How the text API works

The text API implements the algorithm proposed by Lukás Neumann and Jiri Matas in the article called Real-Time Scene Text Localization and Recognition during the CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) Conference in 2012. This algorithm represented a significant increase in scene text detection, performing the state-of-the art detection both in the CVPR database as well as in the Google Street View database.

Before we use the API, let's take a look at how this algorithm works under the hood, and how it addresses the scene text detection problem.

Note

Remember that the OpenCV 3.0 text API does not come with the standard OpenCV modules. It's an additional module present in the OpenCV contribute package. If you need to install OpenCV using the Windows Installer, refer to Chapter 1, Getting Started with OpenCV, which will help you install these modules.

The scene detection problem

Detecting text that randomly appears in a scene is a problem harder...