Cómo leer documentos de identidad usando OCR en C#

How to Read Identity Documents Using OCR in C#

1. Create a new C# project in Visual Studio
2. Install the IronOCR .NET library and add it to your project.
3. Read Identity document images using the IronOCR library.
4. Read the identity documents from PDFs.

IronOCR, crafted and maintained by Iron Software, serves as a powerful library for C# Software Engineers, facilitating OCR, Barcode Scanning, and Text Extraction within .NET projects.

Key Features of IronOCR

Prerequisites

1. Visual Studio: Ensure you have Visual Studio or any other C# development environment installed.
2. NuGet Package Manager: Make sure you can use NuGet to manage packages in your project.

Step 1: Create a New C# Project in Visual Studio

Begin by creating a fresh C# console application in Visual Studio, or alternatively, utilize an existing project. Select "Add New Project" from the Menu, then select console application from the templates below.

Provide a project name and location in the below windows.

Select the required .NET Version.

Click the Create button to create the new project.

Step 2: Install the IronOCR library and add it to your project.

IronOCR can be found in the NuGet package manager and can be installed using the package manager console with the following command:

Install-Package IronOcr

IronOCR can also be installed using Visual Studio. Open the NuGet Package manager, search for IronOCR like below, and click install.

Once installed, the application is ready to make use of IronOCR to read any identity document for data extraction and identity verification, reducing manual data entry work.

Step 3: Read Identity Document Images using the IronOCR library

Using OCR for processing ID documents involves many steps, which are detailed below.

using IronOcr;

class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Configure IronTesseract with language and other settings
        var ocrTesseract = new IronTesseract()
        {
            Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest,
            Configuration = new TesseractConfiguration()
            {
                ReadBarCodes = false, // Disable reading of barcodes
                BlackListCharacters = "`ë|^", // Blacklist specific characters
                PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.AutoOsd, // Set page segmentation mode
            }
        };

        // Define the OCR input image
        using var ocrInput = new OcrInput("id1.png");

        // Perform OCR on the input image
        var ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput);

        // Display the extracted text
        Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text);
    }
}

using IronOcr;

class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Configure IronTesseract with language and other settings
        var ocrTesseract = new IronTesseract()
        {
            Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest,
            Configuration = new TesseractConfiguration()
            {
                ReadBarCodes = false, // Disable reading of barcodes
                BlackListCharacters = "`ë|^", // Blacklist specific characters
                PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.AutoOsd, // Set page segmentation mode
            }
        };

        // Define the OCR input image
        using var ocrInput = new OcrInput("id1.png");

        // Perform OCR on the input image
        var ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput);

        // Display the extracted text
        Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text);
    }
}

Imports IronOcr

Friend Class Program
	Public Shared Sub Main()
		' Configure IronTesseract with language and other settings
		Dim ocrTesseract = New IronTesseract() With {
			.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest,
			.Configuration = New TesseractConfiguration() With {
				.ReadBarCodes = False,
				.BlackListCharacters = "`ë|^",
				.PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.AutoOsd
			}
		}

		' Define the OCR input image
		Dim ocrInput As New OcrInput("id1.png")

		' Perform OCR on the input image
		Dim ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput)

		' Display the extracted text
		Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text)
	End Sub
End Class

Step 4: Read Identity documents from PDFs.

We can also read from PDF documents. For this, we can use the IronPDF library from IronSoftware. First, install the library like below:

Install-Package IronOcr

using IronOcr;
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Load the PDF document
        var pdfReader = new PdfDocument("id1.pdf");

        // Initialize IronTesseract for OCR
        var ocrTesseract = new IronTesseract();

        // Create OCR input from the PDF stream
        using var ocrInput = new OcrInput();
        ocrInput.AddPdf(pdfReader.Stream);

        // Perform OCR on the PDF input
        var ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput);

        // Display the extracted text
        Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text);
    }
}

using IronOcr;
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Load the PDF document
        var pdfReader = new PdfDocument("id1.pdf");

        // Initialize IronTesseract for OCR
        var ocrTesseract = new IronTesseract();

        // Create OCR input from the PDF stream
        using var ocrInput = new OcrInput();
        ocrInput.AddPdf(pdfReader.Stream);

        // Perform OCR on the PDF input
        var ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput);

        // Display the extracted text
        Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text);
    }
}

Imports IronOcr
Imports IronPdf

Friend Class Program
	Public Shared Sub Main()
		' Load the PDF document
		Dim pdfReader = New PdfDocument("id1.pdf")

		' Initialize IronTesseract for OCR
		Dim ocrTesseract = New IronTesseract()

		' Create OCR input from the PDF stream
		Dim ocrInput As New OcrInput()
		ocrInput.AddPdf(pdfReader.Stream)

		' Perform OCR on the PDF input
		Dim ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput)

		' Display the extracted text
		Console.WriteLine(ocrResult.Text)
	End Sub
End Class

The above code uses IronPDF to load the id1.pdf document, and the PDF is passed as a stream to OcrInput and ocrTesseract.

{
    "IRONOCR-LICENSE-KEY": "your license key"
}

Use cases

1. Identity Verification in Financial Services:

• Use Case: Banks and financial institutions utilize OCR to read identity documents such as passports, driver's licenses, and ID cards during the customer onboarding and KYC process.
• Benefits: Ensures accurate and efficient identity verification for account creation, loan applications, and other financial transactions.

2. Border Control and Immigration:

• Use Case: Immigration authorities employ OCR technology to read and authenticate information from passports and visas at border checkpoints.
• Benefits: Streamlines the immigration process, enhances security, and reduces manual data entry errors.

3. Access Control and Security:

• Use Case: OCR is used in access control systems to read information from ID cards, employee badges, or facial recognition scans for secure entry into buildings or restricted areas.
• Benefits: Enhances security by ensuring only authorized individuals gain access and provides a digital record of entries.

4. E-Government Services:

• Use Case: Government agencies use OCR to process and verify ID documents submitted online for services such as driver's license renewals, tax filings, and permit applications.
• Benefits: Improves efficiency, reduces paperwork, and enhances the overall citizen experience.

5. Healthcare Identity Verification:

• Use Case: Healthcare providers use OCR to read information from patient IDs, insurance cards, and other identity documents for accurate patient record-keeping.
• Benefits: Facilitates precise patient identification, ensures proper medical record management, and supports billing processes.

6. Automated Hotel Check-In:

• Use Case: Hotels implement OCR for automated check-in processes by scanning guests' identity documents, streamlining the registration process.
• Benefits: Enhances guest experience, reduces check-in time, and minimizes errors in capturing guest information.

7. Smart Cities and Public Services:

• Use Case: OCR is applied in smart city initiatives to read identity documents for services like public transportation access, library memberships, and city event registrations.
• Benefits: Improves the efficiency of public services, facilitates seamless access, and enhances urban living experiences.

8. Education Administration:

• Use Case: Educational institutions use OCR to process and verify ID documents during student admissions, examinations, and issuance of academic credentials.
• Benefits: Ensures accurate student records, reduces administrative burden, and enhances the integrity of academic processes.

Conclusion

Integrating OCR technology into your C# application using IronOCR allows you to efficiently extract information from ID documents. This comprehensive guide provides the necessary steps to set up your project and use IronOCR to read and process identity document images. Experiment with the code examples to tailor the extraction process to your specific requirements, providing a seamless and automated solution for handling identity document data.