Oct 22
Google is adding handwriting input to Gmail and Docs. Starting today, you can use your trackpad or mouse to hand-draw characters in a variety of languages. [Gmail Blog via 9to5Google]
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Oct 10
It’s good form to send a thank you note when given a gift, but how many of us ever really manage to find the time to do so? A New York company called Bond Gifts assumes very few of us, so it’s created an app-powered robot with perfect penmanship that can hand write a thank you—or any kind of note—on your behalf.
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Jul 11
Earlier this year we heard about Lernstift, a concept for a pen that helps kids spell and write correctly by vibrating to point out mistakes. The folks behind this promising invention have now launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter. The questions I had when I first saw it remain unanswered though.
Inventor Falk Wolsky’s idea for the pen remains the same. Its basic functions are still to oversee the user’s spelling and the legibility of his handwriting. When it detects a mistake, it vibrates to alert the user. But with the launch of their fundraiser, Wolsky and his colleagues have revealed more about the hardware inside the pen. Lernstift has a motion sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a magnetometer. The pen’s processor will use these devices to create a 2D image of the user’s handwriting, which it will then analyze using a handwriting recognition software.
While the team is confident in the pen’s hardware, they’re still working on the best way to process the data that its sensors gather to ensure a quick and accurate response. They’ve also revealed that they’re not working on their own handwriting recognition engine and will instead license one from an established company. That should make it easier for Lernstift to be released and updated to support more languages; the pen will only be able to recognize English and German when it launches, but they supposedly have access to a database of over 40 languages.
Pledge at least £89 (~$135 USD) on Kickstarter to get a Lernstift as a reward. I have to say though, it’s not clear at the moment just how polished or far along they are with the pen. Notice how they didn’t demonstrate even the pen’s basic functions in their pitch video.
As I said in my previous post about the pen, I’m still not sold on its usefulness. It’s still not clear how it will help you find out the right spelling, form or grammar. Yes, it could buzz the moment you make a mistake, but what then? How do you find out what you’re supposed to do? I’m hopeful that Wolsky and his team will answer these questions soon. Also, do kids still use pens?
Feb 05
Lernstift Pen Vibrates When You Make Mistakes: Wait, People Still Write by Hand?
Posted in: Today's ChiliInventor Falk Wolsky and his better half Mandy, a child care worker, were inspired to make the Lernstift (“Learning pen” in German) after seeing their son struggle with writing. They came up with a prototype that detects “writing movements” and alerts the user if he makes a mistake.
Currently, the prototype has two modes. Calligraphy Mode detects errors in form and legibility, while Orthography Mode checks the spelling and grammar. The Lernstift’s motion sensor also has one other advantage: the user can practice even without paper or any writing surface. It will supposedly be able to detect “words, gestures and symbols, even if you only draw them in the air.”
The Wolskys also hope to include a pressure sensor to teach kids not to grip the pen too tightly. The idea is that if the pen detects that the user is pressing too hard on it, it will vibrate in an intensity proportional to the user’s grip. They also want to equip the pen with a wireless module, so your teacher can send your embarrassing mistakes to your parents, other teachers and classmates in a snap. As if having your pen vibrate all the time wasn’t shameful enough.
The Wolskys – via their new company Lernstift UG – will seek crowdfunding for the Lernstift later this month, so keep your eyes out for that if you want to pre-order the pen. But if you’re willing to invest in the company, you can reach out to them right now via their website.
The pen sounds like a good idea, but I wonder how effective it will really be as a learning tool, especially in the use case that inspired it. I say that because the pen can only say when and where you are wrong, but not what you’re doing wrong and ultimately how to do it correctly. Should it also have a voice assistant, like an English teacher version of Siri? Or perhaps a small laser that traces out the correct answer? Or maybe it could provide advice by vibrating in Morse code?
[via Lernstift & Wired UK via Likecool]
Jan 31
Evernote intros Penultimate 4 for iPad, explores synced and searchable handwriting
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Evernote acquired the Penultimate app for iPad last year with the conspicuous goal of making handwritten notes as easy to synchronize as to-do lists and snippets from the web. After several months of silence, the newly reworked Penultimate 4 is the result. The drawing tool now treats Evernote not just as a sharing option, but an integral part of its being. While it’s possible to skip the sign-in, those who link their account get both cross-platform access to their work as well as cloud-based searches of their more legible writing. There’s likewise a simpler interface with more realistic pen input. Truth be told, however, we suspect that many of Penultimate 4’s would-be adopters will just care that the app is now free — as of today, the biggest cost is that of an optional Evernote Premium account. As long as they’re using an iPad running iOS 6, note takers yearning for the flexibility of a pad and paper in an era of cloud syncing and tablets can give Penultimate a try at the source link.
Filed under: Tablets
Source: App Store
Jan 18
Google Handwrite gets better at interpreting your multi-lingual finger scribbles
Posted in: Today's Chili 
When Google’s Handwrite feature launched this past summer, we welcomed the ability to compose our queries instead of pecking keys. Problem is, Handwrite had a bad habit of confusing our 1’s and l’s — and despite the growing size of smartphone screens, it’s still difficult to fit written words on them. Well, Big G has solved those problems with the latest Handwrite upgrades. The system now provides alternative interpretations of ambiguous characters so you can choose what’s propper, and it lets you write letters on top of one another instead of spelling them out across the width of the screen. Not only that, folks who search using Chinese characters are no longer limited to single-character input. Want to know if it can interpret your chicken scratch? Head on over to Google.com and enable Handwrite under settings on the iOS or Android device of your choosing.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Google
Jan 08
Panasonic is pushing further into touchscreen technology at CES, and it’s not content with finger control alone. Thankfully, Anoto is more than willing to help with a deal to drive the pen input behind multiple Panasonic mobile devices. Its technique, which tracks a stylus’ position across a near-invisible grid of uniquely positioned dots, lets would-be artists draw on Panasonic’s 4K tablet and other hardware with higher accuracy and fewer worries about the touch surface’s size or composition. Anoto hasn’t said how long the partnership will last, but the initial scale suggests that it’s more than just a short-term union.
Continue reading Panasonic mobile devices to use Anoto’s pattern-based pen input technology
Filed under: Tablets
Source: Anoto
Oct 23
In a world of texts and emails, handwritten notes are getting rarer and rare because they require that heinous thing called “effort.” Or at least they used to. A new iOS app called Inkly takes almost all the work out of it, except for the actual writing part. More »
Oct 08
Is Handwriting Dead? [Chatroom]
Posted in: Today's Chili
These days, virtually all of our personal communication is performed digitally or over the phone. We type emails, compose tweets, blurt out status updates, spit out instant messages, make phone calls… and not a single bit of it is handwritten. More »
Jul 27
I always dreamed about being able to write or draw with no hands, using just my eyes. This new device invented by Dr. Jean Lorenceau at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris would allow me to do exactly that. Magic? Science! More »
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