LUND, Sweden, March 05, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Anoto, DNP, Maxell and WAO have jointly developed an education system enabling Anoto functionality. This is the first commercial case implemented in Japan.
The system is a test-marking application. Students fill in a test paper with a pencil. Marking papers with a digital pen makes it possible to receive digital data of each question automatically, immediately and calculate total scores.
WAO will in April start using the system at its cram school "Nokai Center". WAO provides digital pens to 120 sales offices offering a total education support service to schools, cram schools and preparatory schools. The service covers test planning, question preparing, printing, test marking, data processing and forms outputting. WAO anticipates sales of three billion yen during three years.
The test-marking system based on Anoto functionality makes it possible to mark tests faster, more precise, efficient and at low cost. Anoto dot pattern can be applied to any type of test paper. For the teachers, using a digital pen, the marking is not any different than with any other pen. To gather data you can, by transmitting test-marked data from anywhere to any server via Internet, save time compared to sending it by ordinary post.
Anoto and partners i.e. DNP as a printer and application developer, Maxell as a pen supplier, and WAO as an education service provider, will keep working for further development together. We aim to let students utilize digital pens in filling in papers to receive the digital data much faster. We also plan to offer more practical systems for home studying, classroom lessons and remote education.
"By using a digital pen and paper enabling Anoto functionality in education field where paper consumption and frequency in use of pen are quite high, it will bring an epoch-making improvement in the business and education efficiency in Japan." says Teruo Yamanaka at President/CEO of Anoto Nippon K.K.
"This is the first commercial application in Japan to be followed by many more. The combined expertise of these three significant Anoto partners offers exciting possibilities for the future in a market where we have seen how activities are increasing rapidly over the last few months. In Japan, as in the rest of the world, Anoto revenues are based on pen royalty and revenue sharing of services and system revenues" says Orjan Johansson, CEO Anoto Group AB.
For more information: Orjan Johansson CEO Anoto Group AB +46 733 45 12 08
Anoto Nippon K.K. Since Japan has a long historical culture of handwriting with a (writing) brush and traditional paper, Anoto aimed at Japan as a potential market. Anoto Nippon K.K. was established in June 2000 to fulfill our mission i.e. to establish a de facto standard of digital pens and paper. In cooperation with partners, Anoto Nippon aims to supply of user-friendly applications in all business fields in Japan. For more information, visit www.anoto.co.jp (Japanese)
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) is one of the world's largest comprehensives printing companies, with annual sales of 1.309 trillion-yen and 35,000 employees (as of March 2003). DNP's wide range of businesses includes publication printing, commercial printing, smart cards, network business and electronic components. DNP has been into its computer form printing business since 1955 and now provides the application forms and the examination papers compatible with OCR (Optical Character Reader) and OMR (Optical Mark Reader). Undertaking the process and management of the individual information data, DNP is providing the solutions of printing and delivering personal forms such as phone and credit card bills. For more information, visit www.dnp.co.jp (Japanese) / www.dnp.co.jp/index_e.html (Global site)
Hitachi Maxell, Ltd.
Since its foundation in 1960, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan, has led the electronics industry at home and abroad in the fields of memory and mobility. Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of information storage media products including computer tapes, broadcasting video tapes, optical disks, floppy disks and memory cards, audio and video products including mini discs, audiocassettes and videocassettes, and battery products including lithium ion rechargeable batteries, micro batteries and dry cell batteries. For more information, visit www.maxell.co.jp (Japanese) / www.maxell.com (Global site)
Wao Corporation
WAO, Wao Corporation, was established in 1976 in Osaka, Japan. In education and entertainment business fields, WAO proposes and develops unique services and programs targeting all generations. The Company has established various schools nationwide, for example, "Nokai Center" provides educational courses targeting from kids to high school students. Furthermore "WAO! Creative College" provides training program for adults who aim to become a digital creator. The Company is growing up based on the business of; -e-Learning -Planning and producing multi-media educational contents for software, books, animation -System development and consulting for schools For more information, visit www.wao-corp.com (Japanese)
Anoto Group AB
is a Swedish hi-tech company with unique solutions for transmission of handwritten text from paper to digital media, scanning of printed text and intelligent camera surveillance. All products are based on digital camera technology and image processing in real time. The Anoto Group today has three brand names: Anoto(R) - a comprehensive solution entailing paper, pen and server technologies, allowing us to connect all types of writing paper with the digital world, C-Pen(R) - a scanning pen that can store, interpret and transfer printed text, and WeSpot(TM) - a hardware and software platform for intelligent camera surveillance. The Anoto Group has around 120 employees, offices in Lund (head office), Stockholm, Boston, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Major shareholders are Ericsson, Logitech International S/A and Capital Group. The Anoto share is traded on the O-list, Attract 40 of Stockholmsborsen (Stockholm Stock Exchange) under the ticker ANOT. For more information: www.anotogroup.com
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