Voting-Based Document Image Skew Detection

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is an indispensable tool for technology users nowadays, as our natural language is presented through text. We live under the need of having information at hand in every circumstance and, at the same time, having machines understand visual content and thus enable the user to be able to search through large quantities of text. To detect textual information and page layout in an image page, the latter must be properly oriented. This is the problem of the so-called document deskew, i.e., finding the skew angle and rotating by its opposite. This paper presents an original approach which combines various algorithms that solve the skew detection problem, with the purpose of always having at least one to compensate for the others’ shortcomings, so that any type of input document can be processed with good precision and solid confidence in the output result. The tests performed proved that the proposed solution is very robust and accurate, thus being suitable for large scale digitization projects.

A Children’s Guide to Arctic Birds by M. Pelletier

Pelletier, Mia. A Children’s Guide to Arctic Birds. Iqaluit, NV: Inhabit Media Inc., 2014. PrintMia Pelletier is an ecologist who, since 2010, has worked with seabird populations in Nunavut. In this children’s field guide, she introduces fourteen species of Arctic birds. Each bird is introduced in two pages. One full page displays Danny Christopher’s illustrations of the birds and the facing page provides the natural history of the species. Each description includes both English and Inuktitut names, though notably, not the standard Latin name. The text is broken into easy to read paragraphs for: physical description, where to look for the birds, what they eat, the sounds they make, nests, eggs, chicks and where the birds winter. In addition to the species descriptions, Pelletier has supplied helpful sections including a coloured chart of the birds’ eggs, a size comparison chart, and comparative descriptions of the birds’ feathers, bills and feet. In addition to her own knowledge, Pelletier has based her work on research, including visiting a museum in Iceland to view species and eggs that she had not seen in the wild.Danny Christopher’s watercolours are excellent representations of the birds. Every species could easily be identified from the paintings. Each image page also contains a “Feathered Fact” that tells the reader something special about the bird. For example: “Long-tailed ducks like to sneak their eggs into the nests of other long-tailed ducks”.Overall, this is an excellent introduction to common Arctic birds, which could be used to learn about the birds or as a guide for field identification. This work is highly recommended for public libraries and elementary school libraries.Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.