2016-11-05 Sat

A camera is a technological version of the human eye. A computer software package plays the function of a brain which decodes the signals. Cognition is required to understand what is being seen.

A computer “sees” in pixels as a bit of data. It then creates a map of values which is generally used by a photo-viewing software. Computerised grading can make use of this technology to derive the grade for the coin.

Pictures of various coins can be taken to create a huge database. When a new coin is to be graded, their pictures can be then compared with the existing database to arrive at a decision. There are chances that the coin to be graded is completely new and cannot be compared, that is where the challenge would be. Other properties of the coin can also be measured like the diameter, weight, metal content etc. But like in robotics, intelligent algorithms will have to be applied for implementing self-learning characteristics to the computer.

Just like the human brain needs practice and experience to understand what it sees, high-end programming would be required to mimic that function which would make it easier for computers to grade coins.