Awesome Scanners

Scanning 3D models of objects used to require dedicated scanning equipment. But if you have an iPhone with FaceID, its cameras, sensors, and processing power can be used to grab scans. The ScanMira reflects the FaceID lenses by 90 degrees, so you can see what you’re scanning on-screen, resulting in higher-quality scans.

Drone maker Skydio is showing off a slick piece of technology that could improve the safety of bridges and other structures. It allows a drone operator to select a location to be inspected, then charts a flight path and captures a 3D scan of the environment in real-time. Coming to the Skydio S2 and X2 drones later in 2020.

Czur’s new Aura scanner can scan up to A3-size documents in just 2.5 seconds per page. It has a built-in PU leather scanning pad and a foot switch. It automatically straightens book scans and can separate pages. It supports up to 187 OCR languages. It can also be used as a lamp.

While at UK effects and fabrication shop FBFX, Tested’s Adam Savage had the unique privilege of having his body 3D scanned, then replicated at life size using a 5-axis milling robot which carved his entire body from foam. We only wish they included footage of the robot at work.

The Czur ET16 overhead scanner uses a 16MP Sony image sensor to scan one page per 1.5s. It has the usual scanner features such as OCR for extracting text, and can correct distortions from curved pages. The downside? Users say its manual and software could use some work.

A medium-sized 3D printer geared for ease of use and versatility. Aside from printing and scanning, FLUX will gain additional functions from other toolheads, such as a laser cutter/engraver. Its modular assembly makes for easy repairs.

A portable wireless scanner. It connects to Windows or OS X computers as well as the iPad over Bluetooth, sending an image of the object you’re scanning in real time. It can also extract text and charts from scanned images.

The Doxie Flip is a portable flatbed scanner. You can remove its lid, flip it over and place it over the document you want to scan. You can preview scans on its display and store docs to an SD card, so there’s no need to connect it to a PC.

The ScanSnap SV600 is an overhead contactless scanner. It scans and detect up to 10 items at once and makes scanning bound documents like books a lot easier. It even detects when you turn the page and resumes scanning automatically.

A 3D printer, a 3D scanner and a milling machine in one compact form. It’s entirely possible to go from concept to finished product with just this machine. It’s also customizable and its software and schematics will be open source.

So you’ve ordered a 3D printer. Now what are you going to print? Well, you can look for files online, or you could get the Matterform. It scans and creates a 3D model file of any small object with just the push of a button.

Similar to LG’s LSM-100, the IRISCan Mouse doubles as a 300dpi scanner. It processes your scan in real time, while its bundled software lets you share and convert your scan easily.

The ScanSnap iX500 is a high-end desktop scanner that will make life much easier for people who need to keep track of many documents. It can send scans to Dropbox, Evernote and to mobile devices.

A budget portable scanner that can save scans to an SD card so you can use it even without a computer. It runs on 4 AAA batteries or AC power, scans up to 300dpi and comes with a 2GB SD card.

Scans up to A4-size at 600dpi max resolution. Save scans as JPEG, PNG or PDF. Has an SD slot and USB port, so you can scan and save even without a computer. Scans up to 100 pages per charge.

This accessory turns your smartphone into a portable scanner, elevating it just the right distance off your desktop, providing sharp, stable images from just about any size of paper or even objects.

A laser mouse that transforms into a scanner at the press of a button. It can process up to A3 sized pages and also has OCR technology, so you can easily paste scanned text into documents.

This tiny gadget is just about the size of a credit card, but it’s actually a portable scanner, perfect for grabbing images of business cards, receipts or other small documents at up to 300dpi.