images into editable and searchable data. In this guide, we will delve into the seamless usage of Doctr, an open-source OCR library powered by TensorFlow 2 and PyTorch. Let’s walk through the steps on how to perform OCR using Doctr!

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Doctr

Follow these steps to execute OCR effortlessly:

  • Step 1: Install the Necessary Libraries
  • Before you jump into coding, ensure you have Doctr installed in your environment. You can do this using pip:

    pip install doctr
  • Step 2: Import the Required Modules
  • You will need to import specific functions from Doctr in your Python script:

    from doctr.io import DocumentFile
    from doctr.models import ocr_predictor, from_hub
  • Step 3: Load the Image
  • Now, you can load your image for processing:

    img = DocumentFile.from_images([image_path])
  • Step 4: Load Your OCR Model
  • Depending on whether you have a recognition or detection model, the code snippet below will help you load your model:

    # For recognition model
    predictor = ocr_predictor(det_arch='db_mobilenet_v3_large', 
                               reco_arch='your_model',
                               pretrained=True)
    
    # For detection model
    predictor = ocr_predictor(det_arch='your_model',
                               reco_arch='crnn_mobilenet_v3_small',
                               pretrained=True)
  • Step 5: Get Predictions!
  • You’re almost there! Make predictions by simply running:

    res = predictor(img)

Explaining the Code: The Library Analogy

Think of Doctr as a well-organized library. Within this library, the DocumentFile.from_images([image_path]) function is your librarian, fetching the books (images) you want to read (process).

Next, you choose the right section (model) of the library to get the information you need. The ocr_predictor acts as your specialized assistant, guiding you through either the recognition archive or the detection area, depending on what you’re looking for. Finally, by invoking predictor(img), you are simply asking the assistant to analyze your book, extracting the valuable words and sentences for your understanding!

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues while executing the above steps, here are a few ideas to troubleshoot:

  • Ensure that all libraries are correctly installed and imported.
  • Check the image path you provide to DocumentFile.from_images([image_path]) to ensure it’s correct.
  • Verify that the model architecture names are spelled correctly and the required models are downloaded.

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Conclusion

With this guide, you should now be able to utilize Doctr for Optical Character Recognition effectively. This framework makes OCR accessible and easy to implement for anyone. Happy coding!

At fxis.ai, we believe that such advancements are crucial for the future of AI, as they enable more comprehensive and effective solutions. Our team is continually exploring new methodologies to push the envelope in artificial intelligence, ensuring that our clients benefit from the latest technological innovations.

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