In an effort to streamline the process of scanning hundreds of millions of titles, Google Books engineer Dany Qumsiyeh has designed a $1,500 automated scanner from sheet metal, dissected electronics, and a household vacuum. It can chew through a 1,000 page odyssey in about 90 minutes, and you’re welcome to build your own since Qumsiyeh has made his Linear Book Scanner open source.
With improvements and refinements made to the design and the hardware, the Linear Book Scanner has the potential to run much faster. The version demonstrated in the video is actually the prototype, and Qumsiyeh has made the plans available to the public in hopes that many will build and refine their own, and then contribute their improvements back to its original design. [Linear Book Scanner Project via The Verge]
