System and method for capturing images of a target area on which information is recorded

A camera-based system for capturing an image of a target area comprising:

• a generally horizontally extending boom assembly, said boom assembly being positioned above a target area on which information is recorded;
• at least one digital camera mounted on said boom assembly at a location spaced from the plane of said target area, said at least one digital camera being oriented so that the field of view thereof encompasses said target area;
• and
• a processor in communication with said at least one digital camera, said processor receiving image data from said at least one digital camera and processing said image data to detect the presence of an obstacle in the captured image, said processor conditioning said at least one digital camera to acquire another image of said target area in the presence of an obstacle in said captured image.

A method of capturing and storing images of a background surface on which information is recorded, said method comprising the steps of:

• capturing a low resolution image of the background surface;
• processing the low resolution image to determine if an obstacle obscuring the background surface is in said low resolution image;
• and
• if no obstacle is in said low resolution image, capturing a high resolution image of said background surface.

A method of capturing and storing images of a background surface on which information is recorded, said method comprising the steps of:

• capturing an image of the background surface;
• processing the image to determine if an obstacle obscuring the background surface is in the captured image;
• and
• further processing the captured image to highlight information recorded on the background surface when no obstacle is in said captured image.