While book scanning has become a pretty common process, one problem that still remains is that the scanned images are slightly distorted where the spine of the book meets the page. It looks like Google has done their very best to fix this error, with a pretty nifty camera setup.

Their book scanner, which was recently revealed in patent pictures, paints a book with infrared light, and then two infrared cameras generate a 3D model of the book, which can be used to correct scans. On top of this, Google has implemented camera technology that detects the three-dimensional shape and angle of the book’s pages when the book is in the scanner. This is then transmitted to the OCR software, which adjusts for any distortions, and allows the OCR software to read the text more accurately.

Image Credit: Memex 1.1