Smart Quill

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.

Abstract

          With the introduction of handheld computers, the present trend has started preferring small computers to do computation. This has made computer manufacturers to go for almost gadget like computers. Reducing the size of handheld computers can only be taken so far before they become unusable. Keyboards become so tiny you require needle-like fingers to operate them and screens that need constant cursor controls to read simple text.

Handwriting recognition software

          This software embedded in the microprocessor of the pen is used to recognize handwriting of the user. Pen works in conjunction with a regular PC on to which users install special handwriting recognition software. The handwriting recognition software translates movements in to text on screen.

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.

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 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.

Memory

          SmartQuill has 4MB EEPROM memory. At a time, up to 10 pages of notes can be stored locally on the pen. The data is stored in the memory on the pen until it is uploaded to the personal computer. 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.

Accelerometer System

          Accelerometer sensors convert either linear or angular acceleration to an output signal. Accelerometer sensors use Newton’s second law of motion, F = m*a by measuring the force from acceleration on an object whose mass is known. There are many ways to measure the force exerted on the mass, called a proof mass, but the most common method used in accelerometer sensors is measuring the displacement of the mass when it is suspended by springs.

Applications

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 .

Conclusion

               The estimated cost of this futuristic pen is around $200.SmartQuill supports two factors: small size and convenient use. The future of SmartQuill ensures all computation power the user needs right inside the pen.    Reducing the size of handheld computers can only be taken so far before they become unusable.