Bar code recovery via the EM algorithm

Author

Turin, William ; Boie, Robert A.

Author_Institution

AT&T Labs.-Res., Florham Park, NJ, USA

Volume

46

Issue

2

fYear

1998

fDate

2/1/1998 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

354

Lastpage

363

Abstract

The ubiquitous supermarket checkout scanner is indeed a well engineered and effective device. There is, nevertheless, demand for better devices. Existing scanners rely on simple and indeed low-cost signal processing to interpret bar code signals. These methods, nevertheless, fundamentally limit label reading and cannot be extended. A new method based on the deterministic EM algorithm is described. First results show a substantial improvement in label reading depth of field, which is an important performance parameter for bar code readers

Keywords

bar codes; decoding; deterministic algorithms; image processing; laser beam applications; mark scanning equipment; optical scanners; retail data processing; bar code readers; bar code recovery; bar code signals; decoding; deterministic EM algorithm; label reading; label reading depth of field; low-cost signal processing; performance parameter; supermarket checkout scanner; Bars; Convolution; Focusing; Image edge detection; Image restoration; Intersymbol interference; Inverse problems; Nonlinear filters; Signal processing; Signal processing algorithms;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Signal Processing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1053-587X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/78.655421

Filename

655421