RAND Tablet

Last updated

The RAND Tablet is a graphical computer input device developed by The RAND Corporation. The RAND Tablet is claimed to be the first digital graphic device marketed as being a low cost device. The creation of the tablet was performed[ further explanation needed ] by the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The RAND Tablet was one of the first devices to utilize a stylus as a highly practical instrument. [1]

Contents

The tablet is connected to an input of a computer and/or an oscilloscope display. The display would register the input and display it on the computer screen.

History

Development of the RAND Tablet began with research on the Sketchpad, a system where the user could write commands for a computer directly on the tablet, conducted by Ivan Sutherland. A multitude of different experimental systems were developed to recognize handwritten letters and gestures like Tom Ellis' flowchart based Graphic Input Language (GRAIL) method. Tom Ellis, an author of many RAND corporation reports, stated that this GRAIL system was what allowed the natural and real-time recognition of text and symbols written on the flowchart. The RAND Tablet was one of the first devices to recognize freehand drawing, using programs like Ellis'. The RAND Tablet was also called the "Grafacon" and is considered one of the first produced graphics tablets. The original RAND Tablet cost $18,000 and was available to research facilities in 1964 after years of development. [2] However, the RAND Tablet did not catch on commercially, likely due to an inertia in user habits which made consumers more familiar with a keyboard device, and the lack of practical applications for a tablet device during this time period. [3]

Description

The RAND Tablet is a large 10"x10" printed-circuit screen with printed-circuit capacitive-coupled encoders and 40 external connections. The surface has 100 lines per inch resolution so it is able to digitize in over 1 million locations. This is why the handwriting functionality appeared to be so natural. The tablet connects to the input channel of a general-purpose computer and to an oscilloscope display which controls the multiplexes of the pen position information. [1]

The tablet design initially consisted of a woven grid of Formex wires. Each wire has a 0.1" resolution and is driven by a digital signal which indicates its position in the matrix. A free-hand stylus would pick up a signal unique to its position when moving over the surface. By the time of the tablet's production, printed-circuit technology had advanced to allow a grid of copper strips on a bi-axially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (boPET) surface to yield a resolution of 0.01". This surface was then covered with a plastic wear layer and mounted in a metal frame. The stylus used on the RAND Tablet had a tiny click switch that, when depressed, would send a signal to the machine. [3]

Capabilities

Handwriting recognition


A program was written in IBM 360 Assembler Language to allow an online computer user to write data and directives on the RAND Tablet. Using point-by-point pen location, the scheme could immediately recognize and display 53 letters, numbers, and symbols in multiple printing styles as long as they adhered to coding conventions. The tablet was able to pick up and identify multiple stroke symbols by analyzing the sequence of direction, end-point locations, and was even able to use contextual clues when necessary. The pen track is displayed until the symbol is recognized. [3]

Chinese-Character Lookup

Chinese Character Lookup was a companion project which used the RAND Tablet to provide a translation aid. The desired character could be drawn on the tablet and when reproduced on the CRT display page, would include the character, its pronunciation, and its identification number in the standard Chinese-English dictionary. By analyzing point-by-point location of each stroke drawn by the tablet's pen, both Chinese and Roman characters could be identified in milliseconds. [3]

Map Annotation


Markings, words, and symbols could by easily be added to maps using the RAND Tablet. The tablet proved to be a straightforward, convenient, and easy means to position boxes, lines, arrows, text, and other annotations over the display map. Digitally scanned maps were believed to be provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency and the USAF R&D facility at the Rome Air Development Center, however, they also could have been produced at RAND to interest the USAF. [3]

Videographic System


RAND partnered with IBM to create a system which could merge information either provided by user actions or generated by computers with information coming from other sources. The RAND Video Graphic System serves 32 consoles, each with a full range of interaction and full graphics, and can accommodate up to 8 different input devices. Several computers could be accessed from any terminal. Scanning and buffer storage was centralized to improve performance and reduce cost. The heart of the Video Graphic system was an IBM 1800 computer and a 36" diameter magnetic disk to store scanned images and keep the parts of a displayed composite image in sync. However, the system was tricky and commercial development quickly overtook the technology, resulting in the program's termination. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pointing device</span> Human interface device for computers

A pointing device is a human interface device that allows a user to input spatial data to a computer. CAD systems and graphical user interfaces (GUI) allow the user to control and provide data to the computer using physical gestures by moving a hand-held mouse or similar device across the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse. Movements of the pointing device are echoed on the screen by movements of the pointer and other visual changes. Common gestures are point and click and drag and drop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light pen</span> Computer input device

A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphics tablet</span> Computer input device

A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures. It can also be used to trace an image from a piece of paper that is taped or otherwise secured to the tablet surface. Capturing data in this way, by tracing or entering the corners of linear polylines or shapes, is called digitizing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handwriting recognition</span> Ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input

Handwriting recognition (HWR), also known as handwritten text recognition (HTR), is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or intelligent word recognition. Alternatively, the movements of the pen tip may be sensed "on line", for example by a pen-based computer screen surface, a generally easier task as there are more clues available. A handwriting recognition system handles formatting, performs correct segmentation into characters, and finds the most plausible words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touchscreen</span> Input and output device

A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often an LCD, AMOLED or OLED display while the system is usually use in laptop, tablet, or smartphone. A user can give input or control the information processing system through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a special stylus or one or more fingers. Some touchscreens use ordinary or specially coated gloves to work while others may only work using a special stylus or pen. The user can use the touchscreen to react to what is displayed and, if the software allows, to control how it is displayed; for example, zooming to increase the text size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital painting</span> Type of art created using computers

Digital painting is an established art medium that typically combines a computer, a graphics tablet, and software of choice. The artist uses painting and drawing with the stylus that comes with the graphics tablet to create 2D paintings within a digital art software. There are multiple techniques and tools that are utilized by digital artists, the first being digital brushes. These come standard with all digital art programs but users can create their own, altering their shape, texture, size, and transfer. Many of these brushes are created to represent traditional styles like oils, acrylics, pastels, charcoal, and airbrushing, but not all. Other effective tools include layers, lasso tools, shapes, and masks. Digital painting has evolved to not just mimic traditional art styles but fully become its own technique.

Calma Company, based in Sunnyvale, California, was, between 1965 and 1988, a vendor of digitizers and minicomputer-based graphics systems targeted at the cartographic and electronic, mechanical and architectural design markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tektronix 4010</span>

The Tektronix 4010 series was a family of text-and-graphics computer terminals based on storage-tube technology created by Tektronix. Several members of the family were introduced during the 1970s, the best known being the 11-inch 4010 and 19-inch 4014, along with the less popular 25-inch 4016. They were widely used in the computer-aided design market in the 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interactive whiteboard</span> Large interactive display

An interactive whiteboard (IWB), also known as interactive board or smart board, is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touchpad to control computers from a projector. They are used in a variety of settings, including classrooms at all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, in broadcasting studios, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital pen</span> Input device

A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user and converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. This type of pen is usually used in conjunction with a digital notebook, although the data can also be used for different applications or simply as a graphic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tablet computer</span> Mobile computer with integrated display, circuitry and battery

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, do what other personal computers do, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops which have traditionally run off operating systems usually designed for desktops, tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen computing</span> Uses a stylus and tablet/touchscreen

Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a pen or stylus and tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse.

A text entry interface or text entry device is an interface that is used to enter text information in an electronic device. A commonly used device is a mechanical computer keyboard. Most laptop computers have an integrated mechanical keyboard, and desktop computers are usually operated primarily using a keyboard and mouse. Devices such as smartphones and tablets mean that interfaces such as virtual keyboards and voice recognition are becoming more popular as text entry systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer keyboard</span> Data input device

A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.

DAC-1, for Design Augmented by Computer, was one of the earliest graphical computer aided design systems. Developed by General Motors, IBM was brought in as a partner in 1960 and the two developed the system and released it to production in 1963. It was publicly unveiled at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in Detroit 1964. GM used the DAC system, continually modified, into the 1970s when it was succeeded by CADANCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Input device</span> Provides data and signals to a computer

In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, cameras, joysticks, and microphones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stylus (computing)</span> Pen-shaped instrument used as a human-computer interface

In computing, a stylus is a small pen-shaped instrument whose tip position on a computer monitor can be detected. It is used to draw, or make selections by tapping. While devices with touchscreens such as newer computers, mobile devices, game consoles, and graphics tablets can usually be operated with a fingertip, a stylus provides more accurate and controllable input. The stylus has the same function as a mouse or touchpad as a pointing device; its use is commonly called pen computing.

The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Tablet PC</span> Microsoft

Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a set of specifications announced in 2001 by Microsoft, for a pen-enabled personal computer, conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system or a derivative thereof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active pen</span>

An active pen is an input device that includes electronic components and allows users to write directly onto the display of a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet computer or Ultrabook. The active pen marketplace has long been dominated by N-trig and Wacom, but newer firms Atmel and Synaptics also offer active pen designs.

References

  1. 1 2 Davis, M.; T. Ellis (August 1964). "The RAND Tablet: A Man-Machine Graphical Communication Device". ARPA. Retrieved 05 November 2015
  2. Atkinson, Paul. (2008). "A Bitter Pill to Swallow: The Rise and Fall of the Tablet Computer". Design Issues 24 (4) 3-25. Web.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ware, W.H. (2008). RAND and the information evolution: a history in essays and vignettes (1st edn). Rand Corp, Santa Monica, CA. Retrieved November 5, 2015