Digital paper
Encyclopedia
Digital paper, also known as interactive paper, is patterned paper used in conjunction with a digital pen
to create handwritten digital documents. The printed dot pattern uniquely identifies the position coordinates on the paper. The digital pen uses this pattern to store the handwriting and upload it to a computer.
Digital paper should not be confused with electronic paper
.
; the most common is the proprietary Anoto
dot pattern. In the Anoto dot pattern, the paper is divided into a grid with a spacing of about 0.3 mm, a dot is printed near each intersection offset slightly in one of four directions, a camera in the pen typically records a 6 x 6 group of dots. The full pattern is claimed to consist of 669,845,157,115,773,458,169 dots, and to encompass an area exceeding 4.6 million km² (this corresponds to 73 trillion unique sheets of letter-size paper).
The complete pattern space
is divided into various domain
s. These domains can be used to define paper types, or to indicate the paper's purpose (for example, memo formatting, personal planners, notebook paper, Post-it notes, et cetera).
The Anoto dot pattern can be printed onto almost any paper, using a standard printing process of at least 600 dpi
resolution
(some claim a required resolution of 1000 dpi), and carbon
-based black ink. The paper can be any shape or size greater than 2 mm to a side. The ink absorbs infra red light transmitted from the digital pen
; the pen contains a receiver which interprets the pattern of light reflected from the paper. Other colors of ink, including non-carbon-based black, can be used to print information which will be visible to the user, and invisible to the pen.
Digital pen
A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user, converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. For example, the writing data can be digitized and uploaded...
to create handwritten digital documents. The printed dot pattern uniquely identifies the position coordinates on the paper. The digital pen uses this pattern to store the handwriting and upload it to a computer.
Digital paper should not be confused with electronic paper
Electronic paper
Electronic paper, e-paper and electronic ink are a range of display technology which are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays, electronic paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper...
.
The paper
The dot pattern is a kind of two dimensional barcodeBarcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
; the most common is the proprietary Anoto
Anoto
Anoto Group AB is a Swedish technology company which has invented, developed and licensed a product line of digital pens and a product suite to manage information capturing utilizing these . The Anoto Group has around 110 employees...
dot pattern. In the Anoto dot pattern, the paper is divided into a grid with a spacing of about 0.3 mm, a dot is printed near each intersection offset slightly in one of four directions, a camera in the pen typically records a 6 x 6 group of dots. The full pattern is claimed to consist of 669,845,157,115,773,458,169 dots, and to encompass an area exceeding 4.6 million km² (this corresponds to 73 trillion unique sheets of letter-size paper).
The complete pattern space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
is divided into various domain
Subset
In mathematics, especially in set theory, a set A is a subset of a set B if A is "contained" inside B. A and B may coincide. The relationship of one set being a subset of another is called inclusion or sometimes containment...
s. These domains can be used to define paper types, or to indicate the paper's purpose (for example, memo formatting, personal planners, notebook paper, Post-it notes, et cetera).
The Anoto dot pattern can be printed onto almost any paper, using a standard printing process of at least 600 dpi
DPI
DPI may stand for* Dots per inch, a measure of printing resolution* Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, an educational institution of Bangladesh* Death Pact International, one of the first open source musical concept projects...
resolution
Image resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
(some claim a required resolution of 1000 dpi), and carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
-based black ink. The paper can be any shape or size greater than 2 mm to a side. The ink absorbs infra red light transmitted from the digital pen
Digital pen
A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user, converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. For example, the writing data can be digitized and uploaded...
; the pen contains a receiver which interprets the pattern of light reflected from the paper. Other colors of ink, including non-carbon-based black, can be used to print information which will be visible to the user, and invisible to the pen.
See also
- Digital penDigital penA digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user, converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. For example, the writing data can be digitized and uploaded...
- AnotoAnotoAnoto Group AB is a Swedish technology company which has invented, developed and licensed a product line of digital pens and a product suite to manage information capturing utilizing these . The Anoto Group has around 110 employees...
- De Bruijn TorusDe Bruijn torusright|thumb|A De Bruijn torus. Each 2-by-2 binary matrix can be found within it exactly once.In combinatorial mathematics, a De Bruijn torus, named after Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, is an array of symbols from an alphabet that contains every m-by-n matrix exactly once...
- De Bruijn Decoding
Further reading
- Signer, Beat: Fundamental Concepts for Interactive Paper and Cross-Media Information Spaces, May 2008, Hardcover, 276 pages, ISBN 3837027139 (10), ISBN 978-3-8370-2713-6 (13)
- Signer, Beat and Norrie, Moira C.: Interactive Paper: Past, Present and Future, In Proceedings of PaperComp 2010, 1st International Workshop on Paper Computing, Copenhagen Denmark, September 2010 (Presentation)