GSOC 2024 Contributor application - Proposal: Automating Meter Reading with OpenCV
ashan dhanushka
Dear OpenCV Community,
I'm writing to propose a project that leverages OpenCV's capabilities for automating meter reading, specifically focusing on electric and water meters. This project has the potential to significantly improve efficiency and accuracy in the meter reading process.
Project Outline:
Image Capture: Cameras would be set up to capture photos of meters, providing the raw data for analysis.
OpenCV for Image Preprocessing: Here's where OpenCV shines! We'd utilize its functionalities for essential tasks like noise reduction, filtering, and potentially even meter object detection within the captured images.
OCR for Meter Number Reading: After preprocessing with OpenCV, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) techniques would be employed to extract the actual meter readings from the prepared images.
Dataset Creation and Training: A critical step would be building a comprehensive dataset of meter images. This dataset would be used to train the OCR model, ensuring it can handle various meter types and lighting conditions with high accuracy.
Future Applications: While the initial focus is on reading meter numbers, the project could potentially pave the way for further development, such as integrating the model with software for generating electric and water bills.
Why OpenCV?
This project aligns perfectly with OpenCV's mission of facilitating real-time computer vision applications. By creating a robust meter reading model and a publicly available dataset of meter images, we can contribute significantly to the open-source community.
Call to Action
I'm eager to get your thoughts and insights on this proposal. OpenCV's expertise in computer vision makes it an ideal platform for tackling this challenge.
Let's discuss the technical feasibility and potential approaches to make this meter reading automation a reality!
Please feel free to share your feedback and expertise.
Best Regards,
Ashan Dhanushka