Okay, so I know there are some tech-y types who read this blog, so please don't rip into me too hard when I lay this one out. I'm relatively certain it won't work based solely on the amount of knowledge I'm missing regarding it, but here goes.
So I use this software associated with Adobe Acrobat to recognize text in .pdf's and convert it to something I can manipulate. For those of you not familiar with .pdf's, they are essentially images of documents that can be sent around without a fear of them being altered too much or messed with. (if I got that wrong feel free to correct me)
So this OCR software is nice and all, but there are a bunch of situations where it doesn't work. If there's a picture in the pdf, or if there is renderable text, etc etc. But when I look at the screen, it's very obviously an "a" right there looking at me. At some point in the pdf-monitor process something in there recognized that certain pixels needed to be lit up so that my eye would recognize the shape of an "a".
So my great idea is more of a question. Would it be possible to access whatever part of the OS is determining what I see on the monitor and scan that data for certain arrangements of pixels? If they are sending out these couple hundred pixels, laid out just so, couldn't there be program that saw that as a letter and processed it as such for me?
I understand that there may need to be some kind of filtering system, or a determination of font color, or there's the high likelihood of getting every single letter of text on the entire screen, but is it possible? If so it would make my and a lot of other people's jobs a lot easier. I can't tell you the number of times I've had type page after page of stuff into a new word doc just because the OCR couldn't recognize it and when I tried to convert it it went all wonky (that's a technical term) and was essentially gibberish.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
What A Great Idea #14
Alright, so I don't really have all the technology worked out on this one. It's more like I have a problem that I have a vague solution to. The problem is cold drinks. I'm a fan of cold drinks, specifically Gatorade. I like one of those big 32 oz bottles of Gatorade after a hard day out in the sun. The problem is they take up a lot of floor space in the refrigerator, so I don't like putting more than one or two in there at a time. This means if I forget to put a drink in there to get cold, then I have to stick it in the freezer and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burst.
So my solution is kind of the anti-microwave. I think I'll call it the Coolwave. Of course that's kind of like cool whip, so it might not work. Anywho, the idea is to have a small chamber with a door, much like a microwave, but instead of a microwave emitter heating up your food I want to have a bottle of liquid nitrogen or something. Once the vessel was sealed, the valve on the liquid nitrogen would be opened minutely, just enough to rapidly lower the temperature in the vessel to whatever you wanted. Then once the temperature was low enough, a fan would start at the other end to suck all the nitrogen out and a pump of some kind could be employed to re-pressurize and perhaps condense the nitrogen back into liquid form.
Of course there would be some loss, combined with the fact that it would be contaminated with whatever air was already in the chamber. Maybe another exhaust system could be used prior to the cooling process to draw a vacuum on the chamber. The power consumption on something like this would probably be pretty high too.
But the uses are pretty far reaching. Not enough ice for the party? Coolwave a few trays. Want to make popsicles for all the kids in the neighborhood who showed up in your back yard? It will only take a moment. Jellos set in record time, mixes and baking recipes that call for something to cool overnight will now only have to cool for a few seconds. You could chill glasses for that frosty mug of root beer, or bowls so your ice cream will stay colder longer (Brandon). The possibilities go on and on.
Like I said, the technology is a bit beyond me. Storing liquid nitrogen is a probably dangerous, and ensuring it was all out of the chamber before you opened it would be important. But the same could be said for a microwave emitter, a very dangerous tool if used improperly. The real problem is the feasibility of returning the nitrogen to a liquid state. I don't know how that is done normally, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a pretty hefty cooling tower or something. But hey, they used to say a computer would never fit inside a home, and now one fits in my pocket, so who knows.
So my solution is kind of the anti-microwave. I think I'll call it the Coolwave. Of course that's kind of like cool whip, so it might not work. Anywho, the idea is to have a small chamber with a door, much like a microwave, but instead of a microwave emitter heating up your food I want to have a bottle of liquid nitrogen or something. Once the vessel was sealed, the valve on the liquid nitrogen would be opened minutely, just enough to rapidly lower the temperature in the vessel to whatever you wanted. Then once the temperature was low enough, a fan would start at the other end to suck all the nitrogen out and a pump of some kind could be employed to re-pressurize and perhaps condense the nitrogen back into liquid form.
Of course there would be some loss, combined with the fact that it would be contaminated with whatever air was already in the chamber. Maybe another exhaust system could be used prior to the cooling process to draw a vacuum on the chamber. The power consumption on something like this would probably be pretty high too.
But the uses are pretty far reaching. Not enough ice for the party? Coolwave a few trays. Want to make popsicles for all the kids in the neighborhood who showed up in your back yard? It will only take a moment. Jellos set in record time, mixes and baking recipes that call for something to cool overnight will now only have to cool for a few seconds. You could chill glasses for that frosty mug of root beer, or bowls so your ice cream will stay colder longer (Brandon). The possibilities go on and on.
Like I said, the technology is a bit beyond me. Storing liquid nitrogen is a probably dangerous, and ensuring it was all out of the chamber before you opened it would be important. But the same could be said for a microwave emitter, a very dangerous tool if used improperly. The real problem is the feasibility of returning the nitrogen to a liquid state. I don't know how that is done normally, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a pretty hefty cooling tower or something. But hey, they used to say a computer would never fit inside a home, and now one fits in my pocket, so who knows.
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