Microtask Forms harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to digitize paper forms
Helsinki – 11 May, 2011 – Microtask today announced a new service called Microtask Forms, which offers businesses and even individuals an easy way to turn their paper forms into digital format. The service is powered by the company’s crowdsourcing platform that automatically splits dull repetitive tasks into tiny microtasks and distributes them over the internet. Once carried out by contracted microworkers around the world, Microtask puts the results back together into a completed assignment.
Microtask Forms digitizes both handwritten and typed forms. The process is straightforward. After registering into the service, forms can be submitted over email or fax. The service analyzes submitted forms and automatically extracts data written in the fields. The data can then be stored and processed in digital formats.
Security and confidentiality are maintained as microworkers only see fragments of data, not the actual forms. The correct output is guaranteed by digitizing each piece of information more than once and automatically crosschecking the results.
“Typing in paper forms is a dreaded chore in offices big and small. Why not spend all that time doing something more profitable? Microtask Forms is the first form service with no up-front payments or contract hassles”, says Microtask CEO Ville Miettinen.
Microtask has developed an advanced platform that utilizes crowdsourcing for repetitive routine tasks which can be performed in a secure and cost effective way. Earlier this year, Microtask with The National Library of Finland announced Digitalkoot (Digital Volunteers), an application that uses crowdsourcing to digitize the Library’s vast collection of historical documents and material. Microtask Forms is the latest application of the platform. Microtask will later announce a public application programming interface that allows external developers to use distributed work for their own applications.
Microtask Forms doesn’t require a subscription or long term commitment – users are billed according to the number of forms processed. A free trial is available. The service currently supports the English language. Support for more languages will be added gradually.