ParaGraph fixes writing on the wall

ParaGraph International today released handwriting recognition software that may reduce the errors that are the bane of PDA users' lives.

The company shipped CalliGrapher 3.0, a handwriting recognition system for handheld devices with an accuracy rate of 97 percent, an increase of 37 percentage points over previous versions, according to the company.

CalliGrapher 3.0 recognizes cursive, mixed cursive, and print handwriting. The software uses a combination of fuzzy logic and neural networks, sophisticated artificial intelligence technologies that allow the recognizer to adapt to a user's writing style. Paragraph said it is aiming CalliGrapher at a variety of device manufacturers, including vendors of PDAs, smart phones, Internet boxes, and pagers.