DotPad a new method for handwritting recognition...

DotPad is a simple software to implement:

• It may be directly used with touch-screens, writing tablets and computers using Windows 95, 98 or Windows CE
• It may be fitted for any equipment which requires a character input

DotPad is available on many machines like:

• A PC equiped with Windows 95, 98 or NT
• A Palm Size PC fitted with Windows CE 2.0
• A Handeld PC (HPC) fitted with Windows CE 2.0

Here is an example of interface for DotPad:

• The nine dots define the writting area
• The right area is used for commands
• The result window shows the recognized character

... designed for the general public and industrial applications

DotPad is the way writing strokes are detected:

Nine detection areas correspond to the nine visible dots. This results in characters constructed with the segments determined. At its second extremity, the segment is displayed at touch. Users can, therefore, intuitively draw letters and digits with a standard alphabet.

Unlike identification of handwritten characters, identification of such normalized characters with a 100% rate is straightforward (in mathematical parlance, that's a trivial problem!).

Using DotPad is very close to hand-writing. Pattern recognition difficulties are circumvented rather than solved.

Evaluating DotPad is not a question of assessing recognition rate. What matters is how easy it is to use.

DotPad is handy where keyboard and pattern recognition are awkward:

Some examples:

• Addresses -- Internet, minitel, phone services
• Data for information retrieval -- Internet, url, Minitel, data-bases, dictionaries, encyclopedia, catalogues, prices list, directories, mementos
• Parameters -- control panels, measuring and navigation instruments
• Commands -- to control complex environments
• Passwords
• Words and letters -- learning games, word-based games
• Briefs messages -- electronic mail, pagers, Minitel
• Games -- network games, video games, children computers

For cellular phones ... pagers ... Web PC ... PDA ... hand held computers ... video games ... etc ...

A computer's Catch-22 is the keyboard: an easy keyboard is cumbersome, but a compact keyboard is hard to use. Potential users are put off by a keyboard. Instead of going for the speed of a keyboard, DotPad focuses on convenience and user-friendliness. DotPad is the right choice for consumer products. Consumer products are almost never used to send long texts.