LongPen
The LongPen is a remote signing device that allows a user to produce a signature on a physical document from a distant location. It was invented by writer Margaret Atwood in 2004 and debuted in 2006.[1] It allows a person to write remotely in ink anywhere connected to the Internet, via a touchscreen device operating a robotic hand.[2] The system also supports a live audio and video connection between the signer and the receiving location.[1][3]
History
[edit]The concept was conceived by Canadian author Margaret Atwood in early 2004, while she was on a paperback book tour for her novel Oryx and Crake, with the initial aim of allowing authors to sign books for readers without travelling.[1] In 2004, Atwood co-founded Unotchit Inc.[a] with Matthew Gibson to develop the technology.[3] Engineering development was carried out in partnership with Quanser Consulting Inc., a Toronto-based control-systems firm.[3] The system was publicly demonstrated at the London Book Fair in March 2006.[1] The first transatlantic signing using the system took place from Toronto on 24 September 2006. [3] In late 2007, Conrad Black, who was on bail in the United States and awaiting sentencing in a fraud case, used the LongPen from his home in Florida to sign copies of his biography of Richard Nixon at a Toronto book event introduced by Atwood.[4] Unotchit Inc. subsequently shifted its focus from author book-signings to business and legal transaction signing and was renamed Syngrafii Inc. The LongPen became one component of a broader remote-signing product line.[3]
Technology
[edit]The system consists of an input device on which the signer writes, software that captures the kinematics and pressure of the signature, and a robotic writing arm at the receiving end that reproduces the signature in ink on a physical document. Unlike an autopen, which reproduces a stored signature without the signatory present, the LongPen produces a one-time original signature in real time, in conjunction with an audio-video link between the parties.[3] The underlying technology is the subject of patents filed by Unotchit Inc. and Syngrafii Inc.[b]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Pronounced "you-no-touch-it".
- ↑ This includes U.S. patent 8,867,062 ("Remote signing system"), filed 25 November 2005 and issued 21 October 2014.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Burkeman, Oliver (6 March 2006). "Atwood sign of the times draws blank". The Guardian.
- ↑ Tsirbas, Christos (2007-12-03). "The LongPen: From World-Famous Novelist to High-Tech Entrepreneur". Archived from the original on 2008-04-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Quanser Helps LongPen Find Short Path to Success". Quanser Consulting Inc.
- ↑ "Why the Long Pen?". Toronto Life. December 2007.
- ↑ "US Patent 8,867,062: Remote signing system". United States Patent and Trademark Office.