Using AI to reverse engineer hardware
A user describes how they successfully used AI agents to reverse engineer a Linux driver for an unsupported photo scanner. By automating data capture in a virtualized Windows environment, the user was able to restore functionality to their hardware.
Why it matters
This demonstrates the growing utility of AI agents in solving complex technical compatibility issues and hardware reverse engineering for hobbyists.
After my mother passed away I ended up with a big box full of old film negatives containing photos from childhood family trips and similar. So I decided to buy a negative photo scanner and found that the Plustek 8200i was supported under Linux so I bought that. Only to discover that the chipset in the scanner had changed to one that wasn’t supported under Linux anymore. So I had some success making Linux configuration tools for some of my hardware using Claude code, like my Dell Camera controller app so I thought, maybe Claude can help me get a working SANE driver. I basically got stuck and got nowhere for the longest time and even basically gave up on the project for a few Months.
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