Technology is a science which helps humans do things efficiently and accurately. It helps us to overcome problems faced in day-to-day life. When computers were invented, they faced a huge problem of easy interaction with users and operators.
Peripherals such as the keyboard, mouse and software like interactive operating systems came forth as solutions. They turned the computer from a sophisticated, utility-specific machine into a Personal Computerthat gradually made its way into everyone’s homes.
A student named Kalpesh Wani has taken this philosophy to the next level and has pioneered the development of a digital pen that is user friendly and less expensive when compared to its contemporaries.
“I have always wondered why we should adapt to the functioning of a machine in order to use it”, says Wani, an electrical and electronics enginnering student of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology(VNIT), Nagpur.
“Consider the simple example of writing. Since our childhood, we have learnt to write on paper with a pen. To do the same on a computer, we have to use a keyboard. I wonder why we should adapt to machines rather than developing machines which will adapt to us and our needs?"
"This gap between humans and machines is gradually reducing with the development of new means for human-machine interaction, such as touch screens and sixth-sense techniques. I am quite confident that one day we will completely fill this gap and machines will learn human ways. This project is just one step towards it.”
According to him, technology is yet inadequate if it fails to reach the masses, and that technology makes sense when it is beneficial to everyone rather than just one organisation or an individual. He groups such innovation as disruptive innovations. He feels that there’s no point in making costly digital pens if only a few can afford them. Kalpesh’s project aims to provide a better interface than the keyboard and mouse to the common man.
So far, he has made a rough model of his idea, but work is still in progress.
Getting the idea
The whole idea of the digital pen came to Kalpesh’s mind because he detested typing on a keyboard. He says that he was really very bad at typing and it took a lot of time for him to familiarize himself with it. He came across a couple of new applications in Windows Vista and Windows 7 called ‘Tablet PC Input Panel’ and even ‘Math Input Panel’. While using these, he found that writing with a mouse was quite cumbersome. Then the possibility of putting the sensors that are used in these panels on the tip of a pen came to his mind. This laid the foundation for the digital pen, which would be a perfect interface for data input.
Being an electrical and electronics engineering student, he managed to dig into the innards of the mouse and retrieve the circuitry. Later he managed to reduce the circuit to half, which he then placed near the tip of a pen and started experimenting on the feasibility of the same.
Right from the beginning, he faced many problems and is still facing quite a few challenges as he goes about with the development of the pen. “Fortunately, I came across a TED presentation given by Pranav Mistry on sixth sense. I read everything on sixth sense on that day and I was completely blown away by the technology on which he was working. That presentation motivated me a lot in my innovation”, says Kalpesh.
USER's POINT OF VIEW
Imagine a pen just like the one you use to write on paper recording your information digitally as you write on any surface. Suppose if you have to write a letter or an email, and all you have to do is write it on paper, a desk or any other flat surface. This device will directly display it on the computer in your very own handwriting. You can then convert it into a text file and send it as a message to a contact or you can save it as an image, while still maintaining your own handwriting.
