NEC Co-Develops Technology That Turns Cell Phones Into Scanners

NEC Corp. and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology have developed technology that enables cellular phones with small cameras to be used as high-precision scanners, reports Nikkei.net.

"The technology reads text and images when a camera-equipped cell phone traces the pages of a book or other document. It detects the curvature of the page, automatically correcting any distortion that arises as a result.

When scanning an A4-size book using a camera with 1 million pixels, tracing the page in 3-5 seconds at a distance of around 15cm produces 21-35 still images. These can then be transmitted to the user's home or office using the existing communications network and without requiring a fax machine.

NEC and NAIST aim to commercialize the technology in three years.

Countermeasures, such as having the phone beep while scanning, are planned to prevent illegal uses such as copying books in bookstores."

emily | 8:46 AM | New Camera Phones of Note |
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