PERFORMANCE
OF
COMPLETED
PROJECTS
STATUS REPORT
NUMBER 1
NIST SPECIAL PUBLICATION 950-1
Economic Assessment Office
Advanced Technology Program
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
William F. Long
Business Performance Research Associates, Inc.
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
March 1999
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 - Overview of Completed Projects
Characteristics
of the Projects
Timeline of Expected ATP Project
Activities and Impacts
Gains in Technical Knowledge
Dissemination of New Knowledge
Commercialization of the New Technology
Broad-Based Economic Benefits
CHAPTER 2 - Biotechnology
Aastrom
Biosciences, Inc.
Aphios Corporation
Molecular Simulations, Inc.
Thermo Trilogy Corporation
Tissue Engineering, Inc.
CHAPTER 3 - Chemicals and Chemical Processing
BioTraces,
Inc.
CHAPTER 4 - Discrete Manufacturing
Auto
Body Consortium (Joint Venture)
HelpMate Robotics, Inc.
PreAmp Consortium (Joint Venture)
Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc.
CHAPTER 5 - Electronics
Accuwave
Corporation
AstroPower, Inc.
Cree Research, Inc.
Cynosure, Inc.
Diamond Semiconductor Group, LLC
FSI International, Inc.
Galileo Corporation
Hampshire Instruments, Inc. (Joint Venture)
Illinois Superconductor Corporation
Light Age, Inc.
Lucent Technologies, Inc.
Multi-Film Venture (Joint Venture)
Nonvolatile Electronics, Inc.
Spire Corporation
Thomas Electronics, Inc.
CHAPTER 6 - Energy and Environment
American
Superconductor Corporation
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
E.I. duPont de Nemours & Company
Michigan Molecular Institute
CHAPTER 7 - Information, Computers, and Communications
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC) #1
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC)
#2
Engineering Animation, Inc.
ETOM Technologies, Inc.
Mathematical Technologies, Inc.
Torrent Systems, Inc.
CHAPTER 8 - Materials
AlliedSignal, Inc.
Geltech Incorporated
IBM Corporation
APPENDICES
Appendix
A: Development of New Knowledge and Early Commercial Products
and Processes
Appendix
B: Terminated Projects
END NOTES
End Notes
Click here
for PDF version of report.
Return to Main Page.
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Communication Intelligence
Corporation
(CIC) #1
Computer Recognition of Natural Handwriting
| Since the beginning of
the computer age during World War II, virtually all data have
been entered into computers via the keyboard. Teletype machines
were adapted so that typing created a punched paper tape, which
was read by a second device attached to the computer. Later,
the key-punch machine was developed; it created holes in cards
that were read by a card reader connected to the computer. In
time, keyboards were used to enter data directly into computers,
first via terminals connected to main-frame computers, and then
for desktop computers as well. |
Handwriting: An Easier
Way to Enter Computer Data
Each development advanced the science
of data entry, but keyboards have continued to be problematic. Some
people cannot use them because of physical limitations, such as
arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, or because they do not know
how to type. Others find them difficult to use in particular settings
and circumstances, such as conducting inventory on the shop floor
or a geology survey in the wilderness, where using a keyboard is
cumbersome. Difficulty in using keyboards and their inappropriateness
in certain situations were seen as two of the obstacles limiting
computer use to only about 5 percent of the U.S. population when
this project was proposed in ATP's first competition in 1990.
A computer user entering information
into her PC with a pad and stylus. Company software in the PC converts
the data from the pad into letters and words.
Software That Recognizes
Cursive Writing
Communication Intelligence Corporation
(CIC), a small California company spun off from SRI International
(formerly Stanford Research Institute), has addressed these keyboard
problems by using technology created in its ATP project for a reliable,
cost-effective alternative: a stylus and pad that can be used by
the computer to "read" handwriting. The hardware was simple to implement,
since touch-sensitive pads already existed. The difficult part was
perfecting techniques for software that would effectively recognize
fully cursive handwriting.
CIC researchers accomplished this technical
goal during the project by collecting a database with thousands
of cursive handwriting samples and developing new recognition algorithms.
After analyzing the handwriting-sample database and developing the
recognition methods, they also developed procedures that permit
fast computation with modest computer memory requirements.
New and Upgraded Products
Prior to its ATP project, CIC was marketing
a software product called Handwriter®, which could recognize
handwritten printing but not cursive writing. The company has now
incorporated some components of the ATP-funded technology into Handwriter®.
Even though the technology for recognizing fully cursive handwriting
has been developed, the upgraded software currently available commercially
cannot yet read fully cursive handwriting. It is able to recognize
connected letters in cursive writing in limited circumstances, however.
CIC has licensed Handwriter® to most of the PC manufacturers
in the world, and the upgraded Handwriter® software is now
incorporated in a number of pen-based, hand-held computer devices
on the market.
The company also developed two new
consumer products based on the ATP-funded technology. One product
is Handwriter® MxTM, which includes a stylus and
pad, as well as the upgraded Handwriter® software. In late
1996, CIC began marketing Handwriter® Mx(tm) in a large computer
chain, with a retail price of about $200. The other product, Handwriter®
fxTM, also contains the upgraded software but has a larger
writing pad and other features useful to graphics artists. In early
1997, CIC began marketing it in the same computer chain. During
that year, the company sold more than 11,000 units of these two
products, generating revenues in excess of $2.2 million.
Company officials say the Handwriter®
software will be upgraded again in the near future to fully recognize
cursive handwriting. One barrier to complete implementation of the
ATP-funded technology has been the need for tuning the software
system to operate with the standard amount of memory available in
modern desktop computers and to run fast enough to keep up with
a typical person's handwriting speed. That obstacle is now being
addressed.
Broadening Access
to Computers
CIC's handwriting-recognition system
should prove extremely beneficial. Computer users are now able to
enter data via the digitizer tablet, as well as by keyboard or other
means. This advance makes computers more useful for more people,
especially those whose keyboard use is limited by physical problems
or other circumstances. Other computer users may find a note-taking
stylus a useful adjunct to the keyboard. For some jobs, particularly
those that involve field work, the pen-based computer is the only
reasonable solution, and the benefits of having it may be quite
high for the user.
As more languages besides English are
added to the software, users who write in these languages will benefit
from using a handwriting input device that readily accepts all manner
of handwriting styles. Markets for hardware and software should
expand in response to wider use of computers and related products.
ATP Partnership Speeds
Technology Development
ATP's participation in this project
advanced development of the technology by 18 to 24 months and improved
the company's credibility with commercial partners. This credibility
was important in establishing the licensing and manufacturing relationships
needed for rapid commercial deployment of the technology.
The history of this ATP project offers
a good example of the amount of time needed by a well-run program
to both develop and commercialize a new technology. CIC estimated
at the start of the project in 1991 that the overall research, development
and marketing effort needed to get to market would take four to
five years. In 1996, three years after completing the two-and-a-half
year ATP research project, the company launched Handwriter®
MxTM, and in 1998, seven years from the time the project
began, the company was nearing release of a new software version
that fully met the original goals.
Help for Victims of
Arthritis
In early 1997 the Arthritis Foundation
awarded CIC its "Ease-of-Use Seal of Commendation" for the company's
Handwriter products. The Foundation's Commendation Program,
founded in the late 1980's, recognizes
products and packaging that are particularly accessible and easy
to use. The award followed a favorable review by health professionals
and arthritis patients.
PROJECT:
To develop a natural handwriting data-entry system for computers
for applications where pen-based entry works best and for use
by people who do not or cannot use a keyboard.
Duration: 4/1/1991 - 9/30/1993
ATP number: 90-01-0210
FUNDING (in thousands)::
| ATP |
$1,264 |
58% |
| Company |
912
|
42% |
| Total |
$2,176 |
|
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
CIC developed new data-entry software technology that recognizes
each user's natural handwriting without "training" the computer
or the user. The company:
- incorporated some of the ATP-funded
technology into an existing software product, Handwriter®,
giving it the ability to recognize connected letters in
cursive writing in limited circumstances (previously, it
recognized only handprinting);
- licensed the Handwriter®
software to more than a dozen computer manufacturers around
the world, generating $360,000 in revenue from sales of
30,000 units in 1997;
- launched a new product in
1996 called Handwriter® MxTM, a stylus-and-tablet
data-entry device using the upgraded Handwriter® software;
- sold 11,000 copies of Handwriter®
MxTM in 1997, with sales totaling more than $2.2
million; and
- received, in early 1997, the
"Ease-of-Use Seal of Commendation" from the Commendation
Program of the Arthritis Foundation, for the company's Handwriter
products - indicating their value to disabled people who
have trouble with keyboard entry.
COMMERCIALIZATION STATUS:
The ATP-funded software technology is widely licensed, and
a new product fully incorporating the software is due on the
market soon. Both are generating revenue.
OUTLOOK:
The outlook for this technology is strong, since it opens up
possibilities for much wider use of computers and expanded market
opportunities for U.S. producers of hardware and software. The
potential is likely to increase further as languages other than
English are incorporated into the approach. The company is actively
seeking additional market opportunities for further distribution
of its products.
COMPANY:
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC)
275 Shoreline Drive, Sixth Floor
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
Contact: Russ Davis
Phone: (650) 802-7757
Number of employees:
33 at project start, 93 at the end of 1997. |
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Date created: March
1999
Last updated:
April 12, 2005
|
