Back to the Future of Handwriting Recognition.

Fifty years ago, RAND corporation developed the Graphical Input Language software system (GRAIL). In a RAND memorandum from 1966, the stated objective of GRAIL was to, “Investigate methods by which a user may deal directly, naturally, and easily with [their] problem.” Users communicated with GRAIL using a pen-like instrument and tablet. GRAIL had no mouse, no keyboard, no buttons, no joystick, and none of the other paraphernalia that we generally associate with modern computing. When the user wanted a box on the screen, they drew the box. When the user wanted text on the screen, they handprinted the text.