Scanner (Code Lyoko)
A scanner is a device in the French animated television series Code Lyoko used to send people to and bring them back from Lyoko.
Description
Housed beneath the lab area of the factory, the three scanners provide access to Lyoko. Based on the height of the characters compared to the scanners themselves, they would seem to be roughly ten feet tall and about three feet wide. They are capable of disassembling a subject and placing a digital version of said subject within Lyoko, then undoing that process to bring them back. A network of large tubes is connected to both the side and top of each scanner to facilitate this effect.
Materialization
Materialization (also known as devirtualization) is the process used to bring people back from Lyoko. This can be accomplished one of three ways. The first is through a normal computer command by the operator. This brings the person in question back after a minute or so. The exact length of time varies. The second is when a person runs out of life points, forcing them to be automatically materialized. The last is through a return trip. The effect of the return trip will (usually) materialize anyone that is currently in Lyoko. This was not the case in Ghost Channel, where Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd became locked up in a virtual prison (modeled after the school and the surrounding area) of XANA's creation. For some reason, people cannot return to Lyoko for a period of time after being materialized.
Aelita is the exception to the rules stated above. Until the episode "Code: Earth", she could never leave Lyoko. Jeremie finished his materialization program for her in that episode. From that point on, she could only be materialized through a neutral tower. Once there, Jeremie could use the materialization program to bring her to Earth. If she suffers a laser (or any other) death, she will be lost forever. A return trip, on the other hand, will bring her back to Earth most of the time.
When other items, such as the vehicles or the Marabounta, are brought into Lyoko, they are also described as being materialized.
Virtualization
Virtualization is the process used to enter Lyoko. All a person has to do is enter one of the three scanners. The operator (usually Jeremie, but others have filled the role) then inputs a profile for their virtualized form and starts up the process. The scanners then take the person apart and place a digital replica on Lyoko. There is also a default option that will send a person to Lyoko in their regular form, but it has only used once, by Jeremie, and unsuccessfully at that.
The scanner process takes place in three steps. The first step seems to pressurize the scanner. This appears as a slight upward wind within the scanner. The second step levitates the person while a circular scanning ring records their physical makeup. The final effect creates some sort of energy pulse within the scanner. This appears as a much greater gust of wind within the scanner which blows the person's hair up followed by an all-encompassing flash of light. This is the step that takes the person apart. The scanner doors open after this step to allow others to use the scanner.
