New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

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tamiel
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New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by tamiel »

We've been working on developing a scanner based on local demands here in Brazil. We benefited a lot from the posts in this forum. We aimed to create a scanner that would:

1. Have materials and tools that would easily be accessible even in small towns in Brazil;
2. Portable and resistant;
3. Aimed at scanning for the purposes of OCR;
4. Using open-source software for processing;
5. Be of very low cost.

Picture of the scanner http://educacaoaberta.org/rea/wp-conten ... /final.jpg (also in the attachment).

We're basically using PVC (very resistant, pliable, easy to cut, modular, cheap), MDF (easy to find and get cut, cheap) and regular glass for the page itself (acrylic is expensive).

We did a series of small tests before getting to our current design. This one has space for "extensions" where light bulbs, and other attachements can be plugged in a modular fashion (at the open ends of the PVC "T").

We've posted detailed instructions on how to build the scanner, http://educacaoaberta.org/rea/scanner-d ... simo-custo.
We've also posted detailed explanation of the tests we've run so far, http://educacaoaberta.org/rea/scanner-d ... resultados (both are in Portuguese, but have many pictures which explain the process).
And we developed a small bash script to process images https://github.com/tamielbr/scanner/blo ... ocr-script.

We attached a diffcheck on one of the scanned pages, compared to a CanoScan 9000F at 300 dpi (we got 1 character difference):

We're still working on getting the best lighting conditions and speed tests. This is a humble project, but we're excited with the results we've had so far. Comments, tips and ideas for further development are more than welcome!
Attachments
Diffcheck example of OCR done with Tesseract/script
Diffcheck example of OCR done with Tesseract/script
Scanner image
Scanner image
final.jpg (223.61 KiB) Viewed 12486 times
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daniel_reetz
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by daniel_reetz »

For the moment, I just want to thank you for producing such complete documentation and for coming back here and sharing it with us! I'm looking through your instructions and plans with interest.
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dingodog
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by dingodog »

are you planning to sell this copy stand as kit to assembly? It could be very useful for people loving bookscanning but having very poor manual ability
tamiel
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by tamiel »

Thanks for the comments! The DIY forums have been good to us, so we wanted to share back.
We have not yet thought about selling as a kit or pre-built model, as we want to think about improvements and tweaks. But perhaps as we move forward we could do so.
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nandopenteado
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by nandopenteado »

I'd like to say thanks to this forum that helped us a lot to finalize this project... We noticed that the OCR result was good enough to convert image to speech, and then help blind or low vision people to read at a very low cost, our initial goal was to make something about US$30 and we ended up with a simpler structure costing less than US$9. We are very proud to share it back to you all people, thanks again!!
attorlaw
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by attorlaw »

I THINK PVC IS A REAL OPTION FOR A TWO CAMERA STAND
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69874519@N03/
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nandopenteado
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Re: New MDF/PVC scanner for Brazil

Post by nandopenteado »

yes, attorlaw, we think too, and it's very easy to incorporate lighting using the same materials, we've done this here in Brazil. Thanks about sharing the photos of your building. Best regards.
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