US Patent 10542167 Systems and methods relating to document and fastener identification

Method and systems of automated document processing described herein include activating in sequence a plurality of illumination modules of an illumination source to illuminate a document, where the plurality of illumination modules are located at different positions relative to the document. The document can be imaged each time the document is illuminated by an illumination module to provide a plurality of images. A shadow profile of the document can be obtained based on the plurality of images. One or more of a boundary of the document and presence of a fastener attached to the document can be identified using the shadow profile. Any fasteners present may be removed using a robot arm.