In many contexts, pen and paper are the ideal option for collecting information despite the pervasiveness of mobile devices. Reasons include the unconstrained nature of sketching or handwriting, as well as the tactility of moving a pen over a paper that supports very fine granular control of the pen. In particular in the context of hospitals, many writing and note taking tasks are still performed using pen and paper. However, often this requires time-consuming transcription into digital form for the sake of documentation. We present Penbook – a system providing a touch screen together with a built-in projector integrated with a wireless pen and a projection screen augmented with Anoto paper. This allows using the pen to write or sketch digital information with light on the projection surface while having the distinct tactility of a pen moving over paper. The touch screen can be used in parallel with the projected information turning the tablet into a dual-display device. This work presents the Penbook concept, detail specific applications in a hospital context, and present a prototype implementation of Penbook. 

< Back to projects