Character Reading via Stylus Reproducing Normal Handwriting Motion

In this paper, we report a method of intuitively transmitting symbolic information to untrained users via only their hands, without using any visual or auditory cues. In this simple concept, three-dimensional letter trajectories are presented to the user's hand via a stylus which is mechanically manipulated. In experiments, participants were able to read 14 mm-high lower-case letters displayed at a rate of one letter per second with an accuracy rate of 71.9 percent in their first trials, which improved to 91.3 percent after a 5-minute training period. These results showed small individual differences among participants (standard deviation of 12.7 percent in the first trials and 6.7 percent after training). We also found that this accuracy was still retained to a high level (85.1 percent, with SD of 8.2 percent) even when the letters were reduced to a height of 7 mm. Thus, we revealed that sighted adults potentially possess the ability to read small letters accurately at normal writing speed using their hands.