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Performance
of 50 Completed ATP Projects
Status
Report - Number 2
NIST SP 950-2
Chapter
5 - Information Technology
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Communication
Intelligence Corporation (CIC)
Computer Recognition of
Natural Handwriting
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| Since
the beginning of the computer age during World War II, virtually all
data have been entered into computers via the keyboard. Teletype machines
were adapted so that typing created a punched paper tape, which was
read by a second device attached to the computer. Later, the key-punch
machine was developed; it created holes in cards that were read by
a card reader connected to the computer. In time, keyboards were used
to enter data directly into computers, first via terminals connected
to mainframe computers, and then for desktop computers as well. |
COMPOSITE
PERFORMANCE SCORE
(Based on a four star rating.)
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Handwriting: An Easy
Way to Enter Computer Data
Each development advanced the science of data entry, but keyboards have
continued to be problematic. Some people cannot use them because of physical
limitations, such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, or because they
do not know how to type. Others find them difficult to use in particular
settings and circumstances, such as conducting inventory on the shop floor
or a geology survey in the wilderness, where using a keyboard is cumbersome.
Difficulty in using keyboards and their inappropriateness in certain situations
were seen as two of the obstacles limiting computer use to only about
five percent of the U.S. population when this project was proposed in
ATP’s first competition in 1990.
 |
| A computer
user entering information into her PC with a pad and stylus. Company
software in the PC converts the data from the pad into letters and
words. |
Software That Recognizes
Cursive Writing
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC), a small California company
spun off from SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute),
has addressed these keyboard problems by using technology created in its
ATP project for a reliable, cost-effective alternative: a stylus and pad
that can be used by the computer to read handwriting. The hardware was
simple to implement, since touch-sensitive pads already existed. The
difficult part was perfecting techniques for software that would effectively
recognize fully cursive handwriting.
CIC researchers accomplished
this technical goal during the project by collecting a database with thousands
of cursive handwriting samples and developing new recognition algorithms.
After analyzing the handwriting-sample database and developing the recognition
methods, they also developed procedures that permit fast computation with
modest computer memory requirements.
New and Upgraded Products
Prior to its ATP project, CIC was marketing a software product called
Handwriter®, which could recognize handwritten printing but not cursive
writing. The company has now incorporated some components of the ATP-funded
technology into Handwriter®. Even though the technology for recognizing
fully cursive handwriting has been developed, the upgraded software currently
available commercially cannot yet read fully cursive handwriting. It is
able, however, to recognize connected letters in cursive writing in limited
circumstances. CIC has licensed Handwriter® to most of the PC manufacturers
in the world, and the upgraded Handwriter® software is now incorporated
in a number of pen-based, hand-held computer devices on the market.
The company also developed
two new consumer products based on the ATP-funded technology. One product
is Handwriter® Mx™, which includes a stylus and pad, as well
as the upgraded Handwriter® software. In late 1996, CIC began marketing
Handwriter® Mx™ in a large computer chain, with a retail price
of about $200. The other product, Handwriter® fx™, also contains
the upgraded software but has a larger writing pad and other features
useful to graphics artists. In early 1997, CIC began marketing it in the
same computer chain. During that year, the company sold more than 11,000
units of these two products, generating revenues in excess of $2.2 million.
Company officials
say the Handwriter® software will be upgraded again in the near future
to fully recognize cursive handwriting. One barrier to complete implementation
of the ATP-funded technology has been the need for tuning the software
system to operate with the standard amount of memory available in modern
desktop computers and to run fast enough to keep up with a typical person’s
handwriting speed. That obstacle is now being addressed.
Broadening Access
to Computers
CIC’s handwriting-recognition system should prove extremely beneficial.
Computer users are now able to enter data via the digitizer tablet, as
well as by keyboard or other means. This advance makes computers more
useful for more people, especially those whose keyboard use is limited
by physical problems or other circumstances. Other computer users may
find a note-taking stylus a useful adjunct to the keyboard. For some jobs,
particularly those that involve field work, the pen-based computer is
the only reasonable solution, and the benefits of having it may be quite
high for the user.
As more languages
besides English are added to the software, users who write in these languages
will benefit from using a handwriting input device that readily accepts
all manner of handwriting styles. Markets for hardware and software should
expand in response to wider use of computers and related products.
ATP Partnership Speeds
Technology Development
ATP’s participation in this project advanced development of the technology
by 18 to 24 months and improved the company’s credibility with commercial
partners. This credibility was important in establishing the licensing
and manufacturing relationships needed for rapid commercial deployment
of the technology.
The history of this
ATP project offers a good example of the amount of time needed by a well-run
program to both develop and commercialize a new technology. CIC estimated
at the start of the project in 1991 that the overall research, development,
and marketing effort needed to get to market would take four to five years.
In 1996, three years after completing the two-and-a-half year ATP research
project, the company launched Handwriter® Mx™, and in 1998, seven
years from the time the project began, the company was nearing release
of a new software version that fully met the original goals.
Help for Victims of
Arthritis
In early 1997, the Arthritis Foundation awarded CIC its “Ease-of-Use
Seal of Commendation” for the company’s Handwriter products.
The Foundation’s Commendation Program, founded in the late 1980’s,
recognizes products and packaging that are particularly accessible and
easy to use. The award followed a favorable review by health professionals
and arthritis patients.
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Project
Highlights
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PROJECT:
To develop a natural handwriting data-entry system for computers
for applications where pen-based entry works best and for use by
people who do not or cannot use a keyboard.
Duration: 4/1/1991 — 9/30/1993
ATP Number: 90-01-0210
FUNDING (in
thousands):
| ATP |
$1,264
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58%
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| Company |
912
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42%
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| Total |
$2,176
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
CIC developed new data-entry software technology that recognizes
each user’s natural handwriting without training the computer
or the user. The company:
- incorporated
some of the ATP-funded technology into an existing software product,
Handwriter®, giving it the ability to recognize connected
letters in cursive writing in limited circumstances (previously,
it recognized only handprinting);
- licensed
the Handwriter® software to more than a dozen computer manufacturers
around the world, generating $360,000 in revenue from sales of
30,000 units in 1997;
- launched
a new product in 1996 called Handwriter® Mx™, a stylus-and-tablet
data-entry device using the upgraded Handwriter® software;
- sold 11,000
copies of Handwriter® Mx™ in 1997, with sales totaling
more than $2.2 million; and
- received,
in early 1997, the “Ease-of-Use Seal of Commendation”
from the Commendation Program of the Arthritis Foundation, for
the company’s Handwriter products — indicating their
value to disabled people who have trouble with keyboard entry.
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COMMERCIALIZATION
STATUS:
The ATP-funded software technology is widely licensed, and a new
product fully incorporating the software is due on the market soon.
Both are generating revenue.
OUTLOOK:
The outlook for this technology is strong, since it opens up possibilities
for much wider use of computers and expanded market opportunities
for U.S. producers of hardware and software. The potential is likely
to increase further as languages other than English are incorporated
into the approach. The company is actively seeking additional market
opportunities for further distribution of its products.
Composite
Performance Score:
COMPANY:
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC)
275 Shoreline Drive, Sixth Floor
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
Contact:
Russ Davis
Phone: (650) 802-7757
Number of employees: 33 at project start, 93 at the end of
1997
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Return to Table
of Contents or go to next section.
Date created: April
2002
Last updated:
April 12, 2005
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