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Small device to connect camera scanner
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u2005k
Jan 10, 2012, 6:29:20 AM1/10/12
to
Hello,
I am working on project which is used for rural population in India. The
requirement is field agent will be visiting remote villages to collect
information (demographic) and their identity proofs using a camera based
scanner. The issue is these scanner work with PC/Laptop which is connected
to USB port (scanner draws power from USB port). Unfortunately in remote
areas electricity is not available for most part of the day. So we are
looking for following solution:
1. Small device with battery that can last for 6-8 hrs.
2. Has USB Host port that connects to scanner
3. Device needs to have small LCD display (2-4") which can show the images
coming from scanner camera.
4. Device will have set of buttons that can be used to take a picture of
the document (as good as scan)
5. It stores it in internal memory /Micro SD card
6. Status screen (can share same screen for showing the image preview) for
total count of the picture, scrolling through images, deleting etc.
7. When field agent returns to office, he/she can connect the device to PC
and download images to PC for further processing.
Does anyone know if such device is readily available? otherwise how to
build it? I looked at option of using USB port of Andriod based phone but
it is not readily available.
Since this is Govt project run by NGO, budget is a big constraint.
Any help is highly appreciated.
Uday
---------------------------------------
Posted through http://www.EmbeddedRelated.com
I am working on project which is used for rural population in India. The
requirement is field agent will be visiting remote villages to collect
information (demographic) and their identity proofs using a camera based
scanner. The issue is these scanner work with PC/Laptop which is connected
to USB port (scanner draws power from USB port). Unfortunately in remote
areas electricity is not available for most part of the day. So we are
looking for following solution:
1. Small device with battery that can last for 6-8 hrs.
2. Has USB Host port that connects to scanner
3. Device needs to have small LCD display (2-4") which can show the images
coming from scanner camera.
4. Device will have set of buttons that can be used to take a picture of
the document (as good as scan)
5. It stores it in internal memory /Micro SD card
6. Status screen (can share same screen for showing the image preview) for
total count of the picture, scrolling through images, deleting etc.
7. When field agent returns to office, he/she can connect the device to PC
and download images to PC for further processing.
Does anyone know if such device is readily available? otherwise how to
build it? I looked at option of using USB port of Andriod based phone but
it is not readily available.
Since this is Govt project run by NGO, budget is a big constraint.
Any help is highly appreciated.
Uday
---------------------------------------
Posted through http://www.EmbeddedRelated.com
Mel Wilson
Jan 10, 2012, 8:50:04 AM1/10/12
to
hefty battery pack might do what you need. Not sure about the screen. From
the news I've read, the RaspberryPi project is looking for applications.
Mel.
hamilton
Jan 10, 2012, 10:22:03 AM1/10/12
to
Android phones can also be used, you just need to find the right one.
I doubt anyone will place their face on a flatbed scanner.
don
John Speth
Jan 10, 2012, 11:46:46 AM1/10/12
to
You recited the PRD for a typical inexpensive digital camera. Buy em in
bulk/buy em retail all over the world.
JJS
"u2005k" wrote in message
news:yJydndz_37WNvJHS...@giganews.com...
bulk/buy em retail all over the world.
JJS
"u2005k" wrote in message
news:yJydndz_37WNvJHS...@giganews.com...
1 Lucky Texan
Jan 10, 2012, 1:59:24 PM1/10/12
to
>
> Why not use a regular digital camera ??
>
> Android phones can also be used, you just need to find the right one.
>
> I doubt anyone will place their face on a flatbed scanner.
>
> don
I THINK he has some type of USB scanning device that needs a host.
> Why not use a regular digital camera ??
>
> Android phones can also be used, you just need to find the right one.
>
> I doubt anyone will place their face on a flatbed scanner.
>
> don
hamilton
Jan 10, 2012, 3:40:42 PM1/10/12
to
u2005k
Jan 11, 2012, 7:10:26 AM1/11/12
to
A3). Digital camera can probably do the work but it then totally depends on
skill of a person. We need very simple to operate and can be used by person
who does not good education as it will be used in rural part of India.
Local people may not be comfortable or may not realize that they have not
taken quality pictures. Some documents will be in English and some will be
in local language so at least for English documents we later need to
perform OCR so image quality needs to be good. Specialized scanner (Cam
scanner) though works on same principle of digital camera it is fine tuned
to take pictures of document where as digital camera is designed for taking
pictures of people or objects. I hope it is bit clear now... I sincerely
appreciate all the responses and help.
With warm regards...
Anony Mous
Jan 11, 2012, 7:57:02 AM1/11/12
to
altogether and just use the camera in a smart phone. But if you are
stuck with the "camera based scanner", then it seems that your primary
limitation is support of this USB interface. To properly address the
problem we would have to know the exact make/model of the scanner to
know if it is supported under Windows/OSX/Linux before suggesting any
hardware.
Assuming that you'll need Windows and/or Linux to support the scanner
driver, then if a PC requires too much power for you, then you'll
probably have to look at a single board computer with a small display.
But I'd look at the mini/micro laptop solutions first (Dell Inspiron
Mini 10 netbook for example).
1 Lucky Texan
Jan 11, 2012, 8:53:00 AM1/11/12
to
http://vodpod.com/watch/3770268-planon-hand-held-scanner-demo-at-ces-2007
Can you describe precisely what you need to ACCOMPLISH?
hamilton
Jan 11, 2012, 11:35:10 AM1/11/12
to
>>
>>>> I THINK he has some type of USB scanning device that needs a host.
>>
>>> Ok, Uday what is it ??
>>
To approach this from another direction, does this magic device have PC
software and driver install on a Windoze PC.
Does this magic device have software and drivers for a MAC or Linux ??
If not then there is no way to get this magic device to work with any
other device.
Sorry, but thats how it crumbles.
don
u2005k
Jan 11, 2012, 1:15:35 PM1/11/12
to
>Hi Don,
Thanks for the reply. It is not a secret. Currently we are using cam
scanner with Windows PC. Software on PC uses standard Windows Device Driver
for USB based camera. Benefits of using cam scanners are:
1. Very fast (under 1 sec)
2. Many times documents are legal registers so these are not individual
pages which can go in standard flatbed scanner. Govt does not allow to
unbind registers as these are used as legal proof and hence can't be
tempered.
3. Regular flatbed scanner speed is too slow
4. Volume is too high
Now why we can't use PC
1. These are remote villages and power is practically not available
2. Cost of UPS is too high
3. Users are not highly educated as they come from remote areas in India
4. They are not very familiar with using PC
5. Entire thing needs to be portable as one agent needs to cover several
villages.
6. Regarding using digital camera i have already stated reasons.
I am not too much deep in hardware design, I am more on software
application side. However what I feel is, cam scanner uses standard USB
driver on windows so why can't one emulate USB protocol or standard set of
commands which scanner will understand and respond. I may be wrong and may
be thinking in very simple terms. There is ready made standalone product
available but cost is quite high (aprox. 200+ USD) Scanner that I am
currently using can't work standalone but available right from USD 35-40 so
my idea is if we can develop device which can communicate and process image
from the scanner and if it cost 60-70 USD then solution is available in 100
USD which will be quite useful and meet NGO project budget.
Thanks
Uday
Thanks for the reply. It is not a secret. Currently we are using cam
scanner with Windows PC. Software on PC uses standard Windows Device Driver
for USB based camera. Benefits of using cam scanners are:
1. Very fast (under 1 sec)
2. Many times documents are legal registers so these are not individual
pages which can go in standard flatbed scanner. Govt does not allow to
unbind registers as these are used as legal proof and hence can't be
tempered.
3. Regular flatbed scanner speed is too slow
4. Volume is too high
Now why we can't use PC
1. These are remote villages and power is practically not available
2. Cost of UPS is too high
3. Users are not highly educated as they come from remote areas in India
4. They are not very familiar with using PC
5. Entire thing needs to be portable as one agent needs to cover several
villages.
6. Regarding using digital camera i have already stated reasons.
I am not too much deep in hardware design, I am more on software
application side. However what I feel is, cam scanner uses standard USB
driver on windows so why can't one emulate USB protocol or standard set of
commands which scanner will understand and respond. I may be wrong and may
be thinking in very simple terms. There is ready made standalone product
available but cost is quite high (aprox. 200+ USD) Scanner that I am
currently using can't work standalone but available right from USD 35-40 so
my idea is if we can develop device which can communicate and process image
from the scanner and if it cost 60-70 USD then solution is available in 100
USD which will be quite useful and meet NGO project budget.
Thanks
Uday
Dombo
Jan 11, 2012, 1:24:10 PM1/11/12
to
Op 11-Jan-12 13:57, Anony Mous schreef:
If you use a netbook you can dump the smartphone as well. Nowadays most,
if not all, netbooks have a webcam build in. The netbook I have (nothing
special) seems to fullfil the requirements, it is cheap, runs about 8
hours on a single charge, has a webcam, plenty of hard disk space, a SD
Card slot and has (obviously) a screen.
if not all, netbooks have a webcam build in. The netbook I have (nothing
special) seems to fullfil the requirements, it is cheap, runs about 8
hours on a single charge, has a webcam, plenty of hard disk space, a SD
Card slot and has (obviously) a screen.
hamilton
Jan 11, 2012, 2:06:13 PM1/11/12
to
Ok, I get it now.
Try this:
http://flip-pal.com/
I have one and it does a very good job after some training and lots of
practice.
Good Luck
don
hamilton
Jan 11, 2012, 2:14:50 PM1/11/12
to
On 1/11/2012 12:06 PM, hamilton wrote:
>
> Ok, I get it now.
>
> Try this:
>
> http://flip-pal.com/
>
>
> I have one and it does a very good job after some training and lots of
> practice.
>
> Good Luck
>
> don
http://www.vupointsolutions.com/browse.php?cat=scanner&page=PDS-ST510-VP
>
> Ok, I get it now.
>
> Try this:
>
> http://flip-pal.com/
>
>
> I have one and it does a very good job after some training and lots of
> practice.
>
> Good Luck
>
> don
Robert Wessel
Jan 11, 2012, 3:11:57 PM1/11/12
to
On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:15:35 -0600, "u2005k"
There are many larger devices that can be USB hosts, but as that's
*much* more complex than being a USB slave, it's pretty rare except in
devices intended to attach peripherals.
A number of Android tablets have USB host support, although some
(most?) of them only support mass storage devices, but that's a matter
of drivers (which you may or may not be able to write, you'd have to
talk to the particular vendor). But I'm not sure those would really
meet your price point. There are also a number of embedded
controllers with software stacks that include the USB host function,
if you want to roll your own, but that's going to include a large NRE,
so unless your volume is high enough, you'll have the same problem.
*much* more complex than being a USB slave, it's pretty rare except in
devices intended to attach peripherals.
A number of Android tablets have USB host support, although some
(most?) of them only support mass storage devices, but that's a matter
of drivers (which you may or may not be able to write, you'd have to
talk to the particular vendor). But I'm not sure those would really
meet your price point. There are also a number of embedded
controllers with software stacks that include the USB host function,
if you want to roll your own, but that's going to include a large NRE,
so unless your volume is high enough, you'll have the same problem.
u2005k
Jan 12, 2012, 6:12:37 AM1/12/12
to
Dear Don,
Thanks a lot for all your help.
Regards...
Uday
Walter Banks
Jan 15, 2012, 6:36:23 PM1/15/12
to
u2005k wrote:
> A3). Digital camera can probably do the work but it then totally depends on
> skill of a person. We need very simple to operate and can be used by person
> who does not good education as it will be used in rural part of India.
> Local people may not be comfortable or may not realize that they have not
> taken quality pictures. Some documents will be in English and some will be
> in local language so at least for English documents we later need to
> perform OCR so image quality needs to be good. Specialized scanner (Cam
> scanner) though works on same principle of digital camera it is fine tuned
> to take pictures of document where as digital camera is designed for taking
> pictures of people or objects. I hope it is bit clear now... I sincerely
> appreciate all the responses and help.
the document to establish the correct focal distance. Later someone can use
something like White Board Photo to post process the images that can be read
with most OCR software.
Such a camera can be very low cost < $20 and would store many documents.
Regards
Walter Banks
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