Science - March 3, 2005

Alterra makes digital drawing board

Alterra is collaborating with hardware supplier HoDeCom to make a digital drawing board. It consists of a 45 inch screen on an adjustable base and Mimio XI – receivers and pens with which you can digitally store drawings, doodles or written words.

The information can then be put into the software programme Maptalk that was developed by Wageningen researchers. The drawing board allows people to zoom in or see immediately what the effects of certain interventions will be. The process supervisors at Wing in Wageningen want to use the digital drawing board to improve design processes. Architects can now work out ideas together digitally on a map. Mimio XI makes it possible to digitally store notes from a paper map or notes on a projected image, which makes the equipment useful for fieldwork.

A demonstration at Alterra provoked an enthusiastic response. The digital drawing board is likely to cost around 13,000 euros. Wing is thinking about renting out the drawing board together with the Wageningen UR specialists required to use it for various applications. / MW