In this context (IIRC) smart means “if this zip contains a single folder with contents, directly extract that folder, but if the zip contains files and/or folders, extract all that to a new folder named the same as the zip file”.

Some people zip folders while some people zip the files in a folder. Smart extraction just handles both automatically.

I think this is one of those things that seems like it should be easy to automate, but actually has lots of hidden complexity.

They probably don’t use this to scan commonly available books, because for those you can just cut the spine off the book and scan the pages in a regular scanner.

This is likely used for books that need to be preserved and can’t be damaged during the scanning process.

How do you make a machine that will always turn exactly one page and never tear a page, while adapting for different page sizes and thicknesses, and avoiding the static charge that can make pages stick together? All for less money than it costs to pay people to operate this machine.

Have you tried walking to and from work every day? It can help you pretend they are different places.

You wake up and do your morning routine, then you walk around the block and start your working day when you reach your home office. Then at the end of the day walk around the block and home to mark the end of your work day.