<s>
Optical	B-Application
Mark	I-Application
Recognition	I-Application
(	O
OMR	O
)	O
,	O
collects	O
data	O
from	O
people	O
by	O
identifying	O
markings	O
on	O
a	O
paper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
students	O
may	O
remember	O
completing	O
quizzes	O
or	O
surveys	O
that	O
required	O
them	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
pencil	B-Device
to	O
fill	O
in	O
bubbles	O
on	O
paper	O
(	O
seen	O
to	O
the	O
right	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
OMR	O
devices	O
have	O
a	O
scanner	B-Application
that	O
shines	O
a	O
light	O
onto	O
a	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
OMR	O
software	O
then	O
works	O
with	O
a	O
common	O
desktop	O
image	B-Application
scanner	I-Application
with	O
a	O
document	O
feeder	O
to	O
process	O
the	O
forms	O
once	O
filled	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OMR	O
is	O
generally	O
distinguished	O
from	O
optical	B-Application
character	I-Application
recognition	I-Application
(	O
OCR	O
)	O
by	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
a	O
complicated	O
pattern	O
recognition	O
engine	O
is	O
not	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
familiar	O
applications	O
of	O
OMR	O
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
#2	B-Device
pencil	I-Device
(	O
HB	O
in	O
Europe	O
)	O
bubble	O
optical	O
answer	O
sheets	O
in	O
multiple	O
choice	O
question	O
examinations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
marks	O
are	O
added	O
to	O
each	O
(	O
normally	O
facing/odd	O
)	O
page	O
of	O
a	O
mail	O
document	O
and	O
consist	O
of	O
a	O
sequence	O
of	O
black	O
dashes	O
that	O
folder	O
inserter	O
equipment	O
scans	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
determine	O
when	O
the	O
mail	O
should	O
be	O
folded	O
then	O
inserted	O
in	O
an	O
envelope	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
number	O
two	O
pencils	B-Device
had	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
fill	O
in	O
the	O
bubbles	O
—	O
graphite	B-Application
is	O
a	O
very	O
opaque	O
substance	O
which	O
absorbs	O
or	O
reflects	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
light	O
which	O
hits	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
do	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
filled	O
in	O
with	O
a	O
number	O
two	O
pencil	B-Device
,	O
though	O
these	O
are	O
recommended	O
over	O
other	O
types	O
(	O
this	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
lighter	O
marks	O
made	O
by	O
higher-number	O
pencils	B-Device
and	O
the	O
smudges	O
from	O
number	O
1	O
pencils	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
systems	O
accommodate	O
for	O
human	O
error	O
in	O
filling	O
in	O
ovals	O
imprecisely	O
—	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
stray	O
into	O
the	O
other	O
ovals	O
and	O
the	O
oval	O
is	O
almost	O
filled	O
,	O
the	O
scanner	B-Application
will	O
detect	O
it	O
as	O
filled	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
required	O
all	O
ballots	O
to	O
be	O
transferred	O
to	O
correctly	O
printed	O
ones	O
,	O
by	O
sequestered	O
workers	O
of	O
the	O
board	O
of	O
elections	O
,	O
under	O
close	O
observation	O
by	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
Democratic	O
and	O
Republican	O
(	O
but	O
not	O
other	O
)	O
political	O
parties	O
,	O
and	O
county	O
sheriff	B-Application
deputies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OMR	O
software	O
is	O
a	O
computer	O
software	O
application	O
that	O
makes	O
OMR	O
possible	O
on	O
a	O
desktop	O
computer	O
by	O
using	O
an	O
Image	B-Application
scanner	I-Application
to	O
process	O
surveys	O
,	O
tests	O
,	O
attendance	O
sheets	O
,	O
checklists	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
plain-paper	O
forms	O
printed	O
on	O
a	O
laser	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
OMR	O
software	O
packages	O
that	O
used	O
images	O
from	O
common	O
image	B-Application
scanners	I-Application
was	O
Remark	O
Office	O
OMR	O
,	O
made	O
by	O
Gravic	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
originally	O
named	O
Principia	O
Products	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
need	O
for	O
OMR	O
software	O
originated	O
because	O
early	O
optical	B-Application
mark	I-Application
recognition	I-Application
systems	O
used	O
dedicated	O
scanners	O
and	O
special	O
pre-printed	O
forms	O
with	O
drop-out	O
colors	O
and	O
registration	O
marks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mostly	O
this	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
bitonal	O
image	O
and	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
count	O
with	O
minimum	O
and	O
maximum	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
counts	O
to	O
eliminate	O
extraneous	O
marks	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
erased	O
with	O
a	O
dirty	O
eraser	O
that	O
when	O
converted	O
into	O
a	O
black-and-white	O
image	O
(	O
bitonal	O
)	O
can	O
look	O
like	O
a	O
legitimate	O
mark	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Optical	B-Application
mark	I-Application
recognition	I-Application
(	O
OMR	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
scanning	O
of	O
paper	O
to	O
detect	O
the	O
presence	O
or	O
absence	O
of	O
a	O
mark	O
in	O
a	O
predetermined	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Optical	B-Application
mark	I-Application
recognition	I-Application
has	O
evolved	O
from	O
several	O
other	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
early	O
forms	O
of	O
OMR	O
are	O
paper	O
tape	O
and	O
punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
which	O
use	O
actual	O
holes	O
punched	O
into	O
the	O
medium	O
instead	O
of	O
pencil	B-Device
filled	O
circles	O
on	O
the	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
were	O
created	O
in	O
1890	O
and	O
were	O
used	O
as	O
input	O
devices	O
for	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
declined	O
greatly	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
personal	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
modern	O
OMR	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
a	O
pencil	B-Device
filled	O
in	O
bubble	O
is	O
recognized	O
,	O
the	O
recognition	O
is	O
done	O
via	O
an	O
optical	B-Application
scanner	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
mark	B-Device
sense	I-Device
scanner	B-Application
was	O
the	O
IBM	O
805	O
Test	O
Scoring	O
Machine	O
;	O
this	O
read	O
marks	O
by	O
sensing	O
the	O
electrical	O
conductivity	O
of	O
graphite	B-Application
pencil	B-Device
lead	O
using	O
pairs	O
of	O
wire	O
brushes	O
that	O
scanned	O
the	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1930s	O
,	O
Richard	O
Warren	O
at	O
IBM	O
experimented	O
with	O
optical	O
mark	B-Device
sense	I-Device
systems	O
for	O
test	O
scoring	O
,	O
as	O
documented	O
in	O
US	O
Patents	O
2,150,256	O
(	O
filed	O
in	O
1932	O
,	O
granted	O
in	O
1939	O
)	O
and	O
2,010,653	O
(	O
filed	O
in	O
1933	O
,	O
granted	O
in	O
1935	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
successful	O
optical	O
mark-sense	O
scanner	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Everett	O
Franklin	O
Lindquist	O
as	O
documented	O
in	O
US	O
Patent	O
3,050,248	O
(	O
filed	O
in	O
1955	O
,	O
granted	O
in	O
1962	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
and	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
related	O
machines	O
allowed	O
IBM	O
to	O
migrate	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
applications	O
developed	O
for	O
its	O
mark	B-Device
sense	I-Device
machines	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
optical	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
applications	O
included	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
inventory	O
management	O
and	O
trouble	O
reporting	O
forms	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
which	O
had	O
the	O
dimensions	O
of	O
a	O
standard	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
OMR	O
in	O
inventory	O
systems	O
was	O
a	O
transition	O
between	O
punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
and	O
bar	O
codes	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
used	O
as	O
much	O
for	O
this	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OMR	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
done	O
using	O
an	O
OMR	O
(	O
discrete	O
read	O
head	O
)	O
scanner	B-Application
or	O
an	O
imaging	O
scanner	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Progress	O
in	O
OMR	O
now	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
print	O
their	O
own	O
forms	O
and	O
use	O
a	O
scanner	B-Application
(	O
preferably	O
with	O
a	O
document	O
feeder	O
)	O
to	O
read	O
the	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
sheet	O
has	O
been	O
filled	O
in	O
,	O
the	O
individual	O
places	O
the	O
sheet	O
on	O
the	O
scanner	B-Application
to	O
be	O
scanned	O
and	O
the	O
printer	O
will	O
print	O
the	O
photos	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
marks	O
that	O
were	O
indicated	O
.	O
</s>
