meet the digital pen that took 17 years to build - wacom

The little hardware in this photo above doesn't seem to matter.
He and his two computer science partners are hundreds of people. of-
It takes thousands of hours to develop it.
This is a 3D laser interferometer, an optical sensor that is the most important part of a digital pen built by Leder and his friends, called Phree.
Phree is the most popular gadget on kickstarter.
In its 14-day operation, it has exceeded its $100,000 target, raising $775,000 from 3,710 people interested in something beyond the ability of the stylus, a wacom tablet or a variety of digital pens that require special paper with micropoints.
Phree can write on wood, sofa or your hand and words will automatically appear on the screen via Bluetooth (when it ships).
The Lederer prototype showed me that there is still a wire, but the first wire that is scheduled to ship for $200 in March 2016 will be wireless.
The optical sensor for Phree is not fresh. Lederer co-
He invented it 17 years ago after he had an idea. where else? )
In the shower, it was decided to investigate whether it was possible to measure the movement of the flat panel service with laser Doppler.
For more than 100 years, people have been measuring the change in distance with a laser Doppler, but in most cases people only track the distance the object moves to the sensor, or away from it.
Ryder wants to measure the sideto-side movements.
Ryder approached an old friend and physics expert at an IDF elite training program called tarpio. (
Forbes described Fabio as a Harvard MBA, Rhodes scholarship and presidential scholarship. )
Lederer and Uri Kinrot bought some optical elements, super glue and masking tape together with his brother Opher.
At the kitchen table in Leidel, They glued the laser to the Assembly and tested it.
To their surprise, it works.
"We resigned," Leder said . "
They founded the OTM company in January 1998 and have obtained a global patent for optical sensor technology, ready to produce a product that can be shipped to millions of people.
Most experienced entrepreneurs are very familiar with the ups and downs of starting a business, but the following is a marathon.
Death experience.
The original goal of the three was to turn their technology into the world's first optical mouse.
At that time, most people with personal computers used a mechanical mouse with a ball that gathered dust and had to be cleaned regularly (remember those? ).
Before the end of the year, they reached a license agreement with Logitech.
Disaster occurred in April 1999.
Microsoft released the world's first optical mouse, while Logitech suspended the project.
The three did not hesitate to raise the funds needed to move on and look around for new partners.
In 2001, they signed an agreement with one of Silicon Valley's largest consumer technology companies --
Although you might guess, a full person doesn't want to name it publicly --
Make the best optical mouse in the world.
Fate has other ideas.
Six months later, this also failed because their chip vendor could not deliver the master processor on time.
"This is a fatal blow to our company," Leder said . ".
"We have the best customers, the best technology, the best products that can sell millions of dollars.
Ryder and his team have lost the computer mouse market and they may shut down their company at that time and at that time.
Instead, they decided to turn to a completely different gadget, a digital pen, waiting for Moore's law to catch up quickly --
Enough processor
The optical sensor of the pen requires a stronger signal
Than the processing algorithm required by the mouse.
It must deliver precise writing behavior as smoothly as possible.
The OTM founders returned to their full time jobs.
"We're waiting," Leder said . "
Finally, the team waited 12 years to get a small, cost-effective chip.
Effective and powerful enough to handle the pen head with only minimal delay.
Today, Lederer had a working prototype that he demonstrated for me at the cafe's table and I tried it myself.
At first, keeping my handwriting within the boundaries of the screen was a very challenging thing to do, but it seems to be something I can do better in practice.
Phree doesn't feel like a mass market device either.
Many of us have changed the way we type most of our notes
Communication is needed.
But this seems to be something that some digital artists may be interested in, and they don't like the limitations of the Wacom tablet or stylus.
Lederer claims that start up's stechnoology also has the potential to be more widely used in robots, which can use its optical sensors to better handle objects.
He wants Phree pen to show the effect of this sensing technology.
Direct consumer orientation means that business partners are less likely to withdraw.
"Because of what happened in ten years, we don't want to be at the mercy of anyone," he said . " This is understandable.
"But that," he said, holding a 3D laser interferometer between his fingers, "No one can do . . . . . . . Tech-
We know we have very mature technology.
We know we can do it.