Google is working on a new API that will let you connect scanners to your Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. This new API is currently just a proposal under review, but we are getting closer to experimenting this feature on Chromebooks, says François Beaufort

According to the design, here is what the new API will do:

– Method for discovering USB and LAN attached document scanners
– Method for retrieval of an image from an attached scanner, initially just to the Downloads directory.
– Architecture for separating privilege so the capture process is well sandboxed both from the logged-in user or any privileged account on the system.

When I read about this scanner support for the first time, I was looking for something like the Cloud Print, which lets you connect to your printer from anywhere, not just your local network. But from what we see in the small piece of literature, (I couldn’t access the design document, no permissions!) this API does not mention anything about connecting your scanners via the internet. May be because Google does not have any grand vision about future of scanners as much as they have for printers. Maybe they think that mobile phones and tablets will take care of document scanning on the go for most of us. (And yes, I scanned couple of my certificates using my phone and sent to my insurance guy for processing)

For now, let’s wait for this API to take shape and see how developers build things around it. We might even see a cloud based system from independent developers or companies like Dropbox or Evernote. (That’s just my imagination btw)