Handwritten Annotations Research Articles

ISDN audio-graphics teleconferencing systems

An audio-graphics teleconferencing system has been developed that uses ordinary personal computers interconnected over a basic rate (2B+ D) ISDN line. The system supports high-speed transmission of 200-dpi resolution documents read in by an optical scanner and presented on the displays of the conference participants. While looking at the same material, the conferees can interactively converse and make handwritten notations on the document via an LCD tablet for all the participants to see. We describe the configuration and performance of the system, focusing mainly on the ISDN based multimedia transmission method and the method for reducing and enlarging binary images.

Designing a Computer Pencil and Tablet for Handwriting

We designed a computer pencil and tablet for Freestyle,TM a multimedia communications system based on handwritten annotations. Although graphics pens and tablets are already in use for handprinted character recognition and CAD applications, designing a pen and tablet specifically for rapid, continuous handwriting required substantial changes. Design criteria came from a laboratory study in which evaluators performed various writing and drawing tasks with a working pen and tablet. Evaluators rated the working system, plus model pens and tablets that were variants on a proposed design. Field observations of working prototypes also contributed to the final product.

High-speed image scaling for integrated document management

Document information often includes image data (eg. handwritten annotations, signatures, maps, sketches and photos) as well as alphanumeric and other coded data. Thus, the capability of handling these image data plays an important role in reforming current office-work activities. This paper presents a high-speed scaling method to enlarge or reduce digital images defined as two-dimensional pixel arrays. Scale factors are assumed to be rational numbers R/r and S/s for the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively, where R, S, r, s denote positive integers. Under this assumption, coordinate determination for image scaling is performed by simple table look-up and shift operations. This method excludes time-consuming arithmetic operations for coordinate determination. Thus, high-speed scaling is realized. Experiments showed that the execution time per output pixel is about 150 ns when the shift clock frequency is 8 MHz. The proposed algorithm has been successfully applied to a multi-functional office workstation featuring integrated functions of data processing, document processing and image processing.

An interactive environment for scientific development

System Development Corporation is developing an interactive graphic scientific development system whose primary objective is ease of direction and use. This system provides an environment within which a scientific researcher—for example, an image processor—can design processes, investigate results, and guide experimental steps. The SDC system is interactive and natural. The user communicates in mathematical or graphic handwritten notation; he can use standard tools or create his own. For example, the user can draw a graph and have it saved as a function, or he can create functions using mathematical notation.

A Presumed Wild Hybrid Baldpate × Eurasian Wigeon

A drake wigeon with characters intermediate between those of the Baldpate or American Wigeon (Anas americana) and the Eurasian Wigeon (A. penelope) was obtained in Florida by George N. Lawrence in 1845 and became part of the Smithsonian Institution collection (USNM 10376) in 1858. No further data are available for the specimen, but it was presumably a wild bird. This historically important has been mentioned at least five times in the North American literature. When collected it was probably the second North American record of a Eurasian Wigeon but was never so reported. The first American was shot on Long Island in 1842 and may not have been preserved (G. N. Lawrence reported to Giraud, 1844: 309). The Florida was described as a typical Mareca by Baird et al. (1860: 785), but Figure 2, plate 91 (plate 14 of original 1858 edition) was apparently colored from a proper penelope specimen in Mus. Phila. Acad. according to the hand-written annotation in Baird's personal copy in the Smithsonian Institution. Its americana-like characters were mentioned briefly without comment by Baird et al. (1884: 518). It was cited as a Florida distributional record by Hasbrouck (1944) and by Howell (1932: 135) who was later quoted by Sprunt (1954: 65). The Baldpate and Eurasian Wigeon are closely related. The drakes look superficially alike except for head color. Some females are very difficult to separate. The characters of the intermediate drake are compared with those of A. americana and A. penelope drakes in Table 1. The intermediacy of the Florida bird suggests that it may be of hybrid origin. If so, and if it was wild, this constitutes only the second known wild hybrid between these two species. The cross is frequently produced in captivity and the hybrids are fertile (Gray, 1958: 18) but Bailey's (1919) presumed hybrid drake from Virginia is apparently the only other wild hybrid recorded. Both A. americana and A. penelope vary individually in head color and amount of gray on the axillaries. Out of 44 male Baldpates examined in the U. S. National Museum, 3 have a suggestion of buffish or cream on the cheeks or forehead. One drake A. americana taken in Currituck Sound, Virginia in 1931 (USNM 325414) approaches the Eurasian Wigeon in having both crown and cheeks cream, the latter very lightly speckled with black, and heavy black markings on the throat. It has the broad green