Science writers know as well as anyone how much information a diagram can contain. We often labor to express in words what a researcher was able to convey in a single image. But while a drawing can be rich in information, it's information that's usually inaccessible to computers. If you draw a diagram on the screen of a tablet computer, like the new Apple iPad, the computer can of course store the drawing as an image. But it can't tell what the image means.
MIT researchers intend to change that, with a new system that can interpret sketches. If a chemist, for example, uses a stylus — an inkless plastic pen — to draw a molecule on a tablet computer, the software can identify different types of chemical bonds and element symbols and determine the structure of the molecule. Similarly, if an electrical engineer draws a circuit diagram, the software will identify the circuit's separate components — like resistors, capacitors, batteries, and simple wires — and display them in different colors.
Once a sketch has been interpreted by computer, it becomes much more useful. A chemical sketch, for instance, could be the basis for a literature search, to see whether there's any prior research on the same molecule; analysis software could determine whether the circuit depicted in a sketch will perform as intended. Or design software could simply clean up and standardize a sketch for display in a journal or PowerPoint presentation.
"Traditionally, there's been some distinct flavors of shape or symbol recognizers. Some looked at how the shape was drawn — how many pen strokes and in what direction — and some looked at the final image," Stahovich says. "What Tom has managed to do is come up with a technique that combines strengths of both approaches in a unique way." The researchers see the software as part of a larger project to make interactions with computers as natural as interactions with human beings.
Read more at: http://www.physorg.com/news185797868.html
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