Signature Verification Technology Overview

Baanto ShadowSense™ can be deployed in applications that measure position in both 2 and 3 dimensions, as well as in passive and active modes.  Combining these capabilities into a single product was the focus of the Signature Verification tablet created for an early Baanto partner, Syngrafii.

An individual’s signature is more than the ink on paper or the trace on a display.  The angle of a pen, the speed of the pen tip and pen end, and the pressure exerted as a pen moves throughout the signing process are all dependent upon an individual’s physiology and writing style.  Linking these various parameters to the underlying image of a signature provides a unique, legally valid, electronic signature.  This is an essential component to finally eliminating the laborious and costly practice of shipping, physically signing, and storing paper documents.  Electronic signatures have already been approved in some venues for electronic voting in general elections and legislative sessions, setting the stage for widespread adoption.

Features

Tracking a pen in real time presents multiple technology challenges.  Unlike a traditional touchscreen where the user is forced to awkwardly hold a pen so that only the tip position is tracked, this system must be able to accommodate a natural writing style.  This mandates that the system have outstanding visibility of the entire pen throughout the signature, be able to accommodate spurious touchpoints caused by a user’s palm or other fingers touching the surface, and be able to record tip pressure in addition to position.

The ShadowSense™ system was able to accomplish all of these goals in a compact and low power form factor.  Multiple IR LED’s in the pen assembly provide unique positional data with an accuracy better than 0.25 mm which is then translated into X, Y, and Z locations, allowing velocity, acceleration, roll, pitch, and yaw data to be derived for the entire pen.  Tip pressure is measured with a unique sensor topology, providing 12 bit accuracy throughout the signature process.  Lastly, the unique ID associated with each LED allowed the implementation of an “eraser” function, mimicking the use of an erasure on the end of a pencil.

Syngrafii Signature Recognition, another unique solution powered by ShadowSense™ technology.