Mixed media reality brokerage network with layout-independent recognition

A computer-readable storage medium containing computer program instructions for layout independent recognition of an input document, the computer program instructions performing the steps of:

• receiving an electronic document as the input document;
• rendering the electronic document using a layout process to produce a layout independent document with a layout defined by the layout process;
• extracting an image patch from the layout independent document;
• segmenting the image patch into an input text strip;
• and
• locating from a plurality of stored pages a page with a matching text strip that matches the input text strip to produce a candidate page corresponding to the electronic document.

A system for layout independent recognition of an input document, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• means for receiving an electronic document as the input document;
• means for rendering the electronic document using a layout process to produce a layout independent document with a layout defined by the layout process;
• means for extracting an image patch from the layout independent document;
• means for segmenting the image patch into an input text strip;
• and
• means for locating from a plurality of stored pages a page with a matching text strip that matches the input text strip to produce a candidate page corresponding to the electronic document.