Scanner
Latest
Arduino finds yet another use in homebuilt 3D scanner
The Arduino has long since proven itself to be one of the biggest boons to DIY heads since the soldering iron, but that doesn't mean it's not still able to impress, as amply demonstrated by this simple but effective homebuilt 3D scanner. While there's not exactly much to guide the rookies out there, the project does seem to be straightforward enough for anyone with a bit of experience, with the scanner itself comprised of nothing more than the Arduino, a couple of servos, and the Sharp GP2Y0A02YK Long Distance Measuring Sensor -- plus the necessary code, of course, which is conveniently provided at the link below. Once you've got everything pieced together, you should all set to make polar coordinate scans of your surroundings and watch the time fly by.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
Video: GE bringing 3D HD baggage screening to airports
Certain airports have already taken the whole "walk through the metal detector" thing to the next level, but things are about to get stepped up once more thanks to TSA certification on a new product from GE Security. The CTX 9800 DSi, which happily sits in the company's explosives detection systems (EDS) line, is now free to waltz into airports in order to "protect travelers with advanced high-definition 3D imaging baggage screening technology." We're talking 360 degree, finely-detailed views of baggage contents, which will undoubtedly cause immense embarrassment when a given TSA agent sees your prime selection of underwear, nose hair trimmer and pink nail polish. Here's hoping this won't slow security lines down even further, and if you're interested in seeing what all this thing can do, just mash play on the video above.
Macworld 2009: Neat Receipts / Neat Works video interview
A long, long time ago (May of 2008), The Neat Company introduced their Neat Receipts for Mac scanner / software combo. We wrote about it here on TUAW, and even gave away a few of the scanners.Fast forward to Macworld Expo 2009, and Neat Receipts is no longer an "Advance Release". Neat has unbundled the software from the scanner, and calls the resulting scanning software and digital filing system NeatWorks for Mac. It's available for US$59.95, while the version with the Neat Mobile Scanner is still available for US$229.95. The application still provides the core ability to scan in receipts and capture information from them for searching and totalizing in a spreadsheet or Quicken. NeatWorks now also scans business cards, and is synchronized with Address Book -- scan in a card, make any necessary edits, then drag the item from the NeatWorks inbox to the Address Book. Finally, NeatWorks creates searchable PDFs for storage to help you build a paperless office.I spoke wth Mark Gollin of Neat during the final day of Macworld Expo. To see a demo of NeatWorks in action and hear about possible future directions for the app, view the video by clicking the Read More link below.
In-car fingerprint scanner keeps drunks, thieves from starting your car
How's this for dual purpose? Zhao Wencai and Li Zhoumu, two graduate students at the China University of Geosciences, have concocted a prototype device which checks for two important bits of information before allowing a car to start. First, it scans your fingerprint to make sure you're on the authorized driver database; second, it takes a long, hard look (okay, so maybe 20 seconds isn't all that long) at the sweat on your digit to determine just how sober or inebriated you are. There's no telling when this will hit motorcars en masse, but we'd say the whole thing needs to get a whole lot smaller before it's a viable option.[Via Wired]
Win a CardScan Executive for Mac
TUAW reported on the new CardScan Executive for Mac in late September, and now you have a chance to win one in an exclusive TUAW giveaway. It's the sweet little scanner seen at right. No, you don't get the iPhone along with it -- that's only in the picture to give you a sense of how small the CardScan really is.We have a nicely repackaged review unit all ready to ship to one lucky reader to be randomly selected via the comments. To enter, leave a comment and tell us approximately how many business cards (other than your own) you currently have stashed around your home / office / bedroom. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment telling us how many business cards you currently have. The comment must be left before October 31, 11:59PM Eastern Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: CardScan Executive for Mac ($259.99) Click Here for complete Official Rules. Good luck!
SecuriScan shoe scanner could make travel safer, security lines shorter
Huge shocker here: removing your shoes at airport security causes massive headaches and makes the wait longer for everyone. Now that we're all good with Captain Obvious' latest headline, let us point you to one prototype that's looking to solve said dilemma. SecuriScan, which has been developed by Professor Wuqiang Yang at the University of Manchester, would theoretically be able to "detect and pinpoint suspicious objects instantly," all without requiring passengers to remove their kicks. Better still, the system uses electric and magnetic sensing instead of a radiation source, which could also address safety concerns while helping you get where you're going more quickly. Moving forward, Yang hopes to develop a more advanced and realistic prototype for testing, and just in case you were doubting this guy's determination, he's also investigating a handheld version that could hastily screen abandoned luggage or packages.[Via Physorg, image courtesy of ChangeAirportSecurity]
TUAW Review: CardScan Executive for Mac
If you're one of those people who maintains a huge collection of business cards, you're going to love this product. CardScan has come out with a Mac version of their CardScan Executive scanner and software, and it looks like a winner. The US$259.99 package includes the small (3.5" x 6.4" x 1.6") scanner seen above, a CD-ROM with Mac and Windows versions of CardScan's contact management software, and a USB cable. What? No power brick? Nope -- it's bus-powered so you can eliminate one more power plug. The scanner worked fine for me plugged into a USB 2.0 hub.Installation is simple -- put the CD-ROM into your drive, then drag the application file to the Applications folder. The final step? Plug the USB cable into the scanner and an available USB port on your Mac, and a light on the CardScan lets you know you're ready to start entering business cards. That light glows red when you first hook up the CardScan, then turns blue the first time you fire up the CardScan software. Read on to see how this all works.
Samsung cameraphones to sport Scanbuy 2D barcode solution
While Samsung's latest cellphone-related release doesn't pack quite the excitement as what T-Mobile unveiled yesterday, those obsessed with ultrathin lines packed together in the shape of a rectangle will be thrilled. Said mega-corp has landed an agreement with Scanbuy that will preload the ScanLife mobile 2D barcode application on an unspecified number of Samsung's cameraphones. The program enables the handsets to easily read and digest EZcodes and other major 2D barcode formats, and while you're probably envisioning some sort of warehouse scenario right now, the possibilities for on-the-go marketing are nearly endless. Expect Scanbuy-equipped Samsung cellies to go on sale in Spain, Italy, and Denmark as early as next month, with availability in other major markets to follow suit shortly.
iPhone document scanner
Since the iPhone's introduction, people have been using the built-in camera for more than quick snapshots. Some have taken macro shots, used it as a webcam or even created high art (OK, so that last one was a bug). Another popular practice is to use it to generate to-do lists and even as a scanner. People have taken photos of things they need to buy or remember to do. Others have sent snapshots of business cards, receipts, etc. into applications like iPhoto and Evernote.That's clever, but getting a legible image of your documents is difficult. Enter the iPhone Document Scanner. This device positions the iPhone and document to be "scanned" at the perfect distance and ensures a steady hand. If you're a Ponko member, you can download a free .eps file of the plans to build your own.We knew Apple put the camera on the back for a reason!Thanks, Baptiste!
And the winner is...
We have a winner in our NEAT Receipts Advance Release giveaway!Grant B. (full name withheld on request) from Colorado was the lucky TUAW reader chosen by NEAT Receipts to get his very own NEAT Receipts Advance Release package. Here is Grant's winning comment: "This is a fantastic idea for me. I'm a self-employed sole-proprietor, so I often have to take extra measures to ensure I keep my business and personal life separate. Neat Receipts would make that so much easier."Grant also told us that "I recently switched back to Mac after an 8 year PC phase, and I'm so happy I'm back in the Apple fold -- and able to enjoy TUAW everyday. It's my first iPhone visit every morning."Congratulations to Grant on all counts -- coming back to Mac, being a faithful TUAW reader, and winning the NEAT Receipts Advance Release giveaway.UPDATE - We actually have two winners as NEAT Receipts has graciously provided another unit. Daniel D. (full name withheld on request) is also going to be scanning his way into organizational nerdvana. Daniel's comment was short and to the point -- "I need it to scan receipts. YAY!" Congratulations, Daniel, and here's to a receipt-free life with your new scanner.Many thanks to NEAT Receipts for contributing to this special TUAW giveaway.
HP's Handheld sp300 All-in-One scanner/printer brings cyborg revolution to warehouses everywhere
As managers race to turn their warehouse workers into cyborgs, HP is there to help with its Handheld sp400 All-in-One scanner / paperless printer of arm-mounted doom. This strap-on contraption is a wireless scanner / printer / barcode manager that turns warehouse drones into human intake and inventory machines. To be fair, the sp400 does have some benefits, like not requiring thermal labels and a reduction in paper waste with its built-in document imprinting function. Most importantly, though, be sure to see the video at the read link -- you'll be wishing you too could work in such an efficient warehouse![Thanks, Sonya]
TUAW Review: NEAT Receipts, part 3
Using the scanner with other appsHow about using the NEAT Receipts scanner with other organization software like Yojimbo or Evernote? If you scan in documents as PDF files, you can use the NEAT Receipts scanner to grab documents for those other applications. The scanner has only two buttons on top of it. One is marked SCAN and starts the scanning process. The other is marked PDF and is used if you want to save an image in PDF format. To test this, I took some checks from clients, placed them face-down into the maw of the scanner, and punched the PDF button. Immediately, a standard Mac Save As... dialog appeared, so I gave the file a name and pressed return. The scan of a standard voucher-sized check took about 30 seconds. At the end of that time, I had a very clear PDF file that I could just drag and drop onto Yojimbo. For the native version of Evernote, I had to create a new note and then drag the PDF onto the note. Once Evernote had synced with the online database, I was able to view my new PDF from the web client.I decided to use the scan-to-PDF feature of the NEAT Receipt software to capture business cards into Evernote. Previously, I had used Evernote's iSight Note capability, but the results were often blurry and I could see my fingers holding the cards. Scanning the files with the NEAT Receipt scanner meant that the results of Evernote's online OCR were much better, so searching business cards became a lot more accurate. Another feature of the scanner that I love is that there is no power brick -- it is bus-powered, so there is one less weighty power supply that I need to drag along with me on trips. The scanner has a simple straight-through paper path that prevents jams, and it handled flimsy receipts, business cards, and full US Legal sized documents (8-1/2" x 14") without a hitch. NEAT Receipts says the scanner can handle documents down to 1" by 1" (2.54 cm x 2.54 cm) in size.The NEAT Receipt software has several different ways of viewing scanned documents, all of which should be familiar to Leopard users. There's an item view, an icon view, and an Image Flow view that is supposed to work like Cover Flow. Unfortunately, I could never get the Image Flow view to work properly - I saw the currently selected document but there was no way to flip between the documents.The CompetitionThere are other "compact" scanners on the market. Fujitsu's ScanSnap S300M is one of the more popular compact Mac scanners in the field right now. It has several advantages, including double-sided scanning and a 10-page sheet feeder, but is larger and much heavier -- about 3 pounds (1.4 kg.). The ScanSnap also has dedicated business card OCR software (Cardiris) and a heftier price tag -- $295 MSRP. The Pentax DSmobile 600 scanner is less expensive than the rest at $135 MSRP and is about the same size and weight as the NEAT Receipt scanner. However, it does not include any Mac-specific software and is meant for use as a TWAIN-compatible scanner for use with other applications.Finally, the IRIScan 2 Portable Scanner ($149) comes with a full suite of software for business card, text, and photo scanning. It's an 11.7 ounce (332 gram) lightweight that could be the only real competition to the NEAT Receipts scanner. %Gallery-24308%
TUAW Review: NEAT Receipts, part 2
Installing and launchingThe NEAT Receipts software must be installed prior to attaching the scanner for the first time, and it comes in a standard Mac .dmg file. Installed, the application takes up 237 MB of hard drive real estate. As soon as the software installation is complete, your Mac reboots. Immediately after launching the software for the first time, I was notified that a newer version was available. Instead of entering the license key, I shut down the installation and let Firefox download the 122.2 MB updater. The update required yet another restart, which was a bit annoying - what do they think this is, a Windows application? ;-) Upon launching the updated application, I was greeted with a very neat and clean Welcome screen (see gallery for a screenshot). According to the Getting Started pamphlet, it was time to connect the scanner and calibrate it. The scanner is a tiny device, only 10.8" x 1.6" x 1.3" (27.4 cm x 4.1 cm x 3.3 cm) in size, with its own carrying bag -- a very nice touch. It's also very lightweight, weighing in at a svelte 10.6 ounces (300 grams). NEAT Receipts requests that you calibrate the scanner before using it, and they include a calibration card to get everything aligned properly.Scanning receiptsThe first couple of receipts I scanned were from OfficeMax and had fairly high contrast, so I expected them to scan well and was not disappointed. The receipts were scanned in about 10 seconds each, followed by a 20-30 second recognition sequence. When that was done, I had not only a fairly decent scan of the receipts, but NEAT Receipts had filled in information about the vendor, date of purchase, amount, and payment type (i.e., Visa, cash, check, etc...) in a small form on the right side of the screen. The receipts didn't have a field called "Sales Tax", so that field wasn't filled in. However, when I double-clicked the image, I found that I could drag the Tax line of the receipt image to the Sales Tax field to populate it. In fact, every line of text that had been recognized was highlighted on the image in a light yellowish-orange tint, and each one could be individually dragged to the form if I needed the information. Very cool.I went to my completely unorganized receipt drawer and grabbed a handful of receipts to scan. Many of these receipts were crumpled from living in my wallet, some had faded, some were in color (movie ticket receipts), and they were from a variety of vendors. NEAT Receipts surprised me in many cases with its accuracy and uncanny ability to "know" what category of vendor a receipt belonged to. For instance, when I scanned in a receipt from Red Robin (a burger chain), the category was automatically set to Meals/Restaurant. Next, I started feeding in receipts that were hard for me to read. For instance, one was about two months old and quite faded, but the results were still fairly good. While it didn't bring in the name of the restaurant automatically, it was able to let me drag what it thought was LiV Ricci's (actually Lil' Ricci's) into the Vendor slot of the data page and correct it. Not bad!Did it recognize 100% of the receipts? No. The receipts that weren't recognized were usually so badly crumpled, ripped, and faded that I could barely read them, so it's unlikely that any optical character recognition (OCR) software would do any better. %Gallery-24308%
TUAW Review: NEAT Receipts for Mac Advance Release
Be sure to enter our NEAT Receipts for Mac giveaway! See details at the end of the article.A few weeks ago, the NEAT Receipts team announced an Advance Release of their receipt scanning and text recognition package for Mac. A few days later, FedEx delivered a small box containing the shipping product, and I've been feeding NEAT Receipts a steady diet of receipts and any other paper I can get my hands on ever since. While the $179 Advance Release doesn't have the full functionality of the Windows version, such as a business card module or the ability to export receipt information to financial software, it is a very good first attempt at a Mac product. The scanner is a tiny piece of sculpture that can be easily carried along on business trips to capture expense information - it's that small and light. As you have probably surmised, NEAT Receipts for Mac Advance Release is more than just a slim little scanner; it's also a powerful and adaptive piece of Mac software that performs intelligent optical character recognition and automates the process of moving receipt information from paper to digital format. Read on for the full review and be sure to check out the gallery below for photos and screenshots. %Gallery-24308%
NEAT Receipts for Mac Advance Release
Hey, slacker! You know who you are - the person who waited until 11:59 PM on April 15th to file your tax return. You've decided to get organized so you can file on April 14th next year. Windows users have had a leg up in the expense organizing world with a best-selling scanner/software combo called NEAT Receipts. Now Mac users are getting the love too.Consisting of a sleek little scanner and some proprietary software, NEAT Receipts for Mac Advance Release is a complete solution for capturing all of life's little expenses automatically. You scan a receipt, and OCR software captures the vendor, price, sales tax, and other data into a library along with an image of the receipt. NEAT Receipts for Mac Advance Release doesn't have all of the features of the PC version yet, but it will when the final version is released in January, 2009. For the time being, you can buy the scanner and software for $179.95 (a full $50 less than the PC version) and upgrade to the full Mac version for free when it ships.Thanks to Rachel for the tip!
KITT's scanner light gets explained
We still have mixed feelings on the soon-to-be-revived Knight Rider franchise -- sure, we're gonna watch it, but we'll probably do it with tears streaming down our face -- but that doesn't mean we're going to turn down an inside look on how KITT's iconic red scanner light works. According to Pierre Hoffman, whose Auto Indulgence shop built the new scanner, the units consists of 240 LEDs per side in three rows of 80. The goal was to make the scanner look like a heartbeat, so early prototypes were actually triggered from a music interface connected to samples of different heart rhythms. Sadly, the final design isn't nearly as slick, using a complex timing-based circuit board instead -- but that doesn't mean we aren't filled with a rush of conflicted emotions every time we see that red glow. Check the whole interview with Pierre at the read link.
Show floor video: Intelliscan Mini does handheld media inventory
We are blessed on the Mac platform with many good ways to keep track of our stuff -- but Intelliscanner takes it to the next level, with a range of integrated scanner and software solutions that will have you tracking your movies, books, wine and comics with barcoded accuracy and ease. We visited the Inteliiscanner booth at Macworld for a demo of the Mini, a handheld scanner that can hold 150 item scans before downloading via USB to the host. The bundle retails for $299 but there's a show special through the end of January (and I'm contacting Intelliscan now to make sure it's still running & get the discount code for you) and unlike some other Macworld vendors, they really mean "show special" -- the offer ended Friday. Video after the jump (and pay no attention to the title card... editing mixup on my part).
NEAT Receipts for Mac shown at Macworld
The personal-organizer scanner space on the Mac has been fairly quiet since the departure of the Visioneer PaperPort from the platform (we miss you, guys!), but one of the leading new vendors is coming over to the Mac -- NEAT Receipts for Mac is here at the show and will be shipping later this year. NR's slim scanner and software bundle lets you scan and organize all your paper receipts on your computer, keeping records for expense/business and tax purposes without the clutter and mess.The final pricing and availability for NR Mac isn't published yet, but what I heard at the booth is $180/$80 (with the scanner hardware or software only) shipping in Q2; you can use the software in standalone or watched-folder mode with most other Mac-compatible scanners. If you've got an envelope full of paper records that need the scanning treatment, check it out.
Cypress OSCAR sensor powers ARRIFLEX D-20, ARRISCAN
Cypress Semiconductor has announced that its OSCAR CMOS sensor is the retina for the eyes of both the ARRIFLEX D-20 camera and the ARRISCAN film scanner. Digicam buffs may scoff at the 6-megapixel OSCAR array, but we HD fans know that's more than enough to produce the crispy images we crave on the big screen. The 2880 x 2160-pixel sensor can read out at high frame rates and run speed ramps, useful for either shooting live or digitizing film stock. The sensor is a "full frame," Super 35 size, so the optical results are the same between the D-20 and its film-based counterpart; a necessity for camera crews and their existing arsenal of lenses. If you're curious about how good this gear is, check for yourself -- the ARRISCAN was used in "King Kong" and "Die Hard IV," the D-20 shot the TV shows "Hogfather," "Tin Man" and "Baker Street."
Fujitsu announces ScanSnap S300 portable ADF scanner
It looks like Fujitsu's added yet another sure to be short-lived distinction to its repertoire of bragging rights, with its new ScanSnap S300 scanner laying claim to the title of "world's smallest color ADF scanner." Despite its diminutive size (11.2 x 3.7 x 3.0 inches), the scanner looks like it should stack up reasonably well against its larger counterparts, with it boasting a scanning speed of 8 pages per minute for single-sided pages and 17 images per minute for double-sided documents, along with special scanning options for business cards, a range of automatic page-detection options, and a maximum resolution of 600 dpi. You will have to pay a bit more than a comparable, non-world's smallest model, however, as this one will run you just shy of $300 when it hits the US in late November.
