This Pen Tells You When You Spell Words Wrong – Video

Spellcheck features can be both beautiful and terrible things, depending on how good a grasp of vocabulary one has. Still, at least they help ensure that typed papers, if nothing else, don't cause editors' and examiners' eyes to pop out.

That doesn't really help teachers and parents when it comes to look over written homework though, so German-based company Lernstift has invented a special pen.

Colored green and silver, as seen in the photo up on the left, the pen is so thick because it integrates a spellcheck feature.

It won't speak or otherwise inform writers of the correct letters, but it will vibrate when a word is spelled wrong.

For those that want to know just how it works, the device, still in prototype stage, can detect movements associated with each letter of the alphabet.

In other words, it can tell what is being written, or attempted at any rate. Even the question of messy handwriting is addressed.

The pen has two modes: one that points out spelling and grammar issues and another that focuses on legibility and handwriting.

Children are the main target of the pen, but people of all ages can get it, or will be able to get it once it actually becomes a marketable item.

No ETA (estimated time of arrival) has been given for that though. Understandably, since Lernstift has to acquire funds first. A crowd-funding project has been opened for this very purpose.

If the invention gets off the ground, Lernstift intends to add pressure sensors, computer connectivity and other technologies to the pen. Maybe it will even launch an open source platform so that developers can make apps for it.

For example, the pen could, eventually, integrate a speaker that spells out the correct letters, and since it already has a built-in dictionary, it won't even need a PC link for it.