HOPE 2008: Wikiscanner 2.0

July 18, 2008 by No comments


[Virgil] presented the next version of Wikiscanner at The Last HOPE today. To build the original Wikiscanner, he scanned the monthly database dump of anonymous edits and compared that against a purchased list of known company IP addresses. The 34.5 million edits account for nearly 21% of all edits. The idea was to unearth businesses and groups white washing critical pages. This only handles anonymous edits though. Users could log in to avoid having their IP reversed.

In the new version, [Virgil]’s team developed a Poor Man’s CheckUser. If you spend too much time editing a talk page, your session could end and when you hit save it attaches your IP. Most regular users will then log in and remove their IP. They found 13,000 username/IP address pairs by searching for IPs being removed and replaced with usernames. These are some of the most active users. Using this list, they could potentially uncover sockpuppets or potential collusion by top editors.

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Super8 Automatic Film Scanner

December 8, 2007 by 18 Comments


[edocronian] sent in this interesting mindstorm hack. [Harri] had several Super8 reels that he shot during the 80s. His kids put together this mindstorm NXT transport mechanism, and he did the rest with linux. The lego’s pull the reel across an Epson scanner, and some linux hacks run the scanner, identify the frames, and reconstruct the film. Unfortunately, [Harri] didn’t release any of the software hacks he used to pull it off.

Convert A DVD-R Drive Into A Lab Scanner

September 25, 2007 by 17 Comments


[bodiby] was first to send in this New Scientist article about converting a DVD drive into a lab scanner. I did some digging and came up with the details. Here’s the paper describing the process and results. Here’s a basic schematic and description of the mod. A set of samples is placed onto a CDR. A photo sensor is used to locate the samples on the CD, while the laser is fired through each sample. A planar photodiode is used to measure the attenuation of the laser as it’s transmitted through each sample. Sadly, I couldn’t find any details on the custom control electronics.

Milkscanner – 3D Mapping That’s Good For You

June 5, 2007 by 25 Comments


[Blind Tree Frog] sent in the Milkscanner. It’s an oh-so-simple method of mapping a 3d object. [fiezi] used a small tub, a lego mounted webcam, a small supply of milk and a bit of software to create the map and import it to moviesandbox.. The object is placed in the tub, then then it’s scanned by the camera as the milk level is slowly raised (in this case, via spoon power) and voila: 3d map.

Video is after the jump, or at the top of the read link.

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Wireless Video Scanner

December 6, 2006 by 11 Comments


[aboxman] brought this nice wavecom jr mod to my attention. I first ran across scanning for wireless video signals a couple years ago when the X10 version came out. People were surprised at just how many video signals were flying through the air.This little project results in a unit that can scan a wide 2.3 to 2.7Ghz range. Of course, if you’re across the pond, you might want a european version.

Barcode Scanner Based Line Follower

April 20, 2006 by 10 Comments

line follower

Brody thought it was high time we featured another robot project and directed us to his site: bfrdesign.com. For his line follower bot he used an old barcode scanner he found cheap at a junk shop. The scanner has a 2088 pixel ccd linear image sensor. Several red LEDs are used to illuminate the image and the data is fed to an ATmega8. The wheels are then driven using two Sanwa servos modified for continuous rotation. He’s got a couple other projects on the site and I’m sure we’ll see more in the future.

Scanner Music

January 8, 2006 by 37 Comments

scanjet

Continuing our trend of peripherals modified to perform functions that aren’t actually useful: here’s how to play music on your scanner. The HP ScanJet 3c/4c have a variable speed scan head that is driven by a stepper motor. The Play Tune command can be used to move the head at different frequencies. Here’s a video of a scanner playing F?Elise. The site we’re linking to has the source code to do this, but newer HP scanners may have hardware activation built-in, according to these two Easter eggs.

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