What type of device is likely to assist with creating digital images from hard copies?

The correct answer is a scanner because it is specifically designed to convert physical documents and images into digital formats. When a scanner operates, it captures the content of a hard copy—such as a photograph or a printed page—by using optical sensors. This process generates a digital image that can be saved, edited, or shared on various platforms.

Printers, while they can produce hard copies from digital files, do not have the capability to create digital images from physical documents. External hard drives and USB drives are storage devices; they can hold digital files but do not play a role in the digitization process of physical materials. Therefore, a scanner is uniquely suited to facilitate the transition from hard copy to digital image.