SmartquillLyndsay 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 SmartQuil, 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. As users write on a piece of paper with the SmartQuill, a spatial-sensing device inside the pen detects the letterforms of the pen's movement and converts them into text. That text can then be transmitted to any computer device.
When the user inserts the pen into an electronic inkwell, text data is transmitted to a desktop computer, printer, or modem or to a mobile telephone to send files electronically.
The data can also be read on a tiny screen on the side of the pen and used with personal information-management software, email, and other applications that will be built in. The patented SmartQuill is a little bigger than a fountain pen and can read the owner's handwriting, said officials at British Telecom, based in Surrey, England.
British Telecom saw a need for input devices smaller than keyboards, since the miniature keyboards and screens of current handheld devices make typing and reading text difficult.
"We are aiming at the mobile environment," said research engineer Roger Payne. "As more and more people are working out of the office and rather than lugging around huge laptop computers, we're using something people are much more comfortable with -- writing."
SmartQuill works by measuring the pen's movements and matching them to the movements that produce letters and words programmed into its memory. It's similar to the way a microphone detects sound. Consistency of handwriting, rather than neatness, is the only condition for accuracy, Payne said.
A prototype for SmartQuill, which could be on the market in two years, could eventually add a telescopic virtual screen. A user would peer through the end of the pen and see the impression of a full-sized screen, he said. The pen's tilt sensor could also be used to control the cursor on a computer screen.
The sleek and stylish prototype pen is different from other electronic pens on the market today in that users don t have to write on a special pad in order to record what they write. User could use any surface for writing such as paper, tablet, screen or even air. The SmartQuill isn t all space-age, though -- it contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write down on paper. SmartQuill contains sensors that record movement by using the earth s gravity system, irrespective of the platform used. The pen records the information inserted by the user. Your words of wisdom can also be uploaded to your PC through the “digital inkwell”, while the files that you might want to view on the pen are downloaded to SmartQuill as well. It is an interesting idea, and it even comes with one attribute that makes entire history of pens pale by comparison—if someone else picks your SmartQuill and tries to write with it- it won’t. Because user can train the pen to recognize a particular handwriting. Hence SmartQuill recognizes only the owner’s handwriting. SmartQuill is a computer housed within a pen which allows you to do what a normal personal organizer does .It’s really mobile because of it’s smaller size and one handed use. People could use the pen in the office to replace a keyboard, but the main attraction will be for users who usually take notes by hand on the road and type them up when returning to the office. SmartQuill will let them skip the step of typing up their notes.
Dubbed SmartQuill, the sleek and stylish prototype pen is different from other electronic pens on the market today in that users don't have to write on a special pad in order to record what they write. Instead, SmartQuill contains sensors that record movement by using the earth's gravity system, whether you write on paper or in the air. SmartQuill isn't all space-age, though -- it contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write do "Why should people use a keyboard when they can use a pen?" said John Collins, project manager for SmartQuill at BT Labs. Many people have never learned to type quickly and accurately, but everyone knows how to write, he pointed out.
People could use the pen in the office to replace a keyboard, but the main attraction will be for users who usually take notes by hand on the road and type them up when returning to the office, Collins said. SmartQuill will let them skip the step of typing up their notes, he said.
The pen works in conjunction with a regular PC, onto which users install special handwriting recognition software developed by BT Labs, Collins said. The lab has several SmartQuill models in the works, including one that communicates with the PC via a radio transmitter, but the current prototype hooks up to a PC via a cable and electronic docking station called an "inkwell." It can also be connected to printer or modem.
Users write down notes in their regular handwriting and the movements are stored within SmartQuill. Up to 10 pages of notes can be stored locally on the pen, Collins said. Once the pen is hooked up to the computer, the handwriting recognition software translates the movements into text on-screen. Unlike many handwriting recognition programs, the SmartQuill system analyzes movements instead of shapes, Collins said. This allowed BT to get rid of the electronic notepad associated with most computer pens.
SmartQuill contains a few local applications such as an address book, daily planner, and calculator. Users can enter information into these applications by pushing a button on the pen and writing down what they would like to enter, Collins said. 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, he said. Future models could receive e-mails and pager messages via a wireless messaging system and could use digital signature recognition for security purposes.
BT is hoping to license the SmartQuill concept to interested hardware manufacturers, and believes a product will be on shelves within two years, Collins said. The price tag could hover around 200 pounds sterling -- $340 or more -- but no pricing has been set as of yet, he said.
At the moment, SmartQuill works best when users write in capital letters, but BT Labs is working on improving the handwriting recognition software and expects it to understand cursive by next year. In the future, Collins predicts there will be a whole range of SmartQuill pens -- everything from a high-end model for executives to a basic one for kids to use in school.
FEATURES
" Display technology used in SmartQuill
" Handwriting recognition and signature verification
" Display scrolls using tilt sensors
" Communication with other devices
" Memory and power
WORKING
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. The pen is then plugged into an electronic "inkwell" ,text data is transmitted to a desktop computer, printer, or modem or to a mobile telephone to send files electronically. Up to 10 pages of notes can be stored locally on the pen . A tiny light at the tip allows writing in the dark. When the pen is kept idle for some time ,power gets automatically off.
