Electronic Kanji Dictionary Based on "Dasher"

A new interface is proposed for efficiently searching ideographic character sets such as the Japanese Kanji alphabet. The proposed interface is based on MacKay's Dasher, an interface originally designed to enable high-speed computer input for disabled persons. The Dasher interface allows a user to form words and sentences by "gliding" through a field of characters. This paper considers adapting the Dasher approach for gliding through a complex and unfamiliar character space. Information-theoretic algorithms are proposed to make the interface tolerant to variations among individuals' interpretations of Kanji characters, so that it is immediately usable by persons with no prior knowledge of Kanji. A software concept demonstration of the proposed dictionary is available, implementing some of the proposed features and algorithms