After thousands of years of evolution,
pen and paper is still the best way to collect, store and
distribute information. With Anoto functionality ordinary
pen and paper is now connected to the endless possibilities
of digital communication. Anything written or drawn can
be sent via Graphical SMS, E-mail or Fax from anywhere to
anyone.
THE TECHNOLOGIES BEHIND ANOTO FUNCTIONALITY
Think about it, when you zoom off to the
shopping mall in your car, who – except technofreaks – is
interested in how everything under the bonnet gets you there?
Nevertheless, we expect our partners –
and our partners expect - to become familiar with the different
aspects of the technologies behind Anoto functionality.
It ’s all about keeping track of 669 845 157 115 773 458
169 very small dots.
The digital pen writes on ordinary paper
printed with a unique pattern that is almost invisible to
the naked eye. When you look at a piece of paper enabling
Anoto functionality, you’re actually looking at a fraction
of a map that is equivalent to that of Europe and Asia combined.
Since the map consists of tiny distinctive
squares, small portions of this huge map can be given any
specific function, such as “send”, “store” or “synchronize”.
Other portions of the map can be given specific embedded
applications, such as “notepad”, “paper calendar” or “medical
journal”. Then it remains to keep track of which dots activate
which function in which computer.
Pattern
Anoto functionality derives from a proprietary
pattern of very small dots printed on paper that is perceived
by the eye as a slightly off-white color. The dots have
a nominal spacing of 0.3 mm (0.01 inch). A minute portion
of the total pattern uniquely defines its position in the
full pattern, 60 000 000 square kilometres, which is equivalent
to an area exceeding that of Europe and Asia combined.
The pattern of dots allows dynamic information
coming from the digital camera in the pen to be processed
into signals representing functionality, writing and drawing. |
The
Pattern 
