Digital sketchpad: A Portable scetching device

Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT Scholar Works

Theses

Thesis/Dissertation Collections

11-1-2005

Digital sketchpad: A Portable scetching device

Jung-Hwa Kim

Follow this and additional works at:

http://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Thesis/Dissertation Collections at RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please [email protected].

Recommended Citation

Rochester Instituteof

Technology

A Thesis

Submitted

to the

Faculty

of

The Collegeof

Imaging

ArtsandSciences

in

Candidacy

fortheDegree of

MasterofFine Arts

Digital Sketchpad:

A Portable

Sketching

Device

By

Jung-Hwa Kim

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ii

LIST OFILLUSTRATIONS hi

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1

The Problem

AnalysisandResearch

Shortcomingsof

Existing

Products

Display Technology

ErgonomicResearch

CHAPTER 2. DESIGNDEVELOPMENT 5

Goals

Criteria

Concept Development

EvaluationofConcepts

CHAPTER3. FINAL DESIGN 10

Features

Interface Design

Presentation

3D ComputerModel Renderings

Physical Models

Thesis Show Exhibition

CHAPTER 4. EVALUATION ANDCONCLUSION 23

Presentation

Technology

Design

BIBLIOGRAPHY 24

LISTOF TABLES

Table Page

LIST OFILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1. Wacom Graphire 2

2. Seiko Smartpad 3

3. Lucent Technologies E-paper 4

4. "Roll-outscreen"

concept 7

5.

"Fold-up

planner"

concept 7

6. "Wearabledevice"

concept 8

7. Thecontouredformgrippedinonehand 10

8. Thecontouredformgrippedwithtwohands 11

9. Thecontouredform-sideview 11

10. The

telescoping

panel 12

1 1. ComponentsoftheDigitalSketchpad 13

12. The

USB,

antenna,andACadapter 13

13. Thepower switch 14

14. The Digital Sketchpadconnectedtoa computer 14

15. The sketchingposition 15

16. Thestylus 15

17. The E-paper

display

16

18. The Interface design 17

19. 3Dcomputermodel _{rendering showing}components 18

20. 3Dcomputermodel _{renderingshowing}open and closed positions 19

21. The Ren Boardmodel components 20

22. Themodel_makingprocess ₂₀

23. The finalphysicalmodels ₂₁

24. Thesisshowexhibition overall view 22

25. Thesisshowexhibition_close-upview 22

CHAPTER1

INTRODUCTION

The Problem

Today

we_relymore on computerstoperformourfunctionaltasks.

Many

professional

fieldsincorporateadvanced applicationsintotheirrespective areas.Forexample,widelyutilized

computer applications such as

Photoshop

andIllustratorallow peopletocapture concepts and

ideas inthecomputer ratherthanon paper.

However,

sketching usingamousehas its limitationsandcanbe inconvenient. Usersare

restrictedtotheuse ofa mouseinsteadof apentosketchnatural curves exceptwith some

products. Thosewhoprefer a more comfortablehand

drawing

positiontoa mouse_{may find it}

difficultto

fully

expresstheirideas. Ashortfallofartbasedcomputerapplicationssuchas

Photoshop

andIllustrator isthatpeople needtoinstalltheseapplications on acomputerthat

cannotbe easilycarriedaroundintheirpalm.Theselimitationsexplain_whymost people

today

still make sketchesonpaper.

However,

theproblem associatedwithsketches on paperisthe

excessconsumptionthatleadstoa wasteof paper.

Also,

thesesketches arehardtoorganize,and

take_uptoomuch space.

Bulky drawing

materials such ascolorpencils, paint, charcoal,and pens

are someofthe_{necessary items}thatone_normallycarriesin hisorher bag.

Ideasonpaper cannotbe

instantly

convertedintoaflexible digital

format,

otherwise a

part oftheconcept_{may be lost}orforgotten

by

the timea user getstoacomputerbecausethe

usersideasoften cometothem_unexpectedlyat_anytimeor_anyplace.

Thisthesispaper solvestheproblemsof_sketchingon paper and_{in usingexisting}

productsthatare_currentlyonthemarketfor hand drawing.

My

projectisadigitaland portable

devicethathasattributes suchas;compactsize,

lightweight,

and portability.Thesefeaturesallow

AnalysisandResearch

Shortcomingsof

Existing

Products

Figurescanbesketched on a computer_{using Wacom's} Graphire1orSeiko SmartPad2for

thePalmOrganizer3

applications(See Fig. 1andFig.

2),

buttheseproductshaverestrictions.The

Wacom Graphire isnot a portable productthatcanbecarriedaroundeasily becauseatablethas

tobeconnectedtoa computer via a cabletoaUSB4or serialport.

The Seiko Smart Pad forthePalm Organizer isportable,but it doesnotoffer_any

applicationstochange various colors andbrushstylesusedforthesketches.WithSeiko Smart

[image:9.523.103.388.288.483.2]

Pad,

ausercan_{only draw black lines}withapenciltool.

Fig. 1. Wacom Graphire

1

Graphire,the mouse,pen andtabletsetfrom Wacom

Technology

Co. <http://www.wacom.com> 2

SmartPad,a notepad which captureshandwrittennotes,<http://www.seikosmart.com/products/smartpad/>

3

Palm INC.http://www.palmos.com 4

USB-UniversalSerial Bus. Aroyalty-freeconnectorstandardfor PCs. The USBallows_upto 127

[image:10.523.157.395.75.246.2]

Fig. 2. Seiko SmartPad

Display Technology

A promising

display

technology

for

drawing

iselectronic

paper5

display

(See Fig. 3).

Theattributesof compact sizeandlight-weightmaterial are emphasizedinthis technology.

Electronicpaperis thin,

flexible,

portable,lightaspaper,and canberolled-out.Electronicpaper

will soonbegintoreplacethedisplaysonpagers,cellular phones and personaldigitalassistants.

Electronicpaperenablesthedisplay'spaper-like qualities: _{easy viewing from}wide angles and

extraordinary brightness. The resultingsheetofelectronic paperisaboutthe thicknessofthin

cardboard(about 1mm). Anelectronicpapersheet ofthesizeofa standardletterwould costless

than$10tomake.

:

[image:11.523.120.371.43.271.2]

Fig. 3. Lucent Technologies Electronicpaper

Ergonomic Research

According

totheresearchfor WacomofThe Global ErgonomicTechnologies,6

a

comparison of posturesfrompen and mouse useindicatesthat thereis less deviationofposture

fromaneutral arm position

during

penusethan

during

mouseuse.Studiesof mouse usagehave

demonstratedexcessivedeviation fromtheneutralposition. Penuseresultsina more neutral arm

positionthan

during

mouseuse.

Therefore,

theresearchimpliesthatpen useis_{ergonomically}

superiorwhen comparedtomouse use.

6

For informationonthisstudygotohttp://vvww.wacom.com/productinfo/features.htmltodownloadthis

CHAPTER 2

DESIGNDEVELOPMENT

Goals

Thefirstgoal ofthedesignistobeableto take thehandhelddeviceanywhere onegoesto

sketch.Itwould_{be easy}to takeontrips,meetings or evenjusttolunch becauseofitsportability.

Thedesignwouldbe_{aesthetically}pleasing,like ApplecomputersiBookandPowerBook.

Thesecond goalistobeabletosend sketches_alreadysavedinthemachinetoother

peopleviaWireless Internet Access.

Thereby,

making it veryconvenienttosendsketchestoother

people at_anytimeand_anyplace.

The lastgoalistobeabletocreate a_{user-friendly interface}thatusers can_easilysketch

on.

They

wouldbeableto_easilytransfersketchesintoapplications such as

PhotoShop

or

Illustratortoenhancethesketches.Simple iconswouldbe easytounderstand anduse.This

devicewouldprovidedifferenttypesoftools.There wouldbea_varietyoftoolstosketch

drawings in manycolorssothatpeople would notbe intimidated

by

the

technology

and would

have fun usingthisproduct.

Criteria

Thecriteriaforthedesignistodefineadevicethatwillaccomplishthegoals.The design

conceptswouldbe developedand evaluated

by

thedeterminedcriteria. I determinedthe

following

criteria respectiveto thegoals:

User-friendly

interface- The

display

size shouldbesimilarto thatof a standard size

of apaper sketchpad about6 inchesx8 inches. The

display

thicknessshouldbeabout

80micrometersthick,twicethe thicknessof a sheet of_ordinarypaper.

Easy

transfer

shouldbepossibleintoapplications suchas

PhotoShop

andIllustratortofurther

Portability

- The

size shouldbesmall enoughto takeanywherecomfortably.

Housing

size shouldbe lessthan4inches

(wide)

x7inches

(long)

x2inches (thick).

Theweight shouldbelessthan 1.5pounds.Arechargeable alkaline

battery

shouldbe

placedinbottomofthehousing.

Lowcost

-ThepriceforthisdeviceshouldbenomorethanUSD$400.

Ergonomics

-Thedeviceshould accommodateboth right-handedandleft-handed

users.

Aesthetics- To differentiate from

thecurrenthand-heldcomputerproducts_today,the

deviceshould avoidtherectangular shapesandthecolor gray.The designshould

emphasize characteristics such asbrightcolors anda slim profile.

Concept Development

After

drawing

_manythumbnail sketchesthatgenerated_{many different ideas}andshapes,I

chose3conceptstobemocked_{up in}three-dimensionalform. The 3 concepts were asfollows:

1. Arollout screen

-Thescreen canberolledintothe twosidesinorderto_{occupy less}

space.Theuseofflexible "electronic

paper"

makesthispossible.(See Fig. 4).

2. A

fold-up

planner- The_screen

canbe

folded-up,

collapsableinto halfthesize(See

Fig. 5).

3. Awearabledevice- The_user

Fig. 4. "Roll-outscreen"

[image:14.523.83.440.50.214.2]

concept

[image:14.523.76.443.336.536.2]

[image:15.523.104.405.53.242.2]

Fig. 6. "Wearabledevice"

EvaluationofConcepts

Afterconcept

development,

thecommitteeandIevaluatedeach concept_mock-upmade

withblue foam.

According

to theevaluation,theroll-out concept satisfiedthemostcriteria.The

finalconcept shouldbeabletohavea compact size

housing

butreasonable

display

size.The

display

surface shouldbe flatand smoothforsketching.

CONCEPT

CRITERIA

CONCEPT 1

(roll-out)

CONCEPT- 2

(fold-up)

CONCEPT- 3

(wearable

device)

User-friendly

interface

o

o

O

Portability

o

o

o

Lowcost

o

O

o

Ergonomics

O

o

o

Aesthetics

O

o

o

Largesatisfaction

o

Mediumsatisfaction

O Smallsatisfaction

CHAPTER 3

FINAL DESIGN

Features

In

designing

theDigital

Sketchpad,

I determinedthefinal formtobecontouredto the

shape ofthepalm(See

Fig.7,

Fig

8and

Fig

_{9). When opening}this

device,

the shape wouldbe

comfortableto theuser.Ialsodesignedthe

telescoping

paneltostabilizetheflexiblescreen(See

Fig. 10). Thepannel_{has very}thinandhardmaterialto

keep

theproductlight inweight.Toroll

outthis

display,

atraditionalrollersystemisemployed.Therollersystemmakesitsmallerin

size.

[image:17.523.140.413.287.653.2]

i

Fig. 7. Thecontouredformgrippedinonehand

Fig. 8. Thecontouredformgrippedwithtwohands

Fig.9. Thecontouredform

-sideview

[image:18.523.93.311.38.325.2] [image:18.523.91.441.386.647.2]

Fig. 10. The

telescoping

panel

The Digital Sketchpadwouldincludeseveral components(See Fig. 1 1). Aninputsystem

consistsof aFirewire/USB,Wireless Internet

Access,

and a stylus(See Fig.

12,

Fig. 13andFig.

14). The Firewire/USB port canbeconnectedtoa computer.The Wireless Internet Accesscanbe

usedas asourceofinstant datatransferand communication.Thestyluslooks likea pencil that

will work withauser's particular

drawing

style.Thispendoesnotneedbatteriesor an awkward

cord(See Fig. 15andFig. 16). TheoutputsystemistheElectronicpaper

display

(See. Fig. 17).

Thesize ofthe

display

is 5.5 inchesx7.5 inchesx0.06

inches,

whichisthe same as astandard

paper sketchpad.Thescreen resolution of 150 dotsperinchprovides_crispreadableinformation

and clearcolors.This device ispowered

by

rechargeable

battery

withanACadapter(See

Fig

12).

Thesize ofthe

battery

is lessthan thatoftwoAAA batteries. The_memorywouldbeatleast32

MBofRAMavailableforoperation.

[image:19.523.89.469.38.326.2]

Fig. 1 1. ComponentsoftheDigital Sketchpad

ma

[image:20.523.65.438.23.625.2]

f"'!WZ

Fig. 12. The

USB,

antenna,andACadapter [image:20.523.72.436.36.305.2]

:;:- ..:-:;i:X^"V-'*

'

[image:21.523.79.445.61.361.2]

M

Fig. 13. Thepower switch

mmmsgri:.

Fig. 14. TheDigitalSketchpadconnectedtoa computer

[image:21.523.79.447.133.632.2]

[image:22.523.94.437.38.295.2]

Fig. 15. The sketchingposition

Fig. 16. Thestylus

[image:22.523.91.437.357.618.2]

[image:23.523.76.452.38.323.2]

Fig. 17. Theelectronicpaper

display

Interface Design

Theinterfacewasdesignedwith simplevisual icons (See Fig. 18). Theusers could

enhancetheirsketcheswithcomputer applications such as

Photoshop

andIllustrator.The

interfacewasdesignedtobesimilartoAdobe Illustratorsothattheusers wouldbe familiarwith

theinterface. Theactive sketch areais 5 inchesx7 inches.

1%

5H&

I

Digital Sketch PAD

File Edit Object Type Pill

? E3

vi.evv Window Help

[oTdToFISI

E2 Friday, April 27th 5:30PM

Fig. 18.TheInterface design

[image:24.523.100.463.189.478.2]

Presentation

3DComputerModel Renderings

Thevirtual models oftheDigitalSketchpadwere constructedinthecomputer

by

_using

Alias/Wavefrontstudio9.5 (See

Fig

19andFig.20). Themodelswerethenviewedatmany [image:25.523.52.483.190.473.2]

differentangles. 3Drenderings showedtheproductinvariousmaterials,texturesandcolors.

Fig. 19. 3Dcomputer modelrenderingshowingcomponents

[image:26.523.50.484.38.325.2]

Fig. 20. 3Dcomputer model_{rendering showing}open and closed positions

Physical Models

After exportingthetechnicaldrawingsfrom Alias/Wavefrontstudio

9.5,

1 builtseveral

full-sizephysical models(SeeFig. 21andFig.22). Models intheclosed and opened positions

were made withRen Shape 350 Board (See Fig. 23).

[image:27.523.94.438.38.298.2]

Fig. 21. The Ren Boardmodel components

Fig. 22. Themodel_makingprocess

[image:27.523.91.440.357.620.2]

[image:28.523.87.467.39.325.2]

Fig. 23. The finalphysical models

Thesis Show Exhibition

Forthe_galleryexhibition,postersweredesignedtopresentthefeaturesandfunctions.

Foraneffective

display

ofthe

design,

Iplanned an arrangement ofthemodelwithinformational

posters.

Also,

a

display

stand was made ofwoodandtransparentplasticto

display

thefinal

models.

Theshowwasheld in Bevier

Gallery

atRIT fortwoweeksfrom April

23rd

to

May

9th

in 2001

(See Fig. 24andFig.25).

[image:29.523.93.436.41.297.2]

Fig. 24. Thesisshowexhibition overallview

Fig. 25. Thesisshow exhibition_close-upview

[image:29.523.92.438.358.617.2]

CHAPTER4.

EVALUATION ANDCONCLUSION

Variouscomments were madetome attheexhibition

by

_mythesiscommitteeandthe

exhibition audience. Mostgave positivefeedback. Inoticed a specialinterest intheproductfrom

children and parents.Thecomments canbe divided into 3categories:presentation,technology,

anddesign.

Presentation

Atthe exhibition,posters and physical models wereaneffective meanstocommunicate

howtooperatethisproduct.Themodelshelpedtheaudiencetounderstandtheproductmore

clearly.

Technology

The Digital Sketchpadwasdesignedto_{incorporate existing}technologies.

However,

"electronicpaper"

technologyhasyetto_{be widely}marketed.Thisproductisprojectedforthe

nearfuturewhenthe_technologyprogressesintheareaof electronicdisplays. The Digital

Sketchpadwouldbeanidealproductforthe introductionofElectronicpaper use.

Design

TheDigital Sketchpadwasformedas ahumanizedshape.Whenauserworks with

it,

he

orshewillfeel comfortablebecauseofitsergonomic shape.

However,

thedetailsof accessories

suchasthe

battery

spaceand a

handgrip

needtobe further developed.

Also,

more colors_maybe

addedtodistinguisheachcomponent.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bederson,

B.B.,

James D. HollanandGeorge G. Furnas."Pad++:AzoomableGraphical

Sketchpadfor

Exploring

AlternateInterfacePhysics,"

JournalofVisual Languagesand

Computing.Mar

01,

1996.

Coates,

Del. "CAIDcurrents: digital

vellum,"

Innovation.

Vol.12,

no.2

(Spring

1993).

Picchi,

Francesca. "PDA Personal DigitalAssistant,"

Domus.no.785(Sep.

1996)

82-85.

Le,

Lana. "The

thinking

Pen,"

LP. fUSA].

Vol.45,

no.7(Nov.

1998)

87.

Hall,

Peter."Palmistry,"

LP. fUSAI.

Vol.46,

no.3

(May 1999)

56-57.

Gioscia,

Richard.

"Planning

Products forPlay,"

Innovation.

Vol.12,

no.4(Fall 1993).

Pheasant,

Stephen. Bodyspace: Anthropometry. ErgonomicsandtheDesignofWork. PA: Taylor&Francis. 1996.

Scrivener,

S.A.R.et al.

"Designing

at adistancevia real-timedesigner-to-designerinteraction,"

DesignStudies. Vol.

14,

no.3 (Jul.

1993)

261-282.

Vossoughi,

Sohraband

Harry

Turvey."Thepower ofInformedDesign,"

Axis,no.48(Summer

1993)132-135.

"Newton Message Pad 110and

Charging

station,"

LP. TUSA1.

Vol.41,

no.4(Jul/Aug. 1994). "What Future for Personal intelligenttools,"

Axis,no.48(Summer

1993)

62-67.

"Product Concept fthePersonalIntelligentcommunicator/General

Magic,"

Axis,no.48(Summer

1993)

68-73. Websites:

Graphire.http://www.wacom.com/graphire/index.html.2000.

Lucent Technologies Licenses Bell Labs

Technology

toE inkand makescashinvestment. http://ww w.1ucent.com/press/0600/000613.coahtml. 2000.

PalmOS-SoftwaresforPalmpilots.http://palmos.com/. 2000.

Palo Alto ProductInternational-IndustrialPesign.http://www.paloaltoproducts.com/. 1999.

SeikoInstruments-SmartLabelPrinterProducts.

http://www.seikosmart.com/products/smartpad.html.2000.

WiredMagazine,http://www.wired.com/wired/current.html. 1994-2000.