Ortscal

Ortscal is a programming library designed to facilitate the creation and manipulation of optical character recognition (OCR) data. It aims to provide a consistent and efficient way to process images containing text, extract that text, and represent it in a structured format. The library is built with the goal of simplifying common OCR workflows, from preprocessing images to annotating recognized text with positional information.

The core functionality of Ortscal revolves around its ability to handle OCR outputs from various engines. It allows users to load and parse data generated by different OCR tools, providing a unified interface for accessing and working with the recognized text, its bounding boxes, and confidence scores. This abstraction layer helps developers avoid vendor lock-in and allows for easier comparison and integration of results from multiple OCR systems.

Ortscal also offers utilities for common image processing tasks relevant to OCR, such as noise reduction, binarization, and skew correction. These preprocessing steps can significantly improve the accuracy of OCR engines. Furthermore, the library provides tools for visualizing OCR results, overlaying bounding boxes and recognized text onto the original image, which is invaluable for debugging and understanding OCR performance. The library is typically used in applications requiring automated document processing, data extraction from scanned documents, or accessibility features for visually impaired users.