French startup launches tablet for augmenting paper drawings

The Grenoble-based startup ISKN recently launched Repaper, a device that enables the digitisation of paper drawings in real time. Using magnetometry, the tablet-sized device tracks the movement of a pencil on paper and produces the drawing into a digital form.

Magnetometry is a technique that measures and traces magnetism. In the case of Repaper, the 25 magnetometers embedded in the tablet-sized device precisely track in three axis the movement of the magnetic ring that can be put on any drawing pencil. 

The device has 8192 pressure points on its surface that generates sub millimetre precision in the digital copy of the paper drawing.  As a result, every line that's drawn on a piece of paper which is attached to the Repaper tablet, is reproduced digitally on the Repaper Studio application.

And thanks to these pressure sensors, the thickness of the lines drawn on paper are identically recreated on the screen.

The Repaper Studio application provides multiple functions including colouring, erasing and timelapse video that registers each step of the drawing and replays it as a video which can be shared via email or on social networks. 

The 460 gram portable device has a six hour autonomy, allowing users the freedom to draw anywhere and at any time. It also offers a 'no screen' mode in which you can draw on paper and save the digital copy locally on the device. The digital version can be later imported to either a PC, Mac, iPad or a smartphone. 

Repaper also doubles as a graphics tablet. It comes with a magnetic stylus which can be used for drawing on the tablet's surface. And just like the paper drawings, the stylus drawings get recreated on the screen in real time.