Although the art of writing by hand seems a habit that is obsolete before the advance of electronic devices, a new invention could return the charm to wield a pen.
While almost ubiquitous computers and mobile phones, allows avoiding embarrassing mistakes when typing, when it comes to writing with pen one is exposed.
However, Lernstift (in German “pen to learn”) seems the dream of every parent or teacher: a pen that warns when the child makes a spelling mistake.
The German Falk Wolsky, expert in digital content processing, saw the errors of his son Leon in school and was inspired by the wireless system of the helicopter with which the child was playing. Along with his colleague Daniel Kaesmacher got down to the work and the result was the Lernstift.
This device combines the use of motion sensors with a Linux-based and linked to a database of words system. The Lernstift not really need ink and paper: software uses handwriting recognition to point out errors as they are committed.
Subtle vibration
And as any educator can give faith, to be compatible with the writing by hand, at the same time help cognition and memory, skills that seem to lose ground in an environment of touchscreens.
The digital device sees what you write and emits a subtle vibration when you think that the user has made a mistake.
Designed for school students and teachers, the idea is to bring the benefits of digital writing to traditional paper and ink, and help stop the decline of handwriting.
It also has wi-fi connectivity, so that the pen is in line with application for mobile, tablet or computer to have a detail of the errors identified by the Lernstift.
The device still needs adjustments to suit each user’s writing, and so far is only developed in English and German. However, its creators claim that it will be available in more languages.
In the coming weeks will begin to test experimental wireless version in some schools and, if all goes well, the final version will begin to sell at the end of this year…