US College football coaches will for the first time this season be able to save time on duplicating paperwork thanks to the development of pen computing software. This will enable them to input game data, break down game film footage and analyse play statistics. This pen software – Athlepad – means they can hand-write directly into lightweight, portable computers with pens. No keyboard is necessary. The University of Pittsburgh, University of Michigan, Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin are already using Athlepad for the daily operations of their American football programmes. Athlepad was developed by the software development company Pentech Inc, Lansing, Michigan, using the PenDOS pen operating system and Handwriter Recognition System software of Communication Intelligence Corp, Redwood Shores, California. PenDOS provides access to handwriting recognition, gesture and inking capabilities, as well as to the full capabilities of the computer that were formerly available only through the keyboard and mouse. Pentech also integrated the video editing system of Clearwater, Florida’s Athletech Computer Systems into Athlepad so that coaching staff can now gain direct entry into game breakdown information. The interaction is a lot faster and has direct access to the other software applications used by the coaches, the developers claim. In addition to game data entry, Pentech Inc has also incorporated Communication Intelligence’s Handwriter Recognition System software and PenDOS pen operating environment in the development of a practice card drawing program. Coaches can now save 10 to 20 hours a week by not having to redraw and duplicate playing cards. The formations, backfields, fronts, coverage and plays are designed once using a method of pointing the pen to the proper area on the screen. The play lines are then drawn and stored for future use. And the plays can be printed out on card stock with a laser printer for use during the practice sessions. Other football programs developed by Pentech are scouting programs and medical training forms which also use Communication Intelligence’s Handwriter Recognition System and PenDOS. Communication Intelligence’s products enable new pen applications to operate on all major hardware and operating system platforms, including: Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing, GO Corp’s PenPoint and Communication Intelligence’s own PenDOS and PenMac.
