A printed checkerboard of squares with a known edge length. Because the spacing of its corners is fixed, software can work out how a camera renders the world.
In PatternScan Pro it is needed exactly once, for the calibration profile of a device. It plays no part in digitizing itself, where the four reference tiles sit around the pattern piece instead.

Digitize sewing patterns without tracing.
Test PatternScan Pro free for 14 days with the full feature set. You need your smartphone, a printer and one pattern you always wanted digital.