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How Google's High Speed Book Scanner De-Warps Pages

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the onto-dewarping-brains-next dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Patent 7,508,978, awarded to Google, shows how the company has already managed to scan more than 7 million books. Google's system uses two cameras and infrared light to automatically correct for the curvature of pages in a book. By constructing a 3D model of each page and then 'de-warping' it afterward, Google can present flat-looking pages online without having to slice books up or mash them onto a flatbed scanner. Stephen Shankland writes that the 'sophistication of the technology illustrates that would-be competitors who want to feature their own digitized libraries won't have a trivial time catching up to Google.' First, a book is placed on a flat surface, while above it, an infrared projector displays a special mazelike pattern onto the pages. Next, two infrared cameras photograph the infrared pattern from different perspectives. 'The images can be stereoscopically combined, using known stereoscopic techniques, to obtain a three-dimensional mapping of the pattern,' according to the patent. 'The pattern falls on the surface of (the) book, causing the three-dimensional mapping of the pattern to correspond to the three-dimensional surface of the page of the book.'"

6 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. Patent!!??!! by aashenfe · · Score: 5, Funny

    When is the patent office going to quit giving patents for obvious techniques? :)

  2. Re:IMPORTANT QUESTIONS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The same way as your face.

  3. Re:Obvious question... by Captain+Spam · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's cool and all that, but who (or what) flips the pages?

    Interns.

    --
    Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
  4. Re:Butt what about... by DRACO- · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is this what the graphics department is talking about bump mapping?

    Karma burn.

    --
    Consider yourself blessed if you are sneezed on by a dragon and only get wet, it could have been a fireball.
  5. Re:You laugh, but look at this by StikyPad · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now THAT'S a page turner.

    Ba dum dum. Thanks, I'll be here all week! Try the veal, and don't forget to tip your waitress!

    --
    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  6. Re:Playing Catch-up by BikeHelmet · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is actually what I envisioned for a book scanner, years ago.

    But unlike Google, I...

    1) Never built it.
    2) Am not facing lawsuits from overzealous sue-happy publishers.

    Seems like a good defensive patent to have.