Shanghai-developed AI scanning tool creating a greener planet

A Shanghai-developed AI scanning app has contributed to a greener environment in real sense.

By reducing paper waste through scanning instead of printing documents, CamScanner helped save carbon emissions of 120,000 tons in 2023, the equivalent of planting 7 million trees.

They can "participate in the process of energy saving and emissions reduction with just the touch of a finger," developer Intsig said on Tuesday, World Arbor Day.

CamScanner was used more than one billion times in China last year, saving 120,000 tons in emissions, Shanghai-based Intsig said, boosting the idea that artificial intelligence creates a greener planet.

CamScanner is published in 105 countries and regions, with many millions of users around the world.

The artificial intelligence, or AI, behind the app is optical character recognition (OCR), which allows users to convert images to text files and share and manage them online, with support in multiple languages.

With a recent update, CamScanner has become smarter to recognize content even in a dark environment or on wrinkled and fuzzy paper. It improves scanning efficiency and avoids unnecessary printing, said Intsig.

Currently, Intsig is applying to list on the Shanghai STAR Market, an innovation-oriented board.