Multimodal input

Enhancing ink with sensor data

The multimodal input capabilities enabled by the sensors in Wacom digital pens provide the capacity to record, analyze and present a broad range of data in real time.

The ability to leverage this data in innovative ways opens up a vast array of application opportunities across a broad range of industry sectors, from education to psychology and medicine.

Multiple data points

The WILL™ SDK for ink allows a range of data to be captured from digital pen inputs

• The raw sensor data captured from a digital pen as it moves across the device screen
• The geometry of the visual ink representation created by rendering algorithms.
• Ink metadata including document, author and semantic metadata attached to the ink for interpreting, for example, the meaning of a word

The WILL™ SDK for ink captures detailed pen pressure, inclination and time and speed data in Wacom's Universal Ink Model (UIM) format. This can be used to experiment with integrating digital ink and data from other sources.

Novel applications

The ways in which this data can be used are only limited by your imagination as a developer. For example, Wacom has already co-developed a proof of concept that uses a headset, a notebook PC and a digital pen to measure and embed brainwave data into handwritten digital ink. This could be used to present a visual display of the user’s emotional state.

Learn more about WILL™ SDK for ink