Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

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vitorio
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Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by vitorio »

Linear Book Scanner is a prototype automatic book scanning device. The device moves a book face-down over linear sensors to capture page images, and uses vacuum pressure to turn pages automatically as the book moves.
Blog post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BenjaminSt ... qypUXGbixu

YouTube video of the Google TechTalk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JuoOaL11bw

Source code and plans: http://code.google.com/p/linear-book-scanner/

From the blog post:
Hi! I work on the Google Books team. Today I am incredibly proud of some of my teammates, because after very quietly working on this project for a long time, their research and labor has finally been released as an open-source project with open patents!

This is one of the most innovative scanner designs I've ever seen, and now anybody can build one given the right materials and skills. And - get this - the total cost is only around $1500.

If it's not clear what is going on here, what they've invented is a new type of paper scanner. It can scan both sides of every page in an entire thousand-page-long book without a human touching the device at all once it starts, and it will never tear a page. How amazing is that?

Watch the tech talk video! You too can build a book-scanning cheese grater out of bits of sheet metal, a stepper motor, a vacuum cleaner(!), and parts from flatbed scanners that you can buy at Fry's.
Any patents needed to build this are also open licensed (within the context of this particular scanner). The license does note that if you improve upon the scanner and thereby infringe other, additional patents, those are not covered.
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jck57
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by jck57 »

From the blog post:
It can scan both sides of every page in an entire thousand-page-long book without a human touching the device at all once it starts, and it will never tear a page.
Not sure why he said it will never tear a page. In the video, the presenter said that in testing, the prototype could scan 60% of books. Of these books, 45% had skipped pages and 45% had folded or torn pages. Hopefully these stats will improve with further development.
xorpt
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by xorpt »

Thanks for the link, this looks very promising! :D
ycpdan
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by ycpdan »

Yes those stats is what scares me, it the 45% tear rate
dpc
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by dpc »

The obvious improvement would be to have another page turning channel on the near end of the rail. That would double the throughput for each trip of the book down and back.

Page tears/folds are scary and aren't going to win you any favors from librarians that let you in the door to scan their old book collections. It's one of the main challenges of designing a foolproof automated page-turning mechanism. There was also a note in the video about the aluminum sheet metal leaving a residue on the pages. That's not good.

Other problems:
1. The Canon photo sensors were a bit thick to get fully into the apex of the 'A' frame, preventing the capture of material near the book's inner margin (mentioned in the video).
2. The sensors from the Canon scanner might not be long enough for some wide books (they're designed to scan an 8.5" wide page).
3. I suspect this scanner would have problems with small paperback books, being that they are naturally closed and light weight. They would tend to move up and away from the saddle as the book moved back and forth.

I did find it interesting that their viewing software would show a mosaic of the small sections of each page containing the page number. That would be useful even for a manual scanner like a lot of us use here to help locate missed/doubled pages.

You could probably make one of these pretty cheap using MDF/plywood with a stainless/formica covering. The particular Canon scanner they robbed for the sensors and electronics has been discontinued, but you can find them for online for $399. I'm thinking you could get this down to under $1000 w/o too much trouble. I'd probably use bearings on the saddle though.
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jck57
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by jck57 »

dpc wrote: There was also a note in the video about the aluminum sheet metal leaving a residue on the pages. That's not good.
Before Formica, countertops in the 1950's were made of linoleum with aluminum trim. This created a problem: rubbing against the aluminum made black streaks on housewives' aprons.
pav
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by pav »

dpc wrote:[...] I suspect this scanner would have problems with small paperback books, being that they are naturally closed and light weight. They would tend to move up and away from the saddle as the book moved back and forth.[...]
You could probably make one of these pretty cheap using MDF/plywood with a stainless/formica covering. The particular Canon scanner...
One could possibly put a weight - similar e.g. to those used by sport people to attach to their ankles for training - on top of a book. If the weight was flat, similar size to the book and either v shaped or of a sand-bag-like qualities it would ride on top OK.

With programmable control of the speed the type of a scanner may not be critical - getting cheap used scanners from ebay might sacrifice speed - but if you set and forget? On a second thought if you sacrifice speed how long can you cope with a vacuum cleaner running next door? How long the vacuum cleaner can cope?

The concept is certainly original - awesome. The appropriate reply would be the standard scanner robotised. :o
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LA2
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by LA2 »

I would buy one if it was available, but will not build one myself. I think the design can be improved for easier building and faster scanning. In the prototype, the book spends much time travelling, far away from the image sensors. Compare this to a sheetfed document scanner, where the next page is pulled from the batch right after the first page leaves the scanner, always keeping the sensors busy. The prototype, according to the design document, used image sensors from a Canon imageFORMULA DR-2510C scanner. It scans (up to) 25 pages (50 images) per minute. Another affordable Canon model, the DR-M160, scans 60 pages (120 images) per minute. In the linear scanner, the scanning speed is reduced both by the time between pages, when the book travels to turn the page, and by the time to scan a page. But the faster sensor would require the book to move faster past the sensor, perhaps making it harder to change direction (deceleration+acceleration) at the end of the scanner, especially for heavy tomes. Both Canon scanners are 8.5 inches (216 mm) wide, but other scanners are wider, such as the more expensive 11.8 inch (300 mm) DR-6030C.
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Gerard
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by Gerard »

dpc wrote: There was also a note in the video about the aluminum sheet metal leaving a residue on the pages. That's not good.
they could reduce the friction/contact to the aluminum with an air hockey table system
pfarber
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Re: Google open-sources a DIY page-turning scanner

Post by pfarber »

CIS/CCDs are the only real way to get consistently clear scans that require minimum post processing. This guys effort is really a good first step.

Page turning is a choice:

Fast
Cheap
Reliable

Pick two.

I can envision a simple roller sensor to detect double page turns.... a 20lb page is slightly more than .003 Any off the shelf dial indicator can read a .003 difference and a simple LED flag senor can be tripped.

Add in some timing flags/photosensors and you have a complete page turn detection/skip system.

Any material will start to get ink build up. I would think a low friction coating like teflon would be the best of both worlds... smooth, easy to clean, and would not abrade ink.
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