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The receipt scan idea is an app I have wanted for ages, though I don't think OCR is good enough to handle all the cryptic abbreviated product names on a standar
by fian 13y ago
The receipt scan idea is an app I have wanted for ages, though I don't think OCR is good enough to handle all the cryptic abbreviated product names on a standard super market receipt. It would be cleaner if the printed receipt included a QR code linking to an itemised list for download, but that approach may have some privacy issues. Better would be to transfer a text file from the point of sale system to your phone via NFC.
- bloaf 13y agoIf you got a list of the most common supermarket codes/abbreviations and used them as a dictionary to train your OCR program I think you could do OK. I think there is a reason grocery stores generally don't let you see your purchase history even though they record it with those shoppers' cards: that sort of information would make it too easy for customers to comparison shop. So I would operate under the assumption that grocery stores wouldn't be falling over themselves to support this sort of app, unless it got really popular. I've always worried more about the scanning part. Ideally I'd like the app to work with a cell phone camera only, but I have no idea how feasible getting a sufficiently clear picture of an arbitrary length receipt is.