The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for
identifying a product through reading of the product label by a retail
terminal. The product/product label is scanned by an imager of a retail
terminal. An attribute recognition program such as an optical character
recognition (OCR) program is used on the scanned product label which
generates text strings from alphanumeric label information and graphics
maps/images from graphics/logos. Text strings and/or graphics data are
then compared to various text strings and graphics data in a database or
look-up table to return information relative to the scanned text
string(s)/graphic(s). In one form, kiosks, incorporating an imager and the
necessary hardware and software to scan a product label and process the
scanned information in accordance with the present principles, may provide
printouts of product information, instructions, order forms or the like
for the scanned product. Additionally, standard queries or user-generated
queries may be answered relative to the scanned product label. Data,
stored either locally or at a remote site accessible via a network or the
like, is correlated to a plurality of text strings/graphics that
correspond to alphanumeric text/graphics on a plurality of product labels.
