HP announced revolutionary pen-based technology that allows the Kannada script to be recorded and stored directly on the computer. The gesture-based keyboard, developed by researchers at HP Labs India, also holds the potential for Indic languages derived from the Devanagari and Tamil scripts to be used in a similar manner. That could benefit more than 1.5 billion non-English speaking people, including Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and other phonetic script users.
The technology could potentially open up the power of computing to vast numbers of new users, all in their own language and without prior knowledge of English or typing
Unlike other prevailing Indic language entry methods which either use bilingual keyboards or display the Indic keyboard layout on a monitor, the gesture-based keyboard is a low-cost and rugged solution that helps solve the phonetic language entry problem by allowing users to input data the way most people learn to write – with a pen.
This simple but intuitive data entry method could make it easier to communicate for people who may not understand English or know how to type. Field tests conducted by HP Labs India researchers demonstrated that most people found it easy to use.
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