User reverse-engineers Plustek scanner driver with Claude’s AI assistance

The result was a custom SANE backend supporting color, grayscale, infrared, and combined modes at resolutions up to 7200 dpi. While upstream SANE added support for the scanner in September 2026, the user’s driver was faster at full resolution and included infrared dust removal. They also built Negative Vibes, a Rust-based GNOME app for scanning negatives, featuring density correction, roll-wide settings, and IT8 calibration. Separately, they fixed their ThinkPad’s MIPI camera by patching kernel and libcamera issues, improving low-light performance and color accuracy.

The project demonstrates how AI can automate tedious reverse-engineering tasks—decoding captures, writing probes, and cross-checking constants—though human oversight remains critical for hardware validation.