A newly filed patent (number 20210216760) shows that Apple is looking into ways to further improve handwriting on the iPad. The patent filing is dubbed “spatial and temporal sequence-to-sequence modeling for handwriting recognition.”
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple notes that user may move a finger or a stylus (think Apple Pencil) on a device display to generate handwritten input. A handwriting recognition model may then convert the handwritten input into one or more characters.
However, the accuracy and efficiency of handwriting recognition can depend on the model used. Apple says that “improved techniques and models for recognizing handwriting are desirable.”
The patent filing summary
Here’s Apple’s summary of the patent filing: “An example process for recognizing handwritten input includes obtaining input data representing handwritten input, where the handwritten input is associated with a first dimension and a second dimension relative to the handwritten input; sampling the input data to obtain a plurality of coordinates representing the handwritten input; determining, based on the plurality of coordinates, a sequence of vectors representing a respective plurality of portions of the handwritten input, where: each portion of the respective plurality of portions is associated with a respective height and width corresponding respectively to the first and second dimensions, the respective height being greater than the respective width; and consecutive vectors of the sequence of vectors represent respective consecutive portions of the handwritten input; generating, using a handwriting recognition model, based on the sequence of vectors, one or more characters for the handwritten input; and causing the one or more characters to be displayed.”
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
