US20090078778A1 - Coding pattern with data elements encoding by multi-pulse position modulation - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof. The coding pattern comprises a plurality of data elements, which encode data values by multi-pulse position modulation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
• The present application claims the right of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/974,077, filed Sep. 21, 2007 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
FIELD OF INVENTION
• The present invention relates to a position-coding pattern on a surface.
CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS
• The following applications have been filed by the Applicant simultaneously with the present application:

• NPT088US	NPT089US	NPT090US	NPT092US	NPT093US	NPT094US
  NPT095US	NPT096US	NPT097US	NPS151US	NPP090US	NPP091US
  NPP092US	NPP093US	NPP094US	NPP095US	NPP096US	NPP097US
  NPS149US	NPS150US	NPZ032US	NPZ033US	NPP099US	NPP100US
  NPP101US	NPP102US	NPP103US	NPP104US	NPP105US	NPP106US
  NPP107US	NPP108US

• The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by reference. The above applications have been identified by their filing docket number, which will be substituted with the corresponding application number, once assigned.
CROSS REFERENCES
• The following patents or patent applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention are hereby incorporated by cross-reference.

• 10/815621	10/815635	10/815647	11/488162	10/815636	11/041652	11/041609
  11/041556	10/815609	7204941	7278727	10/913380	7122076	7156289
  09/575197	6720985	7295839	09/722174	7068382	7094910	7062651
  6644642	6549935	6987573	6727996	6760119	7064851	6290349
  6428155	6785016	6831682	6741871	6965439	10/932044	6870966
  6474888	6724374	6788982	7263270	6788293	6737591	09/693514
  10/778056	10/778061	11/193482	7055739	6830196	7182247	7082562
  10/409864	7108192	10/492169	10/492152	10/492168	10/492161	7308148
  6957768	7170499	11856061	11/672522	11/672950	11754310	12015507
  7148345	12025746	12025762	12025765	10/407212	6902255	6755509

BACKGROUND
• The Applicant has previously described a method of enabling users to access information from a computer system via a printed substrate e.g. paper. The substrate has a coding pattern printed thereon, which is read by an optical sensing device when the user interacts with the substrate using the sensing device. A computer receives interaction data from the sensing device and uses this data to determine what action is being requested by the user. For example, a user may make make handwritten input onto a form or make a selection gesture around a printed item. This input is interpreted by the computer system with reference to a page description corresponding to the printed substrate.
• It would desirable to improve the coding pattern on the substrate so as to maximize usage of images captured by the sensing device.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
• In a first aspect the present invention provides a substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof, said coding pattern comprising a plurality of data elements, said data elements encoding data values by multi-pulse position modulation.
• Optionally, said data elements are macrodots.
• Optionally, a portion of data is represented by two or more macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions within said coding pattern, the positions of said two or more macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.
• Optionally, the substrate comprising:
• • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
  • a plurality of said data elements contained in each cell; and
  • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined by a plurality of contiguous cells, each tag comprising respective tag data encoded by a respective set of said data elements.
• Optionally, a portion of data is represented by m macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions p within said cell, the respective positions of said macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.
• Optionally, said portion of data is a Reed-Solomon symbol.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising a plurality of Reed-Solomon symbols encoded by a plurality of said data elements.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more, and p>m.
• Optionally, p≧2m.
• Optionally, p is 6 and m is 2 or 3.
• Optionally, said tag data is encoded as a local codeword comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, each local codeword identifies a location of a respective tag.
• Optionally, each tag comprises one or more common codewords, each common codeword being comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein said one or more common codewords are defined as codewords common to a plurality of contiguous tags.
• Optionally, each symbol group comprises a fragment of at least one of said one or more common codewords, and contiguous symbol groups are arranged such that any substantially tag-sized portion of said coding pattern is guaranteed to contain said one or more common codewords irrespective of whether a whole tag is contained in said portion.
• Optionally, said one or more common codewords encode region identity data uniquely identifying a region of said surface.
• Optionally, said one or more common codewords uniquely identifies said substrate.
• Optionally, each cell comprises one or more registration symbols encoded by a respective set of said data elements, said registration symbols identifying one or more of:
• • a translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;
  • an orientation of a layout of said tag data with respect to said target grid; and
  • a flag for said tag.
• Optionally, each cell comprises a pair of orthogonal registration symbols, each orthogonal registration symbol identifying one or more of:
• • a respective orthogonal translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;
  • a respective direction component of said orientation; and
  • a flag for said tag.
• Optionally, said target elements are sufficiently large to be distinguishable from said data elements by a low-pass filter.
• Optionally, said target elements are target dots and said data elements are macrodots, and wherein each target dot has a diameter of at least twice that of each macrodot.
• In a second aspect the present invention provides a method of imaging a coding pattern disposed on a surface of a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:
• • (a) capturing an image of a portion of said coding pattern, said coding pattern comprising:
    • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
    • a plurality of data elements contained in each cell; and
    • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined by a plurality of contiguous cells, each tag comprising respective local tag data encoded by a respective set of said data elements, wherein said data elements encode data values by multi-pulse position modulation; and
  • (b) low-pass filtering said captured image so as to obscure said data elements and preserve said target elements.
• Optionally, said data elements are macrodots.
• Optionally, a portion of data is represented by m macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions p within said cell, the respective positions of said macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more, and p>m.
• Optionally, p is 6 and m is 2 or 3.
• Optionally, said portion of data is a Reed-Solomon symbol.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising a plurality of Reed-Solomon symbols encoded by a plurality of said data elements.
• Optionally, said tag data is encoded as a local codeword comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, each local codeword identifies a location of a respective tag.
• Optionally, the method comprising the further steps of:
• • observing a perspective distortion of said preserved target elements due to a 3D orientation of a reader relative to said surface; and
  • calculating a 2D perspective transform using said target elements.
• In another aspect the present invention provides a system for imaging a coding pattern disposed on a surface of a substrate, said system comprising:
• (A) said substrate, wherein said coding pattern comprises:
• • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
  • a plurality of data elements contained in each cell; and
  • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined by a plurality of contiguous cells, each tag comprising respective local tag data encoded by a respective set of said data elements, wherein said data elements encode data values by multi-pulse position modulation; and
• (B) an optical reader comprising:
• • an image sensor for capturing an image of a portion of said coding pattern; and
  • a processor configured for low-pass filtering said captured image so as to obscure said data elements and preserve said target elements.
• Optionally, said data elements are macrodots.
• Optionally, a portion of data is represented by m macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions p within said cell, the respective positions of said macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more, and p>m.
• Optionally, p is 6 and m is 2 or 3.
• Optionally, said portion of data is a Reed-Solomon symbol.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising a plurality of Reed-Solomon symbols encoded by a plurality of said data elements.
• Optionally, said tag data is encoded as a local codeword comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, said reader is an optically imaging pen having a nib.
• Optionally, said processor is further configured for:
• • observing a perspective distortion of said preserved target elements due to a 3D orientation of said reader relative to said surface; and
  • calculating a 2D perspective transform using said target elements.
• In a third aspect the present invention provides a substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof, said coding pattern comprising a plurality of macrodots, said macrodots encoding one or more Reed-Solomon codewords, each codeword being comprised of first Reed-Solomon symbols and second Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein:
• • each first Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by m macrodots, each of said m macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said m macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • each second Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by n macrodots, each of said n macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said n macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • wherein p>n>m.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more.
• Optionally, p≧2m.
• Optionally, n=m+1
• Optionally, said first Reed-Solomon symbols are data symbols.
• Optionally, m=2 and p=6 which provides 15 possible symbol values, and wherein said first Reed-Solomon data symbols are 4-bit symbols converted to base 15 prior to encoding.
• Optionally, said second Reed-Solomon symbols are redundancy symbols.
• Optionally, n=3 and p=6 which provides 20 possible symbol values, and wherein unused symbol values are treated as erasures.
• Optionally, the substrate comprising:
• • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
  • a plurality of said macrodots contained in each cell; and
  • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined at least one cell, each tag comprising tag data which includes at least one Reed-Solomon codeword.
• Optionally, each tag is defined by a plurality of contiguous cells.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising said first and second Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, each tag comprises a local codeword comprised of first and second Reed-Solomon symbols, said local codeword identifying a location of a respective tag.
• Optionally, each tag comprises one or more common codewords, each common codeword being comprised of first and second Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein said one or more common codewords are defined as codewords common to a plurality of contiguous tags.
• Optionally, said one or more common codewords encode region identity data uniquely identifying a region of said surface.
• Optionally, said one or more common codewords uniquely identifies said substrate.
• Optionally, each cell comprises one or more registration symbols encoded by a respective set of said macrodots, said registration symbols identifying one or more of:
• • a translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;
  • an orientation of a layout of said tag data with respect to said target grid; and
  • a flag for said tag.
• Optionally, each cell comprises a pair of orthogonal registration symbols, each orthogonal registration symbol identifying one or more of:
• • a respective orthogonal translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;
  • a respective direction component of said orientation; and
  • a flag for said tag.
• Optionally, said target elements are sufficiently large to be distinguishable from said macrodots by a low-pass filter.
• Optionally, each target element has a diameter of at least twice that of each macrodot.
• In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a method of imaging a coding pattern disposed on a surface of a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:
• • (a) operatively positioning an optical reader relative to said surface and capturing an image of a portion of said coding pattern, said coding pattern comprising:
  • a plurality of macrodots, said macrodots encoding one or more Reed-Solomon codewords, each codeword being comprised of first Reed-Solomon symbols and second Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein:
  • each first Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by m macrodots, each of said m macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said m macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • each second Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by n macrodots, each of said n macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said n macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • wherein p>n>m.
  • (b) sampling and decoding at least one Reed-Solomon codeword contained in said imaged portion; and
  • (c) determining, using said at least one decoded codeword, at least one of:
    • a position of said reader;
    • an identity of said substrate;
    • a digital signature; and
    • a fragment of an embedded data object.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more.
• Optionally, said first Reed-Solomon symbols are data symbols.
• Optionally, m=2 and p=6 which provides 15 possible symbol values, and wherein said first Reed-Solomon data symbols are 4-bit symbols converted to base 15 prior to encoding.
• Optionally, said second Reed-Solomon symbols are redundancy symbols.
• Optionally, n=3 and p=6 which provides 20 possible symbol values, and wherein unused symbol values are treated as erasures.
• Optionally, the coding pattern comprises:
• • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
  • a plurality of said macrodots contained in each cell; and
  • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined at least one cell, each tag comprising tag data which includes at least one Reed-Solomon codeword.
• Optionally, each tag is defined by a plurality of contiguous cells.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising said first and second Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, said sampling comprises sampling said first and second Reed-Solomon symbols.
• In a further aspect the present invention provides a system for imaging a coding pattern disposed on a surface of a substrate, said system comprising:
• (A) said substrate, wherein said coding pattern comprises:
• • a plurality of macrodots, said macrodots encoding one or more Reed-Solomon codewords, each codeword being comprised of first Reed-Solomon symbols and second Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein:
  • each first Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by m macrodots, each of said m macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said m macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • each second Reed-Solomon symbol is encoded by n macrodots, each of said n macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality p of predetermined possible positions, the positions of said n macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible Reed-Solomon symbol values;
  • wherein p>n>m; and
• (B) an optical reader comprising:
• • an image sensor for capturing an image of a portion of said coding pattern; and
  • a processor configured for:
    • sampling and decoding at least one Reed-Solomon codeword contained in said imaged portion; and
    • determining, using said at least one decoded codeword, at least one of:
      • a position of said reader;
      • an identity of said substrate;
      • a digital signature; and
      • a fragment of an embedded data object.
• Optionally, m is an integer of 2 or more.
• Optionally, said first Reed-Solomon symbols are data symbols.
• Optionally, m=2 and p=6 which provides 15 possible symbol values, and wherein said first Reed-Solomon data symbols are 4-bit symbols converted to base 15 prior to encoding.
• Optionally, said second Reed-Solomon symbols are redundancy symbols.
• Optionally, n=3 and p=6 which provides 20 possible symbol values, and wherein unused symbol values are treated as erasures.
• Optionally, the coding pattern comprises:
• • a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;
  • a plurality of said macrodots contained in each cell; and
  • a plurality of tags, each tag being defined at least one cell, each tag comprising tag data which includes at least one Reed-Solomon codeword.
• Optionally, each tag is defined by a plurality of contiguous cells.
• Optionally, each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising said first and second Reed-Solomon symbols.
• Optionally, said sampling comprises sampling said first and second Reed-Solomon symbols.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
• Preferred and other embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
• FIG. 1 is a schematic of a the relationship between a sample printed netpage and its online page description;
• FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of basic netpage architecture with various alternatives for the relay device;
• FIG. 3 shows the structure of a tag;
• FIG. 4 shows a group of twelve data symbols and four targets;
• FIG. 5 shows the layout of a 3-6PPM data symbol;
• FIG. 6 shows the spacing of macrodot positions;
• FIG. 7 shows the layout of a 2-6PPM registration symbol;
• FIG. 8 shows a semi-replicated x-coordinate codeword X;
• FIG. 9 shows a semi-replicated y-coordinate codeword Y;
• FIG. 10 shows common codewords A, B, C and D, with codeword A shown in bold outline;
• FIG. 11 shows an optional codeword E;
• FIG. 12 shows the layout of a complete tag;
• FIG. 13 shows the layout of a Reed-Solomon codeword;
• FIG. 14 is a flowchart of image processing;
• FIG. 15 shows a nib and elevation of the pen held by a user;
• FIG. 16 shows the pen held by a user at a typical incline to a writing surface;
• FIG. 17 is a lateral cross section through the pen;
• FIG. 18A is a bottom and nib end partial perspective of the pen;
• FIG. 18B is a bottom and nib end partial perspective with the fields of illumination and field of view of the sensor window shown in dotted outline;
• FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross section of the pen;
• FIG. 20A is a partial longitudinal cross section of the nib and barrel molding;
• FIG. 20B is a partial longitudinal cross section of the IR LED's and the barrel molding;
• FIG. 21 is a ray trace of the pen optics adjacent a sketch of the ink cartridge;
• FIG. 22 is a side elevation of the lens;
• FIG. 23 is a side elevation of the nib and the field of view of the optical sensor; and
• FIG. 24 is a block diagram of the pen electronics.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS1.1 Netpage System Architecture
• In a preferred embodiment, the invention is configured to work with the netpage networked computer system, a detailed overview of which follows. It will be appreciated that not every implementation will necessarily embody all or even most of the specific details and extensions discussed below in relation to the basic system. However, the system is described in its most complete form to reduce the need for external reference when attempting to understand the context in which the preferred embodiments and aspects of the present invention operate.
• In brief summary, the preferred form of the netpage system employs a computer interface in the form of a mapped surface, that is, a physical surface which contains references to a map of the surface maintained in a computer system. The map references can be queried by an appropriate sensing device. Depending upon the specific implementation, the map references may be encoded visibly or invisibly, and defined in such a way that a local query on the mapped surface yields an unambiguous map reference both within the map and among different maps. The computer system can contain information about features on the mapped surface, and such information can be retrieved based on map references supplied by a sensing device used with the mapped surface. The information thus retrieved can take the form of actions which are initiated by the computer system on behalf of the operator in response to the operator's interaction with the surface features.
• In its preferred form, the netpage system relies on the production of, and human interaction with, netpages. These are pages of text, graphics and images printed on ordinary paper, but which work like interactive webpages. Information is encoded on each page using ink which is substantially invisible to the unaided human eye. The ink, however, and thereby the coded data, can be sensed by an optically imaging sensing device and transmitted to the netpage system. The sensing device may take the form of a clicker (for clicking on a specific position on a surface), a pointer having a stylus (for pointing or gesturing on a surface using pointer strokes), or a pen having a marking nib (for marking a surface with ink when pointing, gesturing or writing on the surface). References herein to “pen” or “netpage pen” are provided by way of example only. It will, of course, be appreciated that the pen may take the form of any of the sensing devices described above.
• In one embodiment, active buttons and hyperlinks on each page can be clicked with the sensing device to request information from the network or to signal preferences to a network server. In one embodiment, text written by hand on a netpage is automatically recognized and converted to computer text in the netpage system, allowing forms to be filled in. In other embodiments, signatures recorded on a netpage are automatically verified, allowing e-commerce transactions to be securely authorized. In other embodiments, text on a netpage may be clicked or gestured to initiate a search based on keywords indicated by the user.
• As illustrated inFIG. 1, a printednetpage1 can represent a interactive form which can be filled in by the user both physically, on the printed page, and “electronically”, via communication between the pen and the netpage system. The example shows a “Request” form containing name and address fields and a submit button. Thenetpage1 consists ofgraphic data2, printed using visible ink, and asurface coding pattern3 superimposed with the graphic data. Thesurface coding pattern3 comprises a collection oftags4. Onesuch tag4 is shown in the shaded region ofFIG. 1, although it will be appreciated thatcontiguous tags4, defined by thecoding pattern3, are densely tiled over thewhole netpage1.
• The correspondingpage description5, stored on the netpage network, describes the individual elements of the netpage. In particular it describes the type and spatial extent (zone) of each interactive element (i.e. text field or button in the example), to allow the netpage system to correctly interpret input via the netpage. The submit button6, for example, has azone7 which corresponds to the spatial extent of the corresponding graphic8.
• As illustrated inFIG. 2, anetpage sensing device400, such as the pen described inSection 3, works in conjunction with a netpage relay device601, which is an Internet-connected device for home, office or mobile use. Thepen400 is wireless and communicates securely with the netpage relay device601 via a short-range radio link9. In an alternative embodiment, thenetpage pen400 utilises a wired connection, such as a USB or other serial connection, to the relay device601.
• The relay device601 performs the basic function of relaying interaction data to apage server10, which interprets the interaction data. As shown inFIG. 2, the relay device601 may, for example, take the form of apersonal computer601a,anetpage printer601bor someother relay601c(e.g. personal computer or mobile phone incorporating a web browser).
• Thenetpage printer601bis able to deliver, periodically or on demand, personalized newspapers, magazines, catalogs, brochures and other publications, all printed at high quality as interactive netpages. Unlike a personal computer, the netpage printer is an appliance which can be, for example, wall-mounted adjacent to an area where the morning news is first consumed, such as in a user's kitchen, near a breakfast table, or near the household's point of departure for the day. It also comes in tabletop, desktop, portable and miniature versions. Netpages printed on-demand at their point of consumption combine the ease-of-use of paper with the timeliness and interactivity of an interactive medium.
• Alternatively, the netpage relay device601 may be a portable device, such as a mobile phone or PDA, a laptop or desktop computer, or an information appliance connected to a shared display, such as a TV. If the relay device601 is not anetpage printer601bwhich prints netpages digitally and on demand, the netpages may be printed by traditional analog printing presses, using such techniques as offset lithography, flexography, screen printing, relief printing and rotogravure, as well as by digital printing presses, using techniques such as drop-on-demand inkjet, continuous inkjet, dye transfer, and laser printing.
• As shown inFIG. 2, thenetpage sensing device400 interacts with a portion of the tag pattern on a printednetpage1, or other printed substrate such as a label of aproduct item251, and communicates, via a short-range radio link9, the interaction to the relay device601. The relay601 sends corresponding interaction data to the relevantnetpage page server10 for interpretation. Raw data received from thesensing device400 may be relayed directly to thepage server10 as interaction data. Alternatively, the interaction data may be encoded in the form of an interaction URI and transmitted to thepage server10 via a user'sweb browser601c.Theweb browser601cmay then receive a URI from thepage server10 and access a webpage via awebserver201. In some circumstances, thepage server10 may access application computer software running on anetpage application server13.
• The netpage relay device601 can be configured to support any number of sensing devices, and a sensing device can work with any number of netpage relays. In the preferred implementation, eachnetpage sensing device400 has a unique identifier. This allows each user to maintain a distinct profile with respect to anetpage page server10 orapplication server13.
• Digital, on-demand delivery ofnetpages1 may be performed by thenetpage printer601b,which exploits the growing availability of broadband Internet access. Netpage publication servers14 on the netpage network are configured to deliver print-quality publications to netpage printers. Periodical publications are delivered automatically to subscribing netpage printers via pointcasting and multicasting Internet protocols. Personalized publications are filtered and formatted according to individual user profiles.
• A netpage pen may be registered with anetpage registration server11 and linked to one or more payment card accounts. This allows e-commerce payments to be securely authorized using the netpage pen. The netpage registration server compares the signature captured by the netpage pen with a previously registered signature, allowing it to authenticate the user's identity to an e-commerce server. Other biometrics can also be used to verify identity. One version of the netpage pen includes fingerprint scanning, verified in a similar way by the netpage registration server.
1.2 Netpages
• Netpages are the foundation on which a netpage network is built. They provide a paper-based user interface to published information and interactive services.
• As shown inFIG. 1, a netpage consists of a printed page (or other surface region) invisibly tagged with references to anonline description5 of the page. Theonline page description5 is maintained persistently by thenetpage page server10. The page description describes the visible layout and content of the page, including text, graphics and images. It also describes the input elements on the page, including buttons, hyperlinks, and input fields. A netpage allows markings made with a netpage pen on its surface to be simultaneously captured and processed by the netpage system.
• Multiple netpages (for example, those printed by analog printing presses) can share the same page description. However, to allow input through otherwise identical pages to be distinguished, each netpage may be assigned a unique page identifier. This page ID has sufficient precision to distinguish between a very large number of netpages.
• Each reference to thepage description5 is repeatedly encoded in the netpage pattern. Each tag (and/or a collection of contiguous tags) identifies the unique page on which it appears, and thereby indirectly identifies thepage description5. Each tag also identifies its own position on the page. Characteristics of the tags are described in more detail below.
• Tags are typically printed in infrared-absorptive ink on any substrate which is infrared-reflective, such as ordinary paper, or in infrared fluorescing ink. Near-infrared wavelengths are invisible to the human eye but are easily sensed by a solid-state image sensor with an appropriate filter.
• A tag is sensed by a 2D area image sensor in the netpage sensing device, and the tag data is transmitted to the netpage system via the nearest netpage relay device601. Thepen400 is wireless and communicates with the netpage relay device601 via a short-range radio link. It is important that the pen recognize the page ID and position on every interaction with the page, since the interaction is stateless. Tags are error-correctably encoded to make them partially tolerant to surface damage.
• Thenetpage page server10 maintains a unique page instance for each unique printed netpage, allowing it to maintain a distinct set of user-supplied values for input fields in thepage description5 for each printednetpage1.
2 NETPAGE TAGS2.1 Tag Data Content
• Eachtag4 identifies an absolute location of that tag within a region of a substrate.
• Each interaction with a netpage should also provide a region identity together with the tag location. In a preferred embodiment, the region to which a tag refers coincides with an entire page, and the region ID is therefore synonymous with the page ID of the page on which the tag appears. In other embodiments, the region to which a tag refers can be an arbitrary subregion of a page or other surface. For example, it can coincide with the zone of an interactive element, in which case the region ID can directly identify the interactive element.
• As described in the Applicant's previous applications (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,717), the region identity may be encoded discretely in eachtag4. As will be described in more detail below, the region identity may be encoded by a plurality of contiguous tags in such a way that every interaction with the substrate still identifies the region identity, even if a whole tag is not in the field of view of the sensing device.
• Eachtag4 should preferably identify an orientation of the tag relative to the substrate on which the tag is printed. Orientation data read from a tag enables the rotation (yaw) of the pen101 relative to the substrate to be determined
• Atag4 may also encode one or more flags which relate to the region as a whole or to an individual tag. One or more flag bits may, for example, signal a sensing device to provide feedback indicative of a function associated with the immediate area of the tag, without the sensing device having to refer to a description of the region. A netpage pen may, for example, illuminate an “active area” LED when in the zone of a hyperlink.
• Atag4 may also encode a digital signature or a fragment thereof. Tags encoding (partial) digital signatures are useful in applications where it is required to verify a product's authenticity. Such applications are described in, for example, US Publication No. 2007/0108285, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. The digital signature may be encoded in such a way that it can be retrieved from every interaction with the substrate. Alternatively, the digital signature may be encoded in such a way that it can be assembled from a random or partial scan of the substrate.
• It will, of course, be appreciated that other types of information (e.g. tag size etc) may also be encoded into each tag or a plurality of tags, as will be explained in more detail below.
2.2 General Tag Structure
• As described above in connection withFIG. 1, the netpage surface coding generally consists of a dense planar tiling of tags. In the present invention, eachtag4 is represented by a coding pattern which contains two kinds of elements. Referring toFIGS. 3 and 4, the first kind of element is a target element. Target elements in the form oftarget dots301 allow atag4 to be located in an image of a coded surface, and allow the perspective distortion of the tag to be inferred. The second kind of element is a data element in the form of a macrodot302 (seeFIG. 6). Themacrodots302 encode data values. As described in the Applicant's earlier disclosures (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,717), the presence or absence of a macrodot was be used to represent a binary bit. However, the tag structure of the present invention encodes a data value using multi-pulse position modulation, which is described in more detail in Section 2.3.
• Thecoding pattern3 is represented on the surface in such a way as to allow it to be acquired by an optical imaging system, and in particular by an optical system with a narrowband response in the near-infrared. Thepattern3 is typically printed onto the surface using a narrowband near-infrared ink.
• FIG. 3 shows the structure of acomplete tag4 withtarget elements301 shown. Thetag4 is square and contains sixteen target elements. Thosetarget elements301 located at the edges and corners of the tag (twelve in total) are shared by adjacent tags and define the perimeter of the tag. In contrast with the Applicant's previous tag designs, the high number oftarget elements301 advantageously facilitates accurate determination of a perspective distortion of thetag4 when it is imaged by the sensing device101. This improves the accuracy of tag sensing and, ultimately, position determination.
• Thetag4 consists of a square array of ninesymbol groups303.Symbol groups303 are demarcated by thetarget elements301 so that each symbol group is contained within a square defined by four target elements.Adjacent symbol groups303 are contiguous and share targets.
• Since thetarget elements301 are all identical, they do not demarcate one tag from its adjacent tags. Viewed purely at the level of target elements, onlysymbol groups303, which define cells of a target grid, can be distinguished—thetags4 themselves are indistinguishable by viewing only the target elements. Hence, tags4 must be aligned with the target grid as part of tag decoding.
• Thetag4 is designed to allow all tag data, with the exception of an embedded data object (see Section 2.9.3), to be recovered from an imaging field of view substantially the size of the tag. This implies that any data unique to thetag4 must appear four times within the tag—i.e. once in each quadrant or quarter; any data unique to a column or row of tags must appear twice within the tag—i.e. once in each horizontal half or vertical half of the tag respectively; and any data common to a set of tags needs to appear once within the tag.
2.3 Symbol Groups
• As shown inFIG. 4, each of the ninesymbol groups303 comprises twelvedata symbols304, each data symbol being part of a codeword. In addition, eachsymbol group303 comprises a pair of registration symbols—a vertical registration symbol (‘VRS’) and a horizontal registration symbol (‘HRS’). These allow the orientation and translation of the tag in the field of view to be determined. Translation refers to the translation of tag(s) relative to thesymbol groups303 in the field of view. In other words, the registration symbols enable alignment of the ‘invisible’ tags with the target grid.
• Eachdata symbol304 is a multi-pulse position modulated (PPM) data symbol. Typically, eachPPM data symbol304 encodes a single 4-bit Reed-Solomon symbol using 3 macrodots in any of 6 positions {p₀, p₁, p₂, p₃, p₄, p₅}, i.e. using 3-6 pulse-position modulation (PPM). However, it will be appreciated that other forms of multi-PPM encoding are equally possible.
• 3-6PPM has a range of 20 codes, or 4.3 bits, and is used for Reed-Solomon data symbols and Reed-Solomon redundancy symbols.
• FIG. 5 shows the layout for a 3-6PPM data symbol304.
• Table 1 defines the mapping from 3-6PPM symbol values to Reed-Solomon symbol values. Unused symbol values can be treated as erasures.

• TABLE 1
  3-6 PPM to Reed-Solomon symbol mapping

  		Corresponding
  		Reed-Solomon
  	3-6 PPM symbol	symbol value
  	value (p5-p0)	(base 16)
  	000111	unused
  	001011	unused
  	001101	0
  	001110	1
  	010011	2
  	010101	3
  	010110	4
  	011001	5
  	011010	6
  	011100	7
  	100011	8
  	100101	9
  	100110	a
  	101001	b
  	101010	c
  	101100	d
  	110001	e
  	110010	f
  	110100	unused
  	111000	unused

2.4 Targets and Macrodots
• The spacing ofmacrodots302 in both dimensions, as shown inFIG. 6, is specified by the parameter s. It has a nominal value of 127 μm, based on 8 dots printed at a pitch of 1600 dots per inch.
• Only macrodots302 are part of the representation of asymbol304 in the pattern. The outline of asymbol304 is shown in, for example,FIGS. 3 and 4 merely to elucidate more clearly the structure of atag4.
• Amacrodot302 is nominally square with a nominal size of (4/8)s. However, it is allowed to vary in size by ±10% according to the capabilities of the device used to produce the pattern.
• Atarget301 is nominally circular with a nominal diameter of (12/8)s. However, it is allowed to vary in size by ±10% according to the capabilities of the device used to produce the pattern.
• Eachsymbol group303 has a width of 10s. Therefore, eachtag4 has a width of 30s and a length of 30s. However, it should be noted fromFIG. 3 that thetag4 is configured so that somedata symbols304A extend beyond the perimeter edge of thetag4 by one macrodot unit (1s), and interlock withcomplementary symbol groups304B from adjacent tags. This arrangement provides a tessellated pattern ofdata symbols304 within the target grid. From a data acquisition standpoint, tessellation of data symbols in this way increases the effective length of eachtag4 by one macrodot unit.
• The macrodot spacing, and therefore the overall scale of the tag pattern, is allowed to vary by 127 μm and 120 μm according to the capabilities of the device used to produce the pattern. Any deviation from the nominal scale is recorded in each tag (in a tag size ID field) to allow accurate generation of position samples.
• These tolerances are independent of one another. They may be refined with reference to particular printer characteristics.
2.5 Field of View
• As mentioned above, thetag4 is designed to allow all tag data to be recovered from an imaging field of view roughly the size of the tag. Any data common to a set of contiguous tags only needs to appear once within each tag, since fragments of the common data can be recovered from adjacent tags. Any data common only to a column or row of tags must appear twice within the tag—i.e. once in each horizontal half or vertical half of the tag respectively. And any data unique to the tag must appear four times within the tag—i.e. once in each quadrant.
• Although data which is common to a set of tags, in one or both spatial dimensions, may be decoded from fragments from adjacent tags, pulse-position modulated values are best decoded from spatially-coherent samples, since this allows raw sample values to be compared without first being normalised. This implies that the field of view must be large enough to contain two complete copies of each such pulse-position modulated value. The tag is designed so that the maximum extent of a pulse-position modulated value is three macrodots. Making the field of view at least as large as the tag plus three macrodot units guarantees that pulse-position modulated values can be coherently sampled.
• The only exceptions are the translation codes described in the next section, which are four macrodot units long. However, these are highly redundant and the loss of up to four symbols at the edge of the field of view is not a problem.
2.6 Encoded Codes and Codewords
• In this following section (Section 2.6), each symbol inFIGS. 8 to 12 is shown with a unique label. The label consists of an alphabetic prefix which identifies which codeword the symbol is part of, and a numeric suffix which indicates the index of the symbol within the codeword. For simplicity onlydata symbols304 are shown, not registration symbols.
• Although some symbol labels are shown rotated to indicate the symmetry of the layout of certain codewords, the layout of each symbol is determined by its position within a symbol group and not by the rotation of the symbol label (as described in, for example, the Applicant's US Publication No. 2006/146069).
2.6.1 Registration Symbols
• Each registration symbol is encoded using 2-6PPM.FIG. 7 shows the layout of the registration symbol.
• As shown inFIG. 4, the horizontal and vertical registration symbols each appear once within a symbol group. The registration symbols of an entire tag indicate the vertical and horizontal translation of the tag by coding two orthogonal translation codes, and the orientation of the tag by coding two orthogonal direction codes.
• Each registration symbol also encodes a one-bit symbol of a flag code (see Section 2.6.2).
• Table 2 defines the mapping from 2-6PPM registration symbol values to flag code, direction code and translation code symbol values.

• TABLE 2
  2-6 PPM registration symbol values to flag code,
  direction code and translation code symbol mapping

  	2-6 PPM		direction	translation
  	symbol value	flag code	code symbol	code symbol
  	{p5-p0}	symbol value	value	value
  	001, 001	0	0	0
  	000, 011	1
  	100, 010	0	1
  	011, 000	1
  	001, 010	0	0	1
  	000, 101	1
  	010, 100	0	1
  	101, 000	1
  	010, 001	0	0	2
  	000, 110	1
  	100, 100	0	1
  	110, 000	1

  	001, 100	unused
  	010, 010
  	100, 001

• Each row of symbol groups and each column of symbol groups encodes a three-symbol 3-ary cyclic position code. (The Applicant's cyclic position codes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,082,562, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference). The code consists of the codeword (0, 1, 2) and its cyclic shifts. The code has a minimum distance of 3, allowing a single symbol error to be corrected. The codes of an entire tag form a code with a minimum distance of 9, allowing 4 symbol errors to be corrected. If additional symbols are visible within the field of view then they can be used for additional redundancy.
• The translation code symbol value in the middle of the codeword (i.e. 1) is mapped to 2-6PPM symbol values that are their own reverses, while the two translation code symbol values at the ends of the codeword (i.e. 0 and 2) are mapped to 2-6PPM symbol values that are each other's reverses. Thus a 0 read upside-down becomes a 2, and vice versa, while a 1 read upside-down remains a 1.
• Each 2-6PPM symbol value and its reverse map to opposite direction code symbol values. The vertical registration symbols of an entire tag encode 9 symbols of a vertical direction code. This has a minimum distance of 9, allowing 4 symbol errors to be corrected. The horizontal registration symbols of an entire tag encode 9 symbols of a horizontal direction code. This has a minimum distance of 9, allowing 4 symbol errors to be corrected. If additional symbols are visible within the field of view then they can be used for additional redundancy. Any erasures detected during decoding of a translation code can also be used during decoding of a direction code, and vice versa. Together the orthogonal direction codes allow the orientation of the tag to be determined.
• The top left corner of an un-rotated tag is identified by a symbol group whose translation symbols are both zero and whose direction symbols are both zero.
2.6.2 Flag Code
• The flag symbol consists of one bit of data, and is encoded in each vertical and horizontal registration symbol, as shown in Table 2.
• The flag symbol is unique to a tag and is therefore coded redundantly in each quadrant of the tag. Since the flag symbol is encoded in each registration symbol, it appears eight times within each quadrant. Eight symbols form a code with a minimum distance of 8, allowing 3 errors to be corrected. If additional symbols are visible within the field of view then they can be used for additional redundancy. Any erasures detected during decoding of translation and/or direction codes can also be used during decoding of the flag code, and vice versa.
2.6.3 Coordinate Data
• The tag contains an x-coordinate codeword and a y-coordinate codeword used to encode the x and y coordinates of the tag respectively. The codewords are of a shortened 2⁴-ary (11, 3) or (11, 5) Reed-Solomon code. The tag therefore encodes either 12-bit or 20-bit coordinates. An (11, 5) code is used if the <region has long coordinates> flag in the region flags is set (see Table 4). An (11, 3) code is used otherwise.
• Each x coordinate codeword is replicated twice within the tag—in each horizontal half (“north” and “south”), and is constant within the column of tags containing the tag. Likewise, each y coordinate codeword is replicated twice within the tag—in each vertical half (“east” and “west”), and is constant within the row of tags containing the tag. This guarantees that an image of the tag pattern large enough to contain a complete tag is guaranteed to contain a complete instance of each coordinate codeword, irrespective of the alignment of the image with the tag pattern. The instance of either coordinate codeword may consist of fragments from different tags.
• It should be noted that, in the present invention, some coordinate symbols are not replicated and are placed on the dividing line between the two halves of the tag. This arrangement saves tag space since there are not two complete replications of each x-coordinate codeword and each y-coordinate codeword contained in a tag. Since the field of view is at least three macrodot units larger than the tag (as discussed in Section 2.10), the coordinate symbols placed on the dividing line (having awidth 2 macrodot units) are still captured when the surface is imaged. Hence, each interaction with the coded surface still provides the tag location.
• The layout of the x-coordinate codeword is shown inFIG. 8. The layout of the y-coordinate codeword is shown inFIG. 9. It can be seen that x-coordinate symbols X5, X6, X7, X8, X9 and X10 are placed in acentral column310 of thetag4, which divides the eastern half of the tag from the western half. Likewise, the y-coordinate symbols Y5, Y6, Y7, Y8, Y9 and Y10 are placed in acentral row312 of thetag4, which divides the northern half of the tag from the southern half.
• Thecentral column310 andcentral row312 each have a width q, which corresponds to a width of 2s, where s is the macrodot spacing.
2.6.4 Common Data
• The tag contains four codewords A, B, C and D which encode information common to a set of contiguous tags in a surface region. The A codeword is of a 2⁴-ary (15, 5) Reed-Solomon code. The B, C and D codewords are of a 2⁴-ary (15, 7) or (15, 9) Reed-Solomon code. The tag therefore encodes either 112 or 136 bits of information common to a set of contiguous tags. A (15, 9) code is used for the B, C and D codewords if the <region has a long region ID> flag in the region flags is set (see Table 4). A (15, 7) code is used otherwise.
• The common codewords are replicated throughout a tagged region. This guarantees that an image of the tag pattern large enough to contain a complete tag is guaranteed to contain a complete instance of each common codeword, irrespective of the alignment of the image with the tag pattern. The instance of each common codeword may consist of fragments from different tags.
• The layout of the common codewords is shown inFIG. 10. The codewords have the same layout, rotated 90 degree relative to each other.
2.6.5 Optional Data
• The tag optionally contains a codeword E. This codeword may be used to encode a secret-key signature or a fragment of an embedded data object. These are discussed further in Sections 2.9.4 and Section 2.9.3 respectively. The codeword is of a 2⁴-ary (15, 9) Reed-Solomon code.
• The layout of the optional codeword is shown inFIG. 11.
2.6.6 Secret-Key Signature
• The tag optionally contains an entire secret-key digital signature common to a set of contiguous tags in a surface region. The signature consists of sixteen 2⁴-ary symbols (i.e. symbol E15 is also used). The tag therefore optionally encodes up to 64 bits of secret-key signature data.
• The signature is replicated throughout a tagged region. This guarantees that an image of the tag pattern large enough to contain a complete tag is guaranteed to contain a complete instance of the signature, irrespective of the alignment of the image with the tag pattern. The instance of the signature may consist of fragments from different tags.
• The signature, if present, is encoded in the E codeword described in Section 2.6.5.
• Digital signatures are discussed further in Section 2.9.4.
2.6.7 Complete Tag
• FIG. 12 shows the layout of the data of a complete tag, with each symbol group comprising ten data symbols. The vertical and horizontal registration symbols are not shown inFIG. 12.
2.7 Error Detection and Correction2.7.1 Reed-Solomon Encoding
• All data is encoded using a Reed-Solomon code defined over GF(2⁴). The code has a natural length n of 15. The dimension k of the code is chosen to balance the error correcting capacity and data capacity of the code, which are (n−k)/2 and k symbols respectively.
• The code may be punctured, by removing high-order redundancy symbols, to obtain a code with reduced length and reduced error correcting capacity. The code may also be shortened, by replacing high-order data symbols with zeros, to obtain a code with reduced length and reduced data capacity. Both puncturing and shortening can be used to obtain a code with particular parameters. Shortening is preferred, where possible, since this avoids the need for erasure decoding.
• The code has the following primitive polynominal:
• 
  p(x)=x⁴+x+1
• The code has the following generator polynominal:
• $g\left(x\right)=\prod _{i=1}^{n-k}\left(x+{\alpha }^l\right)$
• For a detailed description of Reed-Solomon codes, refer to Wicker, S. B. and V. K. Bhargava, eds.,Reed-Solomon Codes and Their Applications,IEEE Press, 1994.
2.7.2 Codeword Organization
• As shown inFIG. 13, redundancy coordinates r_iand data coordinates d_iof the code are indexed from left to right according to the power of their corresponding polynomial terms. The symbols X_iof a complete codeword are indexed from right to left to match the bit order of the data. The bit order within each symbol is the same as the overall bit order.
2.7.3 Code Instances
• Table 3 defines the parameters of the different codes used in the tag.

• TABLE 3
  Codeword instances

  				error-
  				correcting	data
  		length	dimension	capacity	capacitya
  name	description	(n)	(k)	(symbols)	(bits)
  X, Y	coordinate	11a	3	4	12
  	codewords (see		5	3	20
  	Section 2.6.3)
  A	first common	15	5	5	20
  	codeword
  B, C,	other common	15	7	3	28
  D	codewords		9	3	36
  	(see Section 2.6.4)
  E	optional codeword	15	9	3	36
  	(see Section 2.6.5)
  ashortened

2.7.4 Cyclic Redundancy Check
• The region ID is protected by a 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC). This provides an added layer of error detection after Reed-Solomon error correction, in case a codeword containing a part of the region ID is mis-corrected.
• The CRC has the following generator polynomial:
• 
  g(x)=x¹⁶+x¹²+x⁵+1
• The CRC is initialised to 0xFFFF. The most significant bit of the region ID is treated as the most significant coefficient of the data polynomial.
2.8 Tag Coordinate Space
• The tag coordinate space has two orthogonal axes labelled x and y respectively. When the positive x axis points to the right then the positive y axis points down.
• The surface coding does not specify the location of the tag coordinate space origin on a particular tagged surface, nor the orientation of the tag coordinate space with respect to the surface. This information is application-specific. For example, if the tagged surface is a sheet of paper, then the application which prints the tags onto the paper may record the actual offset and orientation, and these can be used to normalise any digital ink subsequently captured in conjunction with the surface.
• The position encoded in a tag is defined in units of tags and is defined to be the centre of the top left target. The origin of a particular tag pattern is therefore the centre of the top left target of the tag that encodes coordinate pair (0, 0).
• The surface coding is optionally displaced from its nominal position relative to the surface by an amount derived from the region ID. This ensures that the utilisation of a pagewidth digital printhead used to print the surface coding is uniform. The displacement of the surface coding is negative, hence the displacement of the region described by the surface coding is positive relative to the surface coding. The magnitude of the displacement is the region ID modulo the width of the tag in 1600 dpi dots (i.e. 240). To accommodate non-1600 dpi printers the actual magnitude of the displacement may vary from its nominal value by up to half the dot pitch of the printer.
2.9 Tag Information Content2.9.1 Field Definitions
• Table 4 defines the information fields embedded in the surface coding.

• TABLE 4
  Field Definitions

  	width
  field	(bits)	description

  unique to tag
  active area flag	1	A flag indicating whether the areaa
  		immediately surrounding a tag
  		intersects an active area.
  x coordinate	12 or 20	The unsigned x coordinate of the tagb.
  y coordinate	12 or 20	The unsigned y coordinate of the tagb.
  common to tagged
  region
  encoding format
  	2	The format of the encoding.
  		0: the present encoding. Other values are
  		reserved
  region flags	10	Flags controlling the interpretation of
  		region data (see Table 5).
  coordinate precision	2	A value (p) indicating the precision of
  		x and y coordinates according
  		to the formula 8 + 4p.
  macrodot size ID	4	The ID of the macrodot size.
  region ID	72 or 96	The ID of the region containing the tags.
  secret-key signature	64	An optional secret-key
  		signature of the region.
  CRC (Cyclic	16	A CRCcof region ID (see Section 2.7.4).
  Redundancy Check)
  athe diameter of the area, centered on the tag, is nominally 2.5 times the diagonal size of the tag; this is to accommodate the worst-case distance between the nib position and the imaged tag
  ballows a coordinate value ranges of 14.8 m and 3.8 km for the minimum tag size of 3.6 mm (based on the minimum macrodot size of 120 microns and 30 macrodots per tag)

• An active area is an area within which any captured input should be immediately forwarded to thecorresponding Netpage server10 for interpretation. This also allows theNetpage server10 to signal to the user that the input has had an immediate effect. Since the server has access to precise region definitions, any active area indication in the surface coding can be imprecise so long as it is inclusive.

• TABLE 5
  Region flags

  bit	meaning
  0	Region is interactive, i.e. x and y-coordinates are present.
  1	Region is active, i.e. the entire region is an active area. Otherwise
  	active areas are identified by individual tags' active area flags.
  2	Region ID is not serializeda.
  3	Region has secret-key signature (see Section 2.9.4)
  4	Region has embedded data.
  5	Embedded data is a public-key signature
  	(see Sections 2.9.3 and 2.9.4).
  6	Region has long coordinatesb.
  7	Region has a long region IDc.
  8	Region ID is an EPC.
  9	Region is displaced according to region ID (see Section 2.8)
  aFor an EPC this means that the serial number is replaced by a layout number, to allow the package design associated with a product to vary over time (see US 2007/0108285, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference).
  bHence the X and Y Reed-Solomon codewords have less redundancy.
  cHence, the B, C and D Reed-Solomon codewords have less redundancy.

2.9.2 Mapping of Fields to Codewords
• Table 6, Table 7 and Table 8 define how the information fields map to codewords.

• TABLE 6
  Mapping of fields to coordinate codewords X and Y

  		X and Y
  		codeword
  		data			codeword
  codeword	field	capacity	field width	field bits	bits

  X	x coordinate	12	all	all
  		20
  Y	y coordinate	12	all	all
  		20

• TABLE 7
  Mapping of fields to common codewords A, B, C and D

  		A, B, C and
  		D codeword
  		data	field	field	codeword
  codeword	field	capacity	width	bits	bits

  A	encoding format	any	2	all	1:0
  	region flags		10	all	11:2
  	macrodot size ID		4	all	15:12
  	region ID	28	4	71:68	19:16
  		36		95:92
  B	CRC	any	16	all	15:0
  	region ID	28	12	11:0	27:16
  		36	20	19:0	35:16

  C	region ID	28	39:12	all
  		36	55:20
  D	region ID	28	67:40	all
  		36	91:56

• TABLE 8
  Mapping of fields to optional codeword E

  		E
  		codeword
  		data		field	codeword
  codeword	field	capacity	field width	bits	bits

  E	data fragment	36	all	all
  	secret-key digital	64a	all	all
  	signature
  aEntire codeword (including 16thsymbol) is used for data i.e. there is no redundancy

• As shown in Table 8, codeword E either contains a data fragment or a secret-key signature. These are described in Section 2.9.3 and Section 2.9.4 respectively. The secret-key signature is present in a particular tag if the <region has secret-key signature> flag in the region flags is set, and the tag's active area flag is set. The data fragment is present in a particular tag if the <region contains embedded data> flag in the region flags is set and the tag does not already contain a secret-key signature.
• When the region flags indicate that a particular codeword is absent then the codeword is not coded in the tag pattern, i.e. there are no macrodots representing the codeword. This applies to the X, Y and E codewords i.e. the X and Y codewords are present if the <region is interactive> flag in the region flags is set. The E codeword is present if a secret-key signature or data fragment is present.
2.9.3 Embedded Data Object
• If the “region contains embedded data” flag in the region flags is set then the surface coding contains embedded data. The embedded data is encoded in multiple contiguous tags' data fragments, and is replicated in the surface coding as many times as it will fit.
• The embedded data is encoded in such a way that a random and partial scan of the surface coding containing the embedded data can be sufficient to retrieve the entire data. The scanning system reassembles the data from retrieved fragments, and reports to the user when sufficient fragments have been retrieved without error.
• As shown in Table 9, each block has a data capacity of 176-bits. The block data is encoded in the data fragments of a contiguous group of six tags arranged in a 3×2 rectangle.
• The block parameters are as defined in Table 9. The E codeword of each tag may encode a fragment of the embedded data.

• TABLE 9
  Block parameters

  	parameter	value	description

  w

  	3	The width of the block, intags
  	h
  	2	The height of the block, in tags.
  	b	176	The data capacity of the block, in bits

• If the E codeword of a particular tag does not contain a fragment of the embedded data, then the pen101 can discover this implicitly by the failure of the codeword to decode, or explicitly from the tag's active area flag.
• Data of arbitrary size may be encoded into a superblock consisting of a contiguous set of blocks, typically arranged in a rectangle. The size of the superblock may be encoded in each block.
• The superblock is replicated in the surface coding as many times as it will fit, including partially along the edges of the surface coding.
• The data encoded in the superblock may include, for example, more precise type information, more precise size information, and more extensive error detection and/or correction data.
2.9.4 Digital Signatures
• As described in Section 2.6.6, a region may contain a digital signature.
• If the <region has a secret-key signature> flag in the region flags is set, then the region has a secret-key digital signature. In an online environment the secret-key signature can be verified, in conjunction with the region ID, by querying a server with knowledge of the secret-key signature or the corresponding secret key.
• If the region contains embedded data and the <embedded data is a public-key signature> flag in the region flag is set, then the surface coding contains an embedded public-key digital signature of the region ID.
• In an online environment any number of signature fragments can be used, in conjunction with the region ID and optionally the secret-key signature, to validate the public-key signature by querying a server with knowledge of the full public-key signature or the corresponding private key.
• In an offline (or online) environment the entire public-key signature can be recovered by reading multiple tags, and can then be verified using the corresponding public signature key. The actual length and type of the signature are determined from the region ID during signature validation i.e. typically from a previously-retrieved digital signature associated with a sequence of region IDs.
• Digital signature verification is discussed in the Applicant's US Publication No. 2007/0108285, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
2.10 Tag Imaging and Decoding
• The minimum imaging field of view required to guarantee acquisition of data from an entire tag has a diameter of 46.7s (i.e. ((3×10)+3)√2s), allowing for arbitrary rotation and translation of the surface coding in the field of view. Notably, the imaging field of view does not have to be large enough to guarantee capture of an entire tag—the arrangement of the data symbols within each tag ensures that a any square portion of length (l+3s) captures the requisite information in full, irrespective of whether a whole tag is actually visible in the field-of-view. As used herein, l is defined as the length of a tag.
• In terms of imaging the coding pattern, the imaging field-of-view is typically a circle. Accordingly, the imaging field-of-view should preferably have diameter of at least (l+3s)√2 and less than two tag diameters. Importantly, the field-of-view is not required to be at least two tag diameters, in contrast with prior art tag designs, because it is not essential in the present invention to capture an entire tag in the field of view.
• The extra three macrodot units ensure that pulse-position modulated values can be decoded from spatially coherent samples. Furthermore, the extra three macrodot units ensure that all requisite data symbols can be read with each interaction. These include the coordinate symbols from a central column or row of a tag (see Section 2.6.3) having a width of 2s, anddata symbols304A extending from the perimeter edges of each tag by one macrodot unit (1s).
• In the present context, a “tag diameter” is given to mean the length of a tag diagonal.
• Given a maximum macrodot spacing of 127 microns, this gives a required field of view of 5.93 mm.
• FIG. 14 shows a tag image processing and decoding process flow up to the stage of sampling and decoding the data codewords. Firstly, araw image802 of the tag pattern is acquired (at800), for example via an image sensor such as a CCD image sensor, CMOS image sensor, or a scanning laser and photodiode image sensor. Theraw image802 is then typically enhanced (at804) to produce anenhanced image806 with improved contrast and more uniform pixel intensities. Image enhancement may include global or local range expansion, equalisation, and the like. Theenhanced image806 is then typically filtered (at808) to produce afiltered image810. Image filtering may consist of low-pass filtering, with the low-pass filter kernel size tuned toobscure macrodots302 but to preservetargets301. Thefiltering step808 may include additional filtering (such as edge detection) to enhance target features301. Encoding ofdata codewords304 using pulse position modulation (PPM) provides a moreuniform coding pattern3 than simple binary dot encoding (as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,717). Advantageously, this helpsseparate targets301 from data areas, thereby allowing more effective low-pass filtering of the PPM-encoded data compared to binary-coded data.
• Following low-pass filtering, the filteredimage810 is then processed (at812) to locate thetargets301. This may consist of a search for target features whose spatial inter-relationship is consistent with the known geometry of the tag pattern. Candidate targets may be identified directly from maxima in the filteredimage810, or may be the subject of further characterization and matching, such as via their (binary or grayscale) shape moments (typically computed from pixels in theenhanced image806 based on local maxima in the filtered image810), as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,739, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.
• The identified targets301 are then assigned (at816) to atarget grid818. Each cell of thegrid818 contains asymbol group303, and several symbol groups will of course be visible in the image. At this stage,individual tags4 will not be identifiable in thetarget grid818, since thetargets301 do not demarcate one tag from another.
• To allow macrodot values to be sampled accurately, the perspective transform of the captured image must be inferred. Four of thetargets301 are taken to be the perspective-distorted corners of a square of known size in tag space, and the eight-degree-of-freedom perspective transform822 is inferred (at820), based on solving the well-understood equations relating the four tag-space and image-space point pairs. Calculation of the 2D perspective transform is described in detail in, for example, Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,717, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.
• Since each image will typically contain at least 16 targets arranged in a square grid, the accuracy of calculating the 2D perspective transform is improved compared to the Applicant's previous tag designs described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,717. Hence, more accurate position calculation can be achieved with the tag design of the present invention.
• The inferred tag-space to image-space perspective transform822 is used to project each known macrodot position in tag space into image space. Since all bits in the tags are represented by PPM-encoding, the presence or absence of each macrodot302 can be determined using a local intensity reference, rather than a separate intensity reference. Thus, PPM-encoding provides improved data sampling compared with pure binary encoding.
• The next stage determines the translation and orientation of the tag(s), or portions thereof, in the field of view relative to thetarget grid818. Two or more orthogonal registration symbols (‘VRS’ and ‘HRS’) are sampled (at824), to allow decoding of the orthogonal translation codewords and the orthogonal direction codewords.
• Decoding of two or more orthogonal translation codewords (at828) is used to determine thetranslation830 of tags(s) in the field of view relative to thetarget grid818. This enables alignment of thetags4 with thetarget grid818, thereby allowing individual tag(s), or portions thereof, to be distinguished in thecoding pattern3 in the field of view. Since eachsymbol group303 contains orthogonal registration symbols, multiple translation codes can be decoded to provide robust translation determination. As described in Section 2.6. 1, the translation code is a cyclic position code. Since each row and each column of a tag contains M symbol groups, the code has minimum distance M×M. This allows very robust determination of the alignment oftags4 with thetarget grid818. The alignment needs to be both robust and accurate since there are many possible alignments when eachtag4 containsmultiple symbol groups303.
• Likewise, at least two orthogonal direction codes are decoded (at825) to provide theorientation826. As described in Section 2.6.1, since N vertical registration symbols in a tag form a vertical direction code with minimum distance N, the vertical direction code is capable of correcting (N−1)/2 errors. The horizontal direction code is similarly capable of correcting (N−1)/2 errors using N horizontal registration symbols Hence, orientation determination is very robust and capable of correcting errors, depending on the number of registration symbols sampled.
• Once initial imaging and decoding has yielded the 2D perspective transform, the orientation, and the translation of tag(s) relative to the target grid, thedata codewords304 can then be sampled and decoded (at836) to yield the requisite decodedcodewords838.
• Decoding of thedata codewords304 typically proceeds as follows:
• • sample and decode Reed-Solomon codeword containing encoding format etc. (A)
  • determine encoding format, and reject unknown encoding
  • on decode error flag bad region ID sample
  • determine region ID Reed-Solomon codeword format from region flags
  • sample and decode Reed-Solomon codeword containing region ID (B, C and D)
  • verify CRC of region ID
  • on decode error flag bad region ID sample
  • determine region ID
  • determine x and y coordinate Reed-Solomon codeword format from region flags
  • sample and decode x and y coordinate Reed-Solomon codewords (X and Y)
  • determine tag x-y location from codewords
  • determine nib x-y location from tag x-y location and perspective transform taking into account macrodot size (from macrodot size ID)
  • sample and decode four or more flag symbols to determine active area flag
  • determine active area status of nib location with reference to active area flag
  • encode region ID, nib x-y location, and nib active area status in digital ink (“interaction data”)
  • route digital ink based on region flags
• In practice, when decoding a sequence of images of a tag pattern, it is useful to exploit inter-frame coherence to obtain greater effective redundancy.
• Region ID decoding need not occur at the same rate as position decoding.
• The skilled person will appreciate that the decoding sequence described above represents one embodiment of the present invention. It will, of course, be appreciated that the interaction data sent from the pen101 to the netpage system may include other data e.g. digital signature (see Section 2.9.4), pen mode (see US 2007/125860), orientation data, pen ID, nib ID etc.
• An example of interpreting interaction data, received by the netpage system from the netpage pen101, is discussed briefly above. A more detailed discussion of how the netpage system may interpret interaction data can be found in the Applicant's previously-filed applications (see, for example, US 2007/130117 and US 2007/108285, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference).
3. Netpage Pen3.1 Functional Overview
• The active sensing device of the netpage system may take the form of a clicker (for clicking on a specific position on a surface), a pointer having a stylus (for pointing or gesturing on a surface using pointer strokes), or a pen having a marking nib (for marking a surface with ink when pointing, gesturing or writing on the surface). For a description of various netpage sensing devices, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,753; U.S. Pat. No. 7,015,901; U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,960; and US Publication No. 2006/0028459, the contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• It will be appreciated that the present invention may utilize any suitable optical reader. However, theNetpage pen400 will be described herein as one such example.
• TheNetpage pen400 is a motion-sensing writing instrument which works in conjunction with a tagged Netpage surface (see Section 2). The pen incorporates a conventional ballpoint pen cartridge for marking the surface, an image sensor and processor for simultaneously capturing the absolute path of the pen on the surface and identifying the surface, a force sensor for simultaneously measuring the force exerted on the nib, and a real-time clock for simultaneously measuring the passage of time.
• While in contact with a tagged surface, as indicated by the force sensor, the pen continuously images the surface region adjacent to the nib, and decodes the nearest tag in its field of view to determine both the identity of the surface, its own instantaneous position on the surface and the pose of the pen. The pen thus generates a stream of timestamped position samples relative to a particular surface, and transmits this stream to theNetpage server10. The sample stream describes a series of strokes, and is conventionally referred to as digital ink (DInk). Each stroke is delimited by a pen down and a pen up event, as detected by the force sensor. More generally, any data resulting from an interaction with a Netpage, and transmitted to theNetpage server10, is referred to herein as “interaction data”.
• The pen samples its position at a sufficiently high rate (nominally 100 Hz) to allow a Netpage server to accurately reproduce hand-drawn strokes, recognise handwritten text, and verify hand-written signatures.
• The Netpage pen also supports hover mode in interactive applications. In hover mode the pen is not in contact with the paper and may be some small distance above the surface of the paper (or other substrate). This allows the position of the pen, including its height and pose to be reported. In the case of an interactive application the hover mode behaviour can be used to move a cursor without marking the paper, or the distance of the nib from the coded surface could be used for tool behaviour control, for example an air brush function.
• The pen includes a Bluetooth radio transceiver for transmitting digital ink via a relay device to a Netpage server. When operating offline from a Netpage server the pen buffers captured digital ink in non-volatile memory. When operating online to a Netpage server the pen transmits digital ink in real time.
• The pen is supplied with a docking cradle or “pod”. The pod contains a Bluetooth to USB relay. The pod is connected via a USB cable to a computer which provides communications support for local applications and access to Netpage services.
• The pen is powered by a rechargeable battery. The battery is not accessible to or replaceable by the user. Power to charge the pen can be taken from the USB connection or from an external power adapter through the pod. The pen also has a power and USB-compatible data socket to allow it to be externally connected and powered while in use.
• The pen cap serves the dual purpose of protecting the nib and the imaging optics when the cap is fitted and signalling the pen to leave a power-preserving state when uncapped.
3.2 Ergonomics and Layout
• FIG. 15 shows a rounded triangular profile gives thepen400 an ergonomically comfortable shape to grip and use the pen in the correct functional orientation. It is also a practical shape for accommodating the internal components. A normal pen-like grip naturally conforms to a triangular shape betweenthumb402,index finger404 andmiddle finger406.
• As shown inFIG. 16, a typical user writes with thepen400 at a nominal pitch of about 30 degrees from the normal toward thehand408 when held (positive angle) but seldom operates a pen at more than about 10 degrees of negative pitch (away from the hand). The range of pitch angles over which thepen400 is able to image the pattern on the paper has been optimised for this asymmetric usage. The shape of thepen400 helps to orient the pen correctly in the user'shand408 and to discourage the user from using the pen “upside-down”. The pen functions “upside-down” but the allowable tilt angle range is reduced.
• Thecap410 is designed to fit over the top end of thepen400, allowing it to be securely stowed while the pen is in use. Multi colour LEDs illuminate astatus window412 in the top edge (as in the apex of the rounded triangular cross section) of thepen400 near its top end. Thestatus window412 remains un-obscured when the cap is stowed. A vibration motor is also included in the pen as a haptic feedback system (described in detail below).
• As shown inFIG. 17, the grip portion of the pen has ahollow chassis molding416 enclosed by abase molding528 to house the other components. Theink cartridge414 for the ball point nib (not shown) fits naturally into the apex420 of the triangular cross section, placing it consistently with the user's grip. This in turn provides space for themain PCB422 in the centre of the pen and for thebattery424 in the base of the pen. By referring toFIG. 18A, it can be seen that this also naturally places the tag-sensing optics426 unobtrusively below the nib418 (with respect to nominal pitch). Thenib molding428 of thepen400 is swept back below theink cartridge414 to prevent contact between thenib molding428 and the paper surface when the pen is operated at maximum pitch.
• As best shown inFIG. 18B, the imaging field ofview430 emerges through a centrally positioned IR filter/window432 below thenib418, and two near-infrared illumination LEDs434,436 emerge from the two bottom corners of thenib molding428. EachLED434,436 has a correspondingillumination field438,440.
• As the pen is hand-held, it may be held at an angle that causes reflections from one of the LED's that are detrimental to the image sensor. By providing more than one LED, the LED causing the offending reflections can be extinguished.
• Specific details of the pen mechanical design can be found in US Publication No. 2006/0028459, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
3.3 Pen Feedback Indications
• FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross section through the centre-line if the pen400 (with thecap410 stowed on the end of the pen). The pen incorporates red andgreen LEDs444 to indicate several states, using colours and intensity modulation. Alight pipe448 on theLEDs444 transmit the signal to thestatus indicator window412 in thetube molding416. These signal status information to the user including power-on, battery level, untransmitted digital ink, network connection on-line, fault or error with an action, detection of an “active area” flag, detection of an “embedded data” flag, further data sampling to required to acquire embedded data, acquisition of embedded data completed etc.
• Avibration motor446 is used to haptically convey information to the user for important verification functions during transactions. This system is used for important interactive indications that might be missed due to inattention to theLED indicators444 or high levels of ambient light. The haptic system indicates to the user when:
• • The pen wakes from standby mode
  • There is an error with an action
  • To acknowledge a transaction
3.4 Pen Optics
• The pen incorporates a fixed-focus narrowband infrared imaging system. It utilizes a camera with a short exposure time, small aperture, and bright synchronised illumination to capture sharp images unaffected by defocus blur or motion blur.

• TABLE 6
  Optical Specifications

  	Magnification	~0.225
  	Focal length of	6.0 mm
  	lens
  	Viewing distance	30.5 mm
  	Total track length	41.0 mm
  	Aperture diameter	0.8 mm
  	Depth of field	.~/6.5 mm
  	Exposure time	200 us
  	Wavelength	810 nm
  	Image sensor size	140 × 140pixels
  	Pixel size
  	10 um
  	Pitch range	~15 to.45 deg
  	Roll range	~30 to.30deg
  	Yaw range
  	0 to 360 deg
  	Minimum sampling	2.25 pixels per
  	rate	macrodot
  	Maximum pen	0.5 m/s
  	velocity
  	1Allowing 70 micron blur radius
  	2Illumination and filter
  	3Pitch, roll and yaw are relative to the axis of the pen

• Cross sections showing the pen optics are provided inFIGS. 20A and 20B. An image of the Netpage tags printed on asurface548 adjacent to thenib418 is focused by alens488 onto the active region of animage sensor490. Asmall aperture494 ensures the available depth of field accommodates the required pitch and roll ranges of thepen400.
• First andsecond LEDs434 and436 brightly illuminate the surface549 within the field ofview430. The spectral emission peak of the LEDs is matched to the spectral absorption peak of the infrared ink used to print Netpage tags to maximise contrast in captured images of tags. The brightness of the LEDs is matched to the small aperture size and short exposure time required to minimise defocus and motion blur.
• Alongpass IR filter432 suppresses the response of theimage sensor490 to any coloured graphics or text spatially coincident with imaged tags and any ambient illumination below the cut-off wavelength of thefilter432. The transmission of thefilter432 is matched to the spectral absorption peak of the infrared ink to maximise contrast in captured images of tags. The filter also acts as a robust physical window, preventing contaminants from entering the optical assembly470.
3.5 Pen Imaging System
• A ray trace of the optic path is shown inFIG. 21. Theimage sensor490 is a CMOS image sensor with an active region of 140 pixels squared. Each pixel is 10 μm squared, with a fill factor of 93%. Turning toFIG. 22, thelens488 is shown in detail. The dimensions are:
• • D=3 mm
  • R1=3.593 mm
  • R2=15.0 mm
  • X=0.8246 mm
  • Y=1.0mm
  • Z=0.25 mm
• This gives a focal length of 6.15 mm and transfers the image from the object plane (tagged surface548) to the image plane (image sensor490) with the correct sampling frequency to successfully decode all images over the specified pitch, roll and yaw ranges. Thelens488 is biconvex, with the most curved surface facing the image sensor. The minimum imaging field ofview430 required to guarantee acquisition of sufficient tag data with each interaction is dependent on the specific coding pattern. The required field of view for the coding pattern of the present invention is described in Section 2.10.
• The required paraxial magnification of the optical system is defined by the minimum spatial sampling frequency of 2.25 pixels per macrodot for the fully specified tilt range of thepen400, for theimage sensor490 of 10 μm pixels. Typically, the imaging system employs a paraxial magnification of 0.225, the ratio of the diameter of the inverted image at the image sensor to the diameter of the field of view at the object plane, on animage sensor490 of minimum 128×128 pixels. Theimage sensor490 however is 140×140 pixels, in order to accommodate manufacturing tolerances. This allows up to ±120 μm (12 pixels in each direction in the plane of the image sensor) of misalignment between the optical axis and the image sensor axis without losing any of the information in the field of view.
• Thelens488 is made from Poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA), typically used for injection moulded optical components. PMMA is scratch resistant, and has a refractive index of 1.49, with 90% transmission at 810 nm. The lens is biconvex to assist moulding precision and features a mounting surface to precisely mate the lens with the optical barrel molding492.
• A 0.8mm diameter aperture494 is used to provide the depth of field requirements of the design.
• The specified tilt range of the pen is {tilde over ( )}15.0 to 45.0 degree pitch, with a roll range o{tilde over (f)} 30.0 to 30.0 degrees. Tilting the pen through its specified range moves the tilted object plane up to 6.3 mm away from the focal plane. The specified aperture thus provides a corresponding depth of field of {tilde over (/)} 6.5 mm, with an acceptable blur radius at the image sensor of 16 μm.
• Due to the geometry of the pen design, the pen operates correctly over a pitch range of {tilde over ( )}33.0 to 45.0 degrees.
• Referring toFIG. 23, theoptical axis550 is pitched 0.8 degrees away from thenib axis552. The optical axis and the nib axis converge toward thepaper surface548. With thenib axis552 perpendicular to the paper, the distance A between the edge of the field ofview430 closest to the nib axis and the nib axis itself is 1.2 mm.
• Thelongpass IR filter432 is made of CR-39, a lightweight thermoset plastic heavily resistant to abrasion and chemicals such as acetone. Because of these properties, the filter also serves as a window. The filter is 1.5 mm thick, with a refractive index of 1.50. Each filter may be easily cut from a large sheet using a CO₂laser cutter.
3.6 Electronics Design

• TABLE 3
  Electrical Specifications

  Processor	ARM7 (Atmel AT91FR40162) running at 80 MHz
  	with 256 kB SRAM and 2 MB flash memory
  Digital ink storage	5 hours of writing
  capacity
  Bluetooth	1.2
  Compliance
  USB Compliance	1.1
  Battery standby	12 hours (cap off), >4 weeks (cap on)
  time
  Battery writing	4 hours of cursive writing (81% pen down,
  time	assuming easy offload of digital ink)
  Battery charging	2 hours
  time
  Battery Life	Typically 300 charging cycles or 2 years
  	(whichever occurs first) to 80% of initial
  	capacity.
  Battery	~340 mAh at 3.7 V, Lithium-ion Polymer
  Capacity/Type	(LiPo)

• FIG. 24 is a block diagram of the pen electronics. The electronics design for the pen is based around five main sections. These are:
• • themain ARM7 microprocessor574,
  • the image sensor andimage processor576,
  • theBluetooth communications module578,
  • the power management unit IC (PMU)580 and
  • theforce sensor microprocessor582.
3.6.1 Microprocessor
• The pen uses an Atmel AT91FR40162 microprocessor (see Atmel,AT91ARM Thumb Microcontrollers—AT91FR40162Preliminary,http://www.keil.com/dd/docs/datashts/atmel/at91fr40162.pdf) running at 80 MHz. The AT91FR40162 incorporates an ARM7 microprocessor, 256 kBytes of on-chip single wait state SRAM and 2 MBytes of external flash memory in a stack chip package.
• Thismicroprocessor574 forms the core of thepen400. Its duties include:
• • setting up the Jupiter image sensor584,
  • decoding images of Netpage coding pattern (see Section 2.10), with assistance from the image processing features of the image sensor584, for inclusion in the digital ink stream along with force sensor data received from theforce sensor microprocessor582,
  • setting up the power management IC (PMU)580,
  • compressing and sending digital ink via theBluetooth communications module578, and
  • programming theforce sensor microprocessor582.
• TheARM7 microprocessor574 runs from an 80 MHz oscillator. It communicates with theJupiter image sensor576 using a Universal Synchronous Receiver Transmitter (USRT)586 with a 40 MHz clock. TheARM7574 communicates with theBluetooth module578 using a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART)588 running at 115.2 kbaud. Communications to thePMU580 and the Force Sensor microprocessor (FSP)582 are performed using a Low Speed Serial bus (LSS)590. The LSS is implemented in software and uses two of the microprocessor's general purpose IOs.
• TheARM7 microprocessor574 is programmed via its JTAG port.
3.6.2 Image Sensor
• The ‘Jupiter’ Image Sensor584 (see US Publication No. 2005/0024510, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) contains a monochrome sensor array, an analogue to digital converter (ADC), a frame store buffer, a simple image processor and a phase lock loop (PLL). In the pen, Jupiter uses the USRT's clock line and its internal PLL to generate all its clocking requirements. Images captured by the sensor array are stored in the frame store buffer. These images are decoded by theARM7 microprocessor574 with help from the ‘Callisto’ image processor contained in Jupiter. The Callisto image processor performs, inter alia, low-pass filtering of captured images (see Section 2.10 and US Publication No. 2005/0024510) before macrodot sampling and decoding by themicroprocessor574.
• Jupiter controls the strobing of twoinfrared LEDs434 and436 at the same time as its image array is exposed. One or other of these two infrared LEDs may be turned off while the image array is exposed to prevent specular reflection off the paper that can occur at certain angles.
3.6.3 Bluetooth Communications Module
• The pen uses a CSR BlueCore4-External device (see CSR,BlueCore4-External Data Sheetrev c, 6 Sep. 2004) as theBluetooth controller578. It requires an external 8 Mbitflash memory device594 to hold its program code. The BlueCore4 meets the Bluetooth v1.2 specification and is compliant to v0.9 of the Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) specification which allows communication at up to 3 Mbps.
• A 2.45GHz chip antenna486 is used on the pen for the Bluetooth communications.
• The BlueCore4 is capable of forming a UART to USB bridge. This is used to allow USB communications via data/power socket458 at the top of the pen456.
• Alternatives to Bluetooth include wireless LAN and PAN standards such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) (see IEEE, 802.11Wireless Local Area Networks,http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/index.html), IEEE 802.15 (see IEEE, 802.15Working Group for WPAN,http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/15/index.html), ZigBee (see ZigBee Alliance, http://www.zigbee.org), and WirelessUSB Cypress (seeWirelessUSB LR2.4-GHzDSSS Radio SoC,http://www.cypress.com/cfuploads/img/products/cywusb6935.pdf), as well as mobile standards such as GSM (see GSM Association, http://www.gsmworld.com/index.shtml), GPRS/EDGE,GPRS Platform,http://www.gsmworld.com/technology/gprs/index.shtml), CDMA (see CDMA Development Group, http://www.cdg.org/, and Qualcomm, http://www.qualcomm.com), and UMTS (see 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), http://www.3gpp.org).
3.6.4 Power Management Chip
• The pen uses an Austria Microsystems AS3603 PMU580 (see Austria Microsystems,AS3603Multi-Standard Power Management Unit Data Sheetv2.0). The PMU is used for battery management, voltage generation, power up reset generation and driving indicator LEDs and the vibrator motor.
• ThePMU580 communicates with theARM7 microprocessor574 via theLSS bus590.
3.6.5 Force Sensor Subsystem
• The force sensor subsystem comprises a custom Hokuriku force sensor500 (based on Hokuriku,HFD-500Force Sensor,http://www.hdk.co.jp/pdf/eng/e1381AA.pdf), an amplifier andlow pass filter600 implemented using op-amps and aforce sensor microprocessor582.
• The pen uses a Silicon Laboratories C8051F330 as the force sensor microprocessor582 (see Silicon Laboratories,C8051F330/1MCU Data Sheet,rev 1.1). The C8051F330 is an 8051 microprocessor with on chip flash memory, 10 bit ADC and 10 bit DAC. It contains an internal 24.5 MHz oscillator and also uses an external 32.768 kHz tuning fork.
• TheHokuriku force sensor500 is a silicon piezoresistive bridge sensor. An op-amp stage600 amplifies and low pass (anti-alias) filters the force sensor output. This signal is then sampled by theforce sensor microprocessor582 at 5 kHz.
• Alternatives to piezoresistive force sensing include capacitive and inductive force sensing (see Wacom, “Variable capacity condenser and pointer”, US Patent Application 20010038384, filed 8 Nov. 2001, and Wacom,Technology,http://www.wacom-components.com/english/tech.asp).
• Theforce sensor microprocessor582 performs further (digital) filtering of the force signal and produces the force sensor values for the digital ink stream. A frame sync signal from theJupiter image sensor576 is used to trigger the generation of each force sample for the digital ink stream. The temperature is measured via the force sensor microprocessor's582 on chip temperature sensor and this is used to compensate for the temperature dependence of the force sensor and amplifier. The offset of the force signal is dynamically controlled by input of the microprocessor's DAC output into theamplifier stage600.
• Theforce sensor microprocessor582 communicates with theARM7 microprocessor574 via theLSS bus590. There are two separate interrupt lines from theforce sensor microprocessor582 to theARM7 microprocessor574. One is used to indicate that a force sensor sample is ready for reading and the other to indicate that a pen down/up event has occurred.
• The force sensor microprocessor flash memory is programmed in-circuit by theARM7 microprocessor574.
• Theforce sensor microprocessor582 also provides the real time clock functionality for thepen400. The RTC function is performed in one of the microprocessor's counter timers and runs from the external 32.768 kHz tuning fork. As a result, the force sensor microprocessor needs to remain on when thecap472 is on and theARM7574 is powered down. Hence theforce sensor microprocessor582 uses a low power LDO separate from thePMU580 as its power source. The real time clock functionality includes an interrupt which can be programmed to power up theARM7574.
• The cap switch602 is monitored by theforce sensor microprocessor582. When thecap assembly472 is taken off (or there is a real time clock interrupt), theforce sensor microprocessor582 starts up the ARM7572 by initiating a power on and reset cycle in thePMU580.
3.7 Pen Software
• The Netpage pen software comprises that software running on microprocessors in theNetpage pen400 and Netpage pod.
• The pen contains a number of microprocessors, as detailed in Section 3.6. The Netpage pen software includes software running on the Atmel ARM7 CPU574 (hereafter CPU), theForce Sensor microprocessor582, and also software running in the VM on the CSR BlueCore Bluetooth module578 (hereafter pen BlueCore). Each of these processors has an associated flash memory which stores the processor specific software, together with settings and other persistent data. Thepen BlueCore578 also runs firmware supplied by the module manufacturer, and this firmware is not considered a part of the Netpage pen software.
• The pod contains a CSR BlueCore Bluetooth module (hereafter pod BlueCore). The Netpage pen software also includes software running in the VM on the pod BlueCore.
• As theNetpage pen400 traverses a Netpage taggedsurface548, a stream of correlated position and force samples are produced. This stream is referred to as DInk. Note that DInk may include samples with zero force (so called “Hover DInk”) produced when the Netpage pen is in proximity to, but not marking, a Netpage tagged surface.
• The CPU component of the Netpage pen software is responsible for DInk capture, tag image processing and decoding (in conjunction with the Jupiter image sensor576), storage and offload management, host communications, user feedback and software upgrade. It includes an operating system (RTOS) and relevant hardware drivers. In addition, it provides a manufacturing and maintenance mode for calibration, configuration or detailed (non-field) fault diagnosis. TheForce Sensor microprocessor582 component of the Netpage pen software is responsible for filtering and preparing force samples for the main CPU. The pen BlueCore VM software is responsible for bridging theCPU UART588 interface to USB when the pen is operating in tethered mode. The pen BlueCore VM software is not used when the pen is operating in Bluetooth mode.
• The pod BlueCore VM software is responsible for sensing when the pod is charging apen400, controlling the pod LEDs appropriately, and communicating with the host PC via USB.
• For a detailed description of the software modules, reference is made to US Publication No. 2006/0028459, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
• The present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment and number of specific alternative embodiments. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant fields that a number of other embodiments, differing from those specifically described, will also fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it will be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments described in the present specification, including documents incorporated by cross-reference as appropriate. The scope of the invention is only limited by the attached claims.

Claims (20)

1. A substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof, said coding pattern comprising a plurality of data elements, said data elements encoding data values by multi-pulse position modulation.

2. The substrate ofclaim 1, wherein said data elements are macrodots.

3. The substrate ofclaim 2, wherein a portion of data is represented by two or more macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions within said coding pattern, the positions of said two or more macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.

4. The substrate ofclaim 1, comprising:

a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements;

a plurality of said data elements contained in each cell; and

a plurality of tags, each tag being defined by a plurality of contiguous cells, each tag comprising respective tag data encoded by a respective set of said data elements.

5. The substrate ofclaim 4, wherein a portion of data is represented by m macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions p within said cell, the respective positions of said macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values.

6. The substrate ofclaim 5, wherein said portion of data is a Reed-Solomon symbol.

7. The substrate ofclaim 6, wherein each cell defines a symbol group, each symbol group comprising a plurality of Reed-Solomon symbols encoded by a plurality of said data elements.

8. The substrate ofclaim 6, wherein m is an integer of 2 or more, and p>m.

9. The substrate ofclaim 8, wherein p≧2m.

10. The substrate ofclaim 9, wherein p is 6 and m is 2 or 3.

11. The substrate ofclaim 7, wherein said tag data is encoded as a local codeword comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols.

12. The substrate ofclaim 11, wherein each local codeword identifies a location of a respective tag.

13. The substrate ofclaim 7, wherein each tag comprises one or more common codewords, each common codeword being comprised of a set of said Reed-Solomon symbols, wherein said one or more common codewords are defined as codewords common to a plurality of contiguous tags.

14. The substrate ofclaim 13, wherein each symbol group comprises a fragment of at least one of said one or more common codewords, and contiguous symbol groups are arranged such that any substantially tag-sized portion of said coding pattern is guaranteed to contain said one or more common codewords irrespective of whether a whole tag is contained in said portion.

15. The substrate ofclaim 13, wherein said one or more common codewords encode region identity data uniquely identifying a region of said surface.

16. The substrate ofclaim 15, wherein said one or more common codewords uniquely identifies said substrate.

17. The substrate ofclaim 1, wherein each cell comprises one or more registration symbols encoded by a respective set of said data elements, said registration symbols identifying one or more of:

a translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;

an orientation of a layout of said tag data with respect to said target grid; and

a flag for said tag.

18. The substrate ofclaim 17, wherein each cell comprises a pair of orthogonal registration symbols, each orthogonal registration symbol identifying one or more of:

a respective orthogonal translation of said cell relative to a tag containing said cell;

a respective direction component of said orientation; and

a flag for said tag.

19. The substrate ofclaim 1, wherein said target elements are sufficiently large to be distinguishable from said data elements by a low-pass filter.

20. The substrate ofclaim 1, wherein said target elements are target dots and said data elements are macrodots, and wherein each target dot has a diameter of at least twice that of each macrodot.

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