Anoto
Encyclopedia
Anoto Group AB
(former C Technologies) is a Swedish technology company which has invented, developed and licensed a product line of digital pen
s and a product suite to manage information capturing utilizing these (marketed as Anoto). The Anoto Group has around 110 employees. It is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, and also has offices in Boston, US and Tokyo, Japan.
and a digital camera (as well as supporting hardware) designed to digitally record everything written with the pen. The pen works by recognizing a special non-repeating dot pattern that is printed on the paper. The non-repeating nature of the pattern means that the pen is able to determine which page is being written on, and where on the page the pen is.
The dot pattern can be printed on a professional offset printing
press, or on a laser printer. Dots are printed in black; other colors of ink are invisible to the pen's IR sensor. On a laser printer, CMY can be mixed to produce near black for text or other marks that are human-readable
. For offset printing, Anoto has developed a color of ink, "Anoto substitute black." Anoto substitute black is a non-carbon based black ink that is invisible in the IR region, allowing you to include human-readable black marks with the dot pattern without interference.
While some of Anoto's licensees have targeted the consumer sector, with for example learning toys, most licensees sell their products to solution providers who put together customized vertical market systems. Anoto sells a software development kit (SDK), numerous software applications, the Anoto Forms Solution (AFS) and digital pens. Anoto also sells an ASIC design for the image processing component of the pen; most pen licencees use the same basic design of optical assembly and pen internals. Anoto has approximately 350 partners, primarily in Europe, the United States and Japan. Examples of the business sectors within which they operate are healthcare, bank & finance, transportation & logistics and education.
Optical scan voting system
s are based on Anoto technology.
Models include:
Anoto also has a few other products:
The Anoto Forms Solution includes all components required to set up and use digital pen and paper in order to capture, transfer and incorporate handwritten information from paper forms into any back-end system. Anoto penDocuments Pro is a product that allows the user to create electronic copies of handwritten documents. Anoto penPresenter is a personal digital whiteboard. By projecting a blank PowerPoint slide, a digital whiteboard is created.
In 2004, Anoto prevailed in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Oral Sekendur
regarding the Anoto dot pattern technology. The Sekendur patent
was held to be invalid.
Aktiebolag
Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...
(former C Technologies) is a Swedish technology company which has invented, developed and licensed a product line of digital pen
Digital pen
A digital pen is an input device which captures the handwriting or brush strokes of a user, converts handwritten analog information created using "pen and paper" into digital data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications. For example, the writing data can be digitized and uploaded...
s and a product suite to manage information capturing utilizing these (marketed as Anoto). The Anoto Group has around 110 employees. It is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, and also has offices in Boston, US and Tokyo, Japan.
Products
Anoto's main product is the Anoto Digital Pen, a combination of ordinary ink penPen
A pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...
and a digital camera (as well as supporting hardware) designed to digitally record everything written with the pen. The pen works by recognizing a special non-repeating dot pattern that is printed on the paper. The non-repeating nature of the pattern means that the pen is able to determine which page is being written on, and where on the page the pen is.
The dot pattern can be printed on a professional offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
press, or on a laser printer. Dots are printed in black; other colors of ink are invisible to the pen's IR sensor. On a laser printer, CMY can be mixed to produce near black for text or other marks that are human-readable
Human-readable
A human-readable medium or human-readable format is a representation of data or information that can be naturally read by humans.In computing, human-readable data is often encoded as ASCII or Unicode text, rather than presented in a binary representation...
. For offset printing, Anoto has developed a color of ink, "Anoto substitute black." Anoto substitute black is a non-carbon based black ink that is invisible in the IR region, allowing you to include human-readable black marks with the dot pattern without interference.
While some of Anoto's licensees have targeted the consumer sector, with for example learning toys, most licensees sell their products to solution providers who put together customized vertical market systems. Anoto sells a software development kit (SDK), numerous software applications, the Anoto Forms Solution (AFS) and digital pens. Anoto also sells an ASIC design for the image processing component of the pen; most pen licencees use the same basic design of optical assembly and pen internals. Anoto has approximately 350 partners, primarily in Europe, the United States and Japan. Examples of the business sectors within which they operate are healthcare, bank & finance, transportation & logistics and education.
Optical scan voting system
Optical scan voting system
An optical scan voting system is an electronic voting system and uses an optical scanner to read marked paper ballots and tally the results.-History:...
s are based on Anoto technology.
Models include:
- EricssonEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
Chatpen CHA-30 (discontinued) - NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
SU-1B Digital Pen (discontinued) - Nokia SU-27W (successor to SU-1B, rebranded Logitech io2 http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/discussions/board/message?board.id=accessories&message.id=1362)
- LogitechLogitechLogitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
io2 Digital Pen - Logitech io Digital Pen (earlier version, discontinued)
- MaxellMaxell, commonly known as Maxell, is a Japanese company which manufactures consumer electronics. The company's notable products are batteries -- the company's name is a contraction of "maximum capacity dry cell" -- and recording media, including audio cassettes and blank VHS tapes, and recordable optical...
Digital Pen (an earlier version might have been discontinued) - Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
Digital Pen 200 (discontinued) (rebranded Logitech) - Hewlett-Packard Digital Pen 250
- Fly (pentop computer)Fly (pentop computer)The Fly is a personal electronics product manufactured by LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. It is called a "pentop" computer by its manufacturers, and is essentially a pen with a computer inside. The company claims it is the first of its kind....
- Tag (LeapFrog)Tag (LeapFrog)Tag is a pen-shaped book reader onto which audio from specific books can be downloaded. Then, the pen can be scanned across the corresponding paper book so that the pen reads it aloud. The user can also play various games through this technique. LeapFrog Enterprises introduced it as the successor...
- LivescribeLivescribeThe Livescribe paper-based computing platform consists of a digital pen, digital paper, software applications, and developer tools.Central to the Livescribe platform is the smartpen, a ballpoint pen with an embedded computer and digital audio recorder...
Pulse Smartpen - LivescribeLivescribeThe Livescribe paper-based computing platform consists of a digital pen, digital paper, software applications, and developer tools.Central to the Livescribe platform is the smartpen, a ballpoint pen with an embedded computer and digital audio recorder...
Echo Smartpen - Anoto Digital Pen DP-201
- Anoto Digital Pen io2 Bluetooth
- Anoto Digital Pen DP-301
- Polyvision Digital Stylus (DP-301)
Anoto also has a few other products:
The Anoto Forms Solution includes all components required to set up and use digital pen and paper in order to capture, transfer and incorporate handwritten information from paper forms into any back-end system. Anoto penDocuments Pro is a product that allows the user to create electronic copies of handwritten documents. Anoto penPresenter is a personal digital whiteboard. By projecting a blank PowerPoint slide, a digital whiteboard is created.
Patents
Anoto holds more than 300 international patents on their technology and some 300 additional patent applications.In 2004, Anoto prevailed in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Oral Sekendur
regarding the Anoto dot pattern technology. The Sekendur patent
was held to be invalid.