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Hardware

Other Uses for Digital Signature Scanners? 16

Posted by Cliff from the finding-more-secondary-uses dept.
Tomcow2000 asks: "I just picked up a stack of digital signature scanners for way-too-cheap. They're originally from Bradlees and they are evidently made by MobiNetix. They have something that looks like a VGA port on the back, but nothing else (not even power). Anybody know what these are and what I can do with them?" Digital Etch-a-Sketch anyone?
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Other Uses for Digital Signature Scanners? More

Other Uses for Digital Signature Scanners?

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  • Does it resemble any of these? [pcupgraders.com]
    Which MODEL do you have?
    Any FCC ID # on it?

    For the copy & pasters: http://www.pcupgraders.com/NewSite/pointofsale/Sig nature%20Capture%20Terminals/mobinetix.htm

    • BTW: Mobinetix changed hands I beleive to AtPos and then to CrossVue. Im not sure if these were buyouts or reorgs though.

      CrossVue is [obviously] here [crossvue.com]

    • Yeah, it looks like the 3100 series. It says on the back model # PW3100. Nothing labeled as FCC ID, but there's some long number in hex that might be it (don't know much about this stuff). BTW, I cracked open one of them, and you appear to be right about the serial port ( bunch of serial processor chips.) Where it gets power, however, is still a mystery. Its brain appears to be a Vadem VG230, which is one of those computer-on-a-chip things with an LCD controller and everything built in. (It runs DOS ;) I can take some pictures and put up a page if anyone's interested...
  • As for the use...
    what about user authentication? sounds very cool, of course forgery is always a possibility...but what if the logon was tied to a specific word that had to be written in a specific way...

  • Another Possibility --
    put one by the phone, fridge etc for phone messages and shopping lists and pipe it into some recognition software or use something like graffiti and have it publish to a private web web that you could view anywhere or even with your cell phone/pda etc...

  • anyone else here today?

  • I would guess that funny vga port is an old fashioned serial port. Is there a standard for these things, if not contact the manafacturer and try and get hold of the interface.

    Another tack is to check out all the Linux point of sale projects and start haunting the mailing lists and looking for existing code.

    You can pick up a pen/tablet combo for under a $70 at http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?p rodzip=&product_code=275321

    I await with interest some of the ideas, graffiti would be a good one. But what else?

    If it has a screen, tic-tac-toe, othello, chess, hangman etc.
  • User authentication.....primitive graffiti sounds fun, but part of the reason I am typing this post on my PC and not my pda is that graffiti is annoying. Any thoughts on using it as a command interface? just lots of commands hotkeyed to you writing certain things (DIE, wake up, sleep, etc). my two cents.
    • yeah youre right, graffiti is annoying. command hotkeys sound better. since its obviously touch sensitive you might be able to assign areas of the screen to run a script or macro when tapped in a specific mapped area. Then make a quick overlay with the mapped areas outlined and labeled...

  • And a follow-up question: What's the current state of the art in freely-available handwriting recognition code? Can I get an X widget that implements an input device for handwritten text?

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