14 DAY TRIAL // Transferring one's handwriting directly into a computer's memory is nothing new, really, as graphics tablets have been taking care of this process for quite some time now. Nevertheless, it would seem that this subject has fascinated quite a lot of designers, as the EPOS company has developed such a system, dubbed "Digital Pen" and "USB Flash Drive", which automatically transfers the user's handwriting onto the drive's Flash memory chip.
The device is a result of the collaboration between EPOS and Dane-Elec, the latter providing the flash memory unit, while EPOS provided the positioning technology. This technology is based on the transmission of ultrasonic acoustic waves between two or more devices via a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter, embedded in a device such as a pen or other wireless terminal sends constant acoustic signals to the receiver that in turn, uses them to measure the distance and position of the device. The transmitter sends a unique ultrasonic "whistle" to the receiver, constantly informing it of its position. Therefore, one always knows the position of the other.
Practically, the system works in a rather simple manner. The Digital Pen records the handwriting and then transmits the data wirelessly to the USB drive, which stores it until the user downloads said data to a computer.
"We are very proud to be able to bring this product to market with such a major player in the flash industry," said Oded Turbahn, CEO at EPOS. "Partnering with Dane-Elec enables EPOS to bring its positioning technology into the lives of the mass market by way of a next-generation input device. That is undoubtedly what we set out to do."
The system has been announced way back, at CES 2007, and was supposed to hit the market in Q2, for around 80 US dollars. Unfortunately, it has not yet seen the light of day and now it's supposed to be launched by the year's end. It remains to be seen whether this goal will be actually attained, but we certainly hope so, considering the fact that this thing might prove to be extremely useful in quite a lot of situations.
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