Systems and methods for spatial-aware information extraction from electronic source documents

Abstract

Systems and methods for spatial-aware information extraction from electronic source documents are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: obtain an electronic source document in electronic format, including human-readable information; obtain extracted information that has been extracted from the electronic source document; generate a character-based representation of the electronic source document that uses a grid of character positions; and present a user interface to a user to search and/or select information in the electronic source document based on the character-based representation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system configured for spatial-aware information extraction from electronic source documents, the system comprising:
 one or more hardware processors configured by machine-readable instructions to:
 obtain an electronic source document in electronic format, wherein the electronic format is such that, upon presentation of the electronic source document through a particular user interface associated with a client computing platform, the presentation includes human-readable information, wherein the human-readable information includes a first group of characters and a second group of characters, wherein the first group of characters and the second group of characters are positioned relative to each other according to a first relative positioning; and 
 generate a character-based representation of the electronic source document based on extracted information, wherein the extracted information includes a first set of extracted characters and a second set of extracted characters that have been extracted from the electronic source document, wherein the first set of extracted characters and the second set of extracted characters are positioned relative to each other according to a second relative positioning, wherein the character-based representation uses a grid of character positions in which the first set of extracted characters and the second set of extracted characters are positioned, and wherein the second relative positioning corresponds to the first relative positioning. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of extracted characters corresponds to the first group of characters in the human-readable information, and wherein the second set of extracted characters corresponds to the second group of characters in the human-readable information. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first relative positioning is such that the first group of characters is positioned above the second group of characters, and wherein the second relative positioning is such that the first set of extracted characters is positioned above the second set of extracted characters. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first relative positioning is such that the first group of characters is positioned left of the second group of characters, and wherein the second relative positioning is such that the first set of extracted characters is positioned left of the second set of extracted characters. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to:
 present a user interface to the user, wherein the user interface is configured to enable the user to perform a search operation in a portion of the grid of character positions, such that presenting a result of the search operation includes performance of a cropping operation on at least one of the electronic source document and the character-based representation of the electronic source document.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic source documents include electronic files including scanned documents. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first group of characters in the human-readable information include one or more of words, numbers, names, and dates. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the extracted information is obtained from an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine configured to extract the extracted information from the electronic source document, wherein the electronic source document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the extracted information for the first set of extracted characters includes a first set of spatial coordinates that indicate a first spatial position in the electronic source document, wherein the first set of characters in the character-based representation is associated with a first set of textual coordinates in the grid of character positions, and wherein the first set of spatial coordinates corresponds to the first set of textual coordinates. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is configured to enable the user, through user input, to perform two or more search operations in a portion of the grid of character positions, and perform a cropping operation on the electronic source document, wherein the cropping operation is based on results of the two or more search operations. 
     
     
         11 . A method for spatial-aware information extraction from electronic source documents, the method comprising:
 obtaining an electronic source document in electronic format, wherein the electronic format is such that, upon presentation of the electronic source document through a particular user interface associated with a client computing platform, the presentation includes human-readable information, wherein the human-readable information includes a first group of characters and a second group of characters, wherein the first group of characters and the second group of characters are positioned relative to each other according to a first relative positioning; and   generating a character-based representation of the electronic source document based on extracted information, wherein the extracted information includes a first set of extracted characters and a second set of extracted characters that have been extracted from the electronic source document, wherein the first set of extracted characters and the second set of extracted characters are positioned relative to each other according to a second relative positioning, wherein the character-based representation uses a grid of character positions in which the first set of extracted characters and the second set of extracted characters are positioned, and wherein the second relative positioning corresponds to the first relative positioning.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first set of extracted characters corresponds to the first group of characters in the human-readable information, and wherein the second set of extracted characters corresponds to the second group of characters in the human-readable information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first relative positioning is such that the first group of characters is positioned above the second group of characters, and wherein the second relative positioning is such that the first set of extracted characters is positioned above the second set of extracted characters. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first relative positioning is such that the first group of characters is positioned left of the second group of characters, and wherein the second relative positioning is such that the first set of extracted characters is positioned left of the second set of extracted characters. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 presenting a user interface to the user, wherein the user interface is configured to enable the user to perform a search operation in a portion of the grid of character positions, such that presenting a result of the search operation includes performance of a cropping operation on at least one of the electronic source document and the character-based representation of the electronic source document.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the electronic source documents include electronic files including scanned documents. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first group of characters in the human-readable information include one or more of words, numbers, names, and dates. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the extracted information is obtained from an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine that extracts the extracted information from the electronic source document, wherein the electronic source document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the extracted information for the first set of extracted characters includes a first set of spatial coordinates that indicate a first spatial position in the electronic source document, wherein the first set of characters in the character-based representation is associated with a first set of textual coordinates in the grid of character positions, and wherein the first set of spatial coordinates corresponds to the first set of textual coordinates. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the user interface enables the user, through user input, to perform two or more search operations in a portion of the grid of character positions, and perform a cropping operation on the electronic source document, wherein the cropping operation is based on results of the two or more search operations.