A magnetic device for computer graphic input

Recent work on systems to facilitate the input of graphical information to a computer has resulted in the development of the light pen and the Rand tablet. Both of these devices allow a user to "write" on a flat surface with a special, hand-held electronic pen. Periodically, the pen position is detected and converted into a machine-readable address. In this way, the pattern which is traced out by the pen is directly converted into binary code and stored in the machine. Devices such as these promote the easy input of graphical data such as curves, maps, diagrams, and other drawings. They should also be of interest to many researchers concerned with character and pattern recognition.