Making copies of Docs was: --H/Z89-- - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

18 May 1999

...
   Proposal for
copying really OLD documents (I get a royalty if someone
 does this and it works!)

   1) Develop a machine that performs a CAT scan of the document
   without opening it at very high resolution.

   2) process the high resolution 3D images captured to determine
   the ink patterns on each page.

   3) OCR the individual pages to recreate the original text

 Simple, Right?

 clint 
 Hi
  Most documents can be opened to about 90 degrees. What does
 them in is flattening them on a copier. One could build a
 lens assembly that would go on top of the copier that would
 allow one to place the original on top with only a 90 degree
 bend. The size of the optics is the main issue here. 

I saw a photocopier demonstrated on TV well over 10 years ago which copied books
without opening them more than about 80 degrees.  I seem to recall it was the
British Library who were sponsoring the development, but I may be confusing this
with something else.

Philip.