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Computer: Input Device: Pen
Gyroscopically Stabilized Stylus for Tablet PCs   (+3, -2)  [vote for, against]
A steadier hand

As the proud owner of a nice little tablet notebook, there have been times in which my somewhat unsteady handwriting has affected whatever I was working on at that time. A small gyroscope strategically positioned would help smooth out any unwanted motions, and the power could recharge while the stylus is not in use.
-- DesertFox, Jan 10 2008

wikipedia propranolol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propranolol
[beanangel, Jan 15 2008]

//A small gyroscope strategically positioned would help smooth out any unwanted motions//

Hmm, gyroscopes are pretty useful for preventing unwanted motions, but have the annoying property of responding to applied force (unwanted motions) in a way that doesn't directly resist the force, but rotates it by 90 degrees.

Need a bit more description to merit a +. May require gyre and gimbaling. Maybe active servoing like a Segway?
-- csea, Jan 10 2008


Gyroscope yes, understand no. Please explain
-- frosto, Jan 10 2008


//May require gyre and gimbaling//...You'd need an outdoor rated screen to use it in your wabe.

I run CorelDraw on my tablet, it does a pretty good job of digital smoothing when drawing in freehand vector mode
-- saxman, Jan 10 2008


just give him an Etch-A-Sketch, he'll never know the difference .......
-- 8th of 7, Jan 11 2008


Isn't bad handwriting the same with a stylus and tablet as with a pencil and paper? I.e., why isn't the idea for gyroscoped writing instruments generally? Or am I missing something?
-- bnip, Jan 12 2008


If you're wanting to smooth out the motion of the stylus, you need it to have higher inertia.

Is this computer's stylus just a solid, pen-shaped object with a blunt (ish) tip, working on a touch screen? That is, does it currently contain any electronics? If not, experiment with a larger, heavier version (try a ball-point pen with a large metal body, preferably one no longer containing ink!). The greater mass will provide some degree of damping, although it will also require greater force to move it, so I'm not sure whether you would benefit overall.
-- david_scothern, Jan 12 2008


archers surgeons n markspersons use Propranolol to steady their hands

wikipedia says it is a hand tremor treatment as well as a cardiac modulator
-- beanangel, Jan 15 2008


Last time I used a pen with a gyroscope in it, it made my writing look like a spirograph. (In all fairness, I think that was the point of the device.)
-- DrCurry, Jan 15 2008


Simply marketable!
-- quantum_flux, Feb 10 2008



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