Open Book Camera v1 is a high-speed book-image capture system developed by γ«γΌγͺγ«. It is designed to address the lack of cover images for local library materials and books outside normal commercial circulation. It is not general-purpose design software, but an open-source hardware and capture-software solution for collecting book images, well suited to building bulk databases of front covers, back covers, and spines.
The system can capture the front cover, back cover, and spine at the same time in about 2 seconds, and can read ISBN, JAN, NW7/Codabar, and library-management barcodes. Once a book is placed on the device, sensors detect it automatically and start shooting; the stated throughput is about 15 books per minute. The software can run without an internet connection, making it suitable for basement stacks and other locations with poor network access. The hardware measures about 80.0Γ80.5Γ40.0cm and weighs 16.7kg. The operating environment requires four USB 2.0 ports, a Core i7-class CPU, at least 4GB of memory, and Windows/Mac/Linux capable of running OpenCV.
Its standout value is the licensing: the design drawings, control hardware, and software are all open source, and the page marks them as Creative Commons CC0. Commercial and non-commercial copying, modification, manufacturing, and resale are permitted. Finished products are priced in two tiers: a set including a small Windows PC, Windows 10 Home, and preinstalled software costs 350,000 yen plus tax; the assembled camera alone costs 150,000 yen plus tax, with the computer purchased separately and the software downloaded from Github. Note that the product is provided as-is with no guarantee of functionality or performance. Technical issues arising from connecting a non-included PC are not directly supported; inquiries can only be made via the Facebook page.
Its strengths are simultaneous three-side capture, a high degree of automation, offline operation, and JSON output for data such as barcodes and thickness, making it easy to integrate with book databases. The drawbacks are its relatively high hardware cost and space requirements. Very thin booklets under about 2mm are detected as 0mm, which limits the usefulness of spine images; official support is also fairly limited. It is better suited to libraries, archives, local-documentation projects, and book-identification R&D teams than to ordinary designers.
Users in China may be able to access the official website directly, but community and source-code channels such as Github, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram carry a risk of restricted access. The main text does not specify purchasing or yen payment methods. If deployment efficiency is the priority, consider domestic document cameras, book scanners, archival digitization equipment vendors, or building a multi-camera book-image capture station using standard cameras or industrial cameras.
β This review is compiled from public sources and does not constitute a purchase recommendation. Verify all facts on the vendor's official site. Verify on openbookcamera.com official site.
openbookcamera.com is an Japan Design & Creative provider. TG4G tracks its product information, with monthly pricing from $2,390.00, an overall rating of 6.0/10, and a China-accessibility score of Workable. Click "Visit Official Site" to reach openbookcamera.com directly.