Customer authoring tools for creating user-generated content for smart pen applications

• US 8,638,319 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2008
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Livescribe Incorporated (Anoto Group AB)
• Original Assignee: Livescribe Incorporated (Anoto Group AB)
• Inventors: Edgecomb, Tracy L., Van Schaack, Andy, Marggraff, Jim
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lubit, Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US12/129,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,070 Days
• Field of Search: 345179-180, 700/94
• US Class Current: 345/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L

Abstract

In a pen-based computing system, a user-specific smart pen application is created from a template application using customer authoring tools. The template application contains computer program code that is to be executed by a processor of a smart pen. Application content and a representation for printed content are received. The application content, provided by user or customer, defines functional interactions between the printed content representation and a smart pen. The template application is combined with application content to generate a user-specific application comprising instructions for being executed on a processor of a smart pen. The user-specific application is stored on a storage medium.

Claims

1. A method of making a smart pen application product using customer authoring tools, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing system, a user selection of a template application, the user-selected template application comprising;

program code for being executed by a processor of a smart pen, and

a plurality of user-assignable smart pen functions, each user-assignable smart pen function including a user-selected output signal to be reproduced by the smart pen, the user-selected output signal comprising at least one of;

an audio signal to be played back by a speaker of the smart pen;

a visual signal to be displayed on a display of the smart pen; and

a vibration signal to be generated by a vibrational feedback device of the smart pen;

receiving, at the computing system, a computer-readable representation of printed content;

determining that a color of the computer-readable representation of the printed content will be incompatible with a dot pattern on the writing surface when the computer-readable representation is printed to the writing surface;

responsive to determining that the color is incompatible, applying dimming to the incompatible color;

receiving a user-selected region of the representation of printed content for associating with one of the user-assignable smart pen functions;

receiving a user-selected smart pen function from the plurality of user-assignable smart pen functions in the template application for associating with the user-selected region of the representation of printed content;

generating a mapping between the user-selected smart pen function and the user-selected region of the printed content; and

transferring the user-selected template application and the generated mapping to a non-transitory storage medium of the smart pen as a user-specific application that combines the user-selected template application and the user-selected functions, the user-specific application comprising instructions for being executed on a processor of a smart pen, wherein execution of the user-specific application causes the smart pen to reproduce the user-selected output signal included in the user-selected smart pen function responsive to the smart pen capturing a gesture of the smart pen interacting with the user-selected region of the printed content specified in the mapping.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the selection of the template application from a plurality of template applications.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a representation of printed content comprises importing an image.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a representation of printed content comprises receiving a selection for constructing an image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified smart pen interaction comprises capturing a relative gesture input from a gesture capture device of the smart pen.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the template application comprises code for recording audio with a microphone of the smart pen and for storing the recorded audio, the recording and storing in response to receiving a particular gesture signal from a gesture capture device of the smart pen.

7. A computer program product for creating a smart pen application using customer authoring tools, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing computer program code for:

receiving, at a computing system, a user selection of a template application, the user-selected template application comprising;

program code for being executed by a processor of a smart pen, and

a plurality of user-assignable smart pen functions, each user-assignable smart pen function including a user-selected output signal to be reproduced by the smart pen, the user-selected output signal comprising at least one of;

an audio signal to be played back by a speaker of the smart pen;

a visual signal to be displayed on a display of the smart pen; and

a vibration signal to be generated by a vibrational feedback device of the smart pen;

receiving, at the computing system, a computer-readable representation of printed content;

determining that a color of the computer-readable representation of the printed content will be incompatible with a dot pattern on the writing surface when the computer-readable representation is printed to the writing surface;

responsive to determining that the color is incompatible, applying dimming to the incompatible color;

receiving a user-selected region of the representation of printed content for associating with one of the user-assignable smart pen functions;

receiving a user-selected smart pen function from the plurality of user-assignable smart pen functions in the template application for associating with the user-selected region of the representation of printed content;

generating a mapping between the user-selected smart pen function and the user-selected region of the printed content; and

transferring the user-selected template application and the generated mapping to a non-transitory storage medium of the smart pen as a user-specific application that combines the user-selected template application and the user-selected functions, the user-specific application comprising instructions for being executed on a processor of a smart pen, wherein execution of the user-specific application causes the smart pen to reproduce the user-selected output signal included in the user-selected smart pen function responsive to the smart pen capturing a gesture of the smart pen interacting with the user-selected region of the printed content specified in the mapping.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising computer code for:

receiving the selection of the template application from a plurality of template applications.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the template application comprises code for recording audio on a microphone of the smart pen and for storing the recorded audio, the recording and storing in response to receiving a particular gesture signal from a gesture capture device of the smart pen.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the specified smart pen interaction comprises capturing a relative gesture input from a gesture capture device of the smart pen.

11. A method for making a smart pen application product using customer authoring tools, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing system, a computer-readable image representing an image on a writing surface;

determining that a color of the computer-readable image of the image will be incompatible with a dot pattern on the writing surface when the computer-readable image is printed to the writing surface;

responsive to determining that the color is incompatible, applying dimming to the incompatible color;

receiving, at the computing system, a user input specifying a region of the computer-readable image, the specified region of the computer-readable image associated with a corresponding region of the image on the writing surface;

receiving a user-defined output signal, the output signal for being generated by a smart pen in response to the user input, and comprising at least one of;

an audio signal to be played back by a speaker of the smart pen;

a visual signal to be displayed on a display of the smart pen; and

a vibration signal to be generated by a vibrational feedback device of the smart pen;

generating a mapping between the user-defined output signal and the corresponding region of the image on the writing surface;

transferring a user-specific application to a non-transitory computer readable medium of the smart pen, the user-specific application generated based on the generated mapping, the user-specific application comprising instructions for being executed on a processor of a smart pen, wherein execution of the instructions causes the smart pen to reproduce the user-defined output signal responsive to the smart pen capturing a smart pen gesture interacting with a portion of the writing surface overlapping at least in part with the corresponding region of the image on the writing surface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving a user input specifying a region of the computer-readable image comprises:

receiving an input identifying the corresponding region from a smart pen interacting with the image printed on the writing surface.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the user-specific application comprises:

a software portion comprising the instructions for being executed on the processor of the smart pen; and

an image portion representing the computer-readable image and the user-specified region, the user-specified region linked to instructions in the software portion for reproducing the user-defined output signal.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending the computer-readable image representing the image on the writing surface to a printer configured to print the image portion to the writing surface.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein applying dimming to the incompatible color in the image portion of the user-specific application comprises:

identifying a punch-out region in the image portion corresponding to the specified region of the computer-readable image;

applying dimming inside the punch-out region to the incompatible color; and

preserving the incompatible color in a region of the image portion outside the punch-out region.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining that a color of the image portion of the user-specific application will be incompatible with a dot pattern on the writing surface; and

displaying a warning to the user, the warning comprising instructions on how to modify the image portion to improve compatibility with the dot pattern.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transferring the user-specific application directly to the smart pen.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transferring the user-specific application to a content store for distribution to a plurality of smart pens.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the image on the writing surface is drawn on the writing surface using a smart pen, and wherein the computer-readable image is captured by the smart pen as the image on the writing surface is drawn.