by Pamela Bowers, CrossTalk, Jan 2002
For the first time ever, the Bureau of the Census (BOC) used imaging and recognition technologies to process forms resulting in more data being received faster than ever before. The BOC and Lockheed Martin successfully developed a system that automatically processed more than 150 million multi-page Census forms in 170 days. In the end their data accuracy was exceptional, reaching 99 percent.
The Bureau of the Census (BOC) contracted with Lockheed Martin Mission Systems to deliver an imaging and recognition system that would automatically process more than 150 million multi-page Census forms in 170 days. The delivered product was the DCS2000 system; a fully integrated system capable of logging and electronically reading census forms, storing the data on high fidelity backup tapes, and tracking the data via large, Oracle-based databases...
..."This project team arranged a great partnership and reacted well to customer direction," says Alan Berlinger, BOC Data Capture program manager. "They started with a firm deadline, but ambitious requirements. They ended with ... the largest data capture effort ever."
"Never before has the BOC processed so much data so quickly," says MacDonald. "When you consider the magnitude of this program, the congressionally mandated milestones, and the large number of changes to the baseline, it is easy to see why nothing short of a true partnership between government and private sector could make this work."
Link to full article:
http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk/2002/01/census.html
Note: http://www.stsc.hill.af...
Stumble It!
Personally, my concern isn\'t about whether they can do the census--it\'s just whether the information is safe.