28-01-2012, 03:19 PM
SMART QUILL
[attachment=16796]
INTRODUCTION
Lyndsay Williams of Microsoft Research's Cambridge UK lab is the inventor of the Smartquill, a pen that can remember the words that it is used to write, and then transform them into computer text . The idea that "it would be neat to put all of a handheld-PDA type computer in a pen," came to the inventor in her sleep. “It’s the pen for the new millennium,” she says. Encouraged by Nigel Ballard, a leading consultant to the mobile computer industry, Williams took her prototype to the British Telecommunications Research Lab, where she was promptly hired and given money and institutional support for her project. The prototype, called SmartQuill, has been developed by world-leading research laboratories run by BT (formerly British Telecom) at Martlesham, eastern England. It is claimed to be the biggest revolution in handwriting since the invention of the pen.
WORKING OF SMARTQUILL
SmartQuill is slightly larger than an ordinary fountain pen. Users can enter information into these applications by pushing a button on the pen and writing down what they would like to enter .The SmartQuill does not need a screen to work. The really clever bit of the technology is its ability to read handwriting not only on paper but on any flat surface – horizontal or vertical. There is also a small three-line screen to read the information stored in the pen; users can scroll down the screen by tilting the pen slightly. The user trains the pen to recognize a particular handwriting style - no matter how messy it is, as long as it is consistent, the pen can recognize it. The handwritten notes are stored on hard disk of the pen.
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Technology used in SmartQuill for display is Kopin Corp’s Cyber Display technology. Cyber Display is a ¼ inch diagonal LCD that uses circuitry built on a silicon wafer, then removed and mounted to glass. The displays are integrated to miniature monitors using its own backlighting, optics, ICS and packaging.
ACCELEROMETER TECHNOLOGY
This technology uses a device called Accelerometer which is used for measuring motion. A tiny accelerometer in a pen could be used to detect the stops and starts, arcs and loops of handwriting, and transmit this information to a small microprocessor that would make sense of it as text. There's also the possibility of viewing a full page of text through a special monocular magnified "virtual" screen that could be built into the end of the pen. Invisible writing in air is achieved through this unique technology called accelerometer that monitors hand movements and can also be used as a ‘virtual hinge’ to scroll around the small screen on the pen and detect left or right-handed use
Handwriting recognition
The second huge aspect is the characters and signatures recognition. The hardware (accelerometers plus contact detector) embedded in the pen has proved a really efficient combination for this application.
APPLICATIONS
1. SmartQuill isn’t all space-age. It contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write on paper .Hence a simple application of SmartQuill is that it write notes on paper. This information recorded in the pen is then downloaded to PC.
2. The information stored in the pen can be input to other devices such as mobile phones, printers, modems, desktop computers etc for different applications.
3. It also provides handheld computer applications such as digital diary, contacts, calculators etc.
4. It is used for receiving pager and e-mail messages. This is possible through recent technology involved in SmartQuill, the wireless messaging system which allows two way communication between devices .
[attachment=16796]
INTRODUCTION
Lyndsay Williams of Microsoft Research's Cambridge UK lab is the inventor of the Smartquill, a pen that can remember the words that it is used to write, and then transform them into computer text . The idea that "it would be neat to put all of a handheld-PDA type computer in a pen," came to the inventor in her sleep. “It’s the pen for the new millennium,” she says. Encouraged by Nigel Ballard, a leading consultant to the mobile computer industry, Williams took her prototype to the British Telecommunications Research Lab, where she was promptly hired and given money and institutional support for her project. The prototype, called SmartQuill, has been developed by world-leading research laboratories run by BT (formerly British Telecom) at Martlesham, eastern England. It is claimed to be the biggest revolution in handwriting since the invention of the pen.
WORKING OF SMARTQUILL
SmartQuill is slightly larger than an ordinary fountain pen. Users can enter information into these applications by pushing a button on the pen and writing down what they would like to enter .The SmartQuill does not need a screen to work. The really clever bit of the technology is its ability to read handwriting not only on paper but on any flat surface – horizontal or vertical. There is also a small three-line screen to read the information stored in the pen; users can scroll down the screen by tilting the pen slightly. The user trains the pen to recognize a particular handwriting style - no matter how messy it is, as long as it is consistent, the pen can recognize it. The handwritten notes are stored on hard disk of the pen.
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Technology used in SmartQuill for display is Kopin Corp’s Cyber Display technology. Cyber Display is a ¼ inch diagonal LCD that uses circuitry built on a silicon wafer, then removed and mounted to glass. The displays are integrated to miniature monitors using its own backlighting, optics, ICS and packaging.
ACCELEROMETER TECHNOLOGY
This technology uses a device called Accelerometer which is used for measuring motion. A tiny accelerometer in a pen could be used to detect the stops and starts, arcs and loops of handwriting, and transmit this information to a small microprocessor that would make sense of it as text. There's also the possibility of viewing a full page of text through a special monocular magnified "virtual" screen that could be built into the end of the pen. Invisible writing in air is achieved through this unique technology called accelerometer that monitors hand movements and can also be used as a ‘virtual hinge’ to scroll around the small screen on the pen and detect left or right-handed use
Handwriting recognition
The second huge aspect is the characters and signatures recognition. The hardware (accelerometers plus contact detector) embedded in the pen has proved a really efficient combination for this application.
APPLICATIONS
1. SmartQuill isn’t all space-age. It contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write on paper .Hence a simple application of SmartQuill is that it write notes on paper. This information recorded in the pen is then downloaded to PC.
2. The information stored in the pen can be input to other devices such as mobile phones, printers, modems, desktop computers etc for different applications.
3. It also provides handheld computer applications such as digital diary, contacts, calculators etc.
4. It is used for receiving pager and e-mail messages. This is possible through recent technology involved in SmartQuill, the wireless messaging system which allows two way communication between devices .
