Ebeam Analysis by Addison Balasbas

Ebeam Analysis by Addison Balasbas

2012 Jan. 17, 19, 20

Ebeam edge is a creative device. It makes for a wonderful interactive resource. The real issue comes down to who is using it. I like that it is simple to use and the ease of set up, but as noting is perfect simplicity it has its draw backs.

Technical Design

-  Receiver range: The ebeam has two sensors located on front of the device which receives signals from the stylus. Dependent on the stylus’ distance from the receiver determines the location of the pointer. [A calibration test is done during set up to create the approximate range]

As seen above the black dotted arrows represent the signal wave path/plane. The Ebeam edge is designed to be used with a single flat surface/plane, the receiver works best when the pen lines up like such .

-  The Stylus: can be used a certain range away from the projection plane, but not as accurately as being on the projection plane itself. This is done by using one of the two buttons on the stylus.

o  How it works: The stylus has batteries inside it, when used to write with, the tip of the stylus is pushed against the battery to send a signal to the receiver when writing. The buttons on top of the stylus work in a similar way, but their uses can be controlled via the settings on the computer. These buttons can be set to actions such as: Show/Hide Pallet, Right click, Left click, etc.

Although you may use the stylus without actually writing, the accuracy of the pointer lessens, and the continuity of the pen’s movements aren’t as smooth.

-  The Receiver Design: Is a single bar with two sensors as motioned before. On the back side of the receiver it has a usb port. This can be used to connect the receiver to correspond laptop, or to a power source.

o  Wireless: Although Bluetooth works with the receiver, it still needs a power source. Thus, although it can wirelessly transmit, it still needs to be plugged in somewhere for energy

o  Physical characteristics: On top of the device there is a circular logo. A ring around the logo glows two colors: Green when setting up/in stand-by, and blue when transmitting/is in use.

o  Surface adjustment: The bottom of the receiver has a metal plate and, what I have determined, two magnets. These are used to connect to the metal docking plate provided with the device. Due to the magnet(s), the receiver can be attached to anything metallic as well. This includes the metal frame of the whiteboard or the metal bar at the bottom of the projector screen.

§  Side note: The magnetism of the receiver is strong enough to connect through the projector screens of 2127 and 2134. By placing the metal plate on one side, and the receiver to the other, they still magnetized and held their place.

-  Multiuse: The ebeam edge works best on flat surfaces, this is mainly due to the accuracy of the stylus and allows for smoothness when writing. Having tested the ebeam it works really well on whiteboards, tables, [smooth] walls, projector screens, etc. Moving to more un common uses, the Ebeam can be used on monitors and display screens as well. All it needs is the projection of the screen on a flat surface and it will work.

Draw Backs

-  The Receiver

o  if moved slightly during use the accuracy of the pointer may be slightly altered.
Possible solution: A simple recalibration will fix that though.

o  Cannot connect to any surface- needs a metallic surface
Possible solution: Use some kind of connective material to hold it otherwise: double stick tape, or Velcro tape could work.

o  If the writing plane is not stable [such as a projector screen] accuracy and/or reception of the stylus actions may be inconsistent.
Possible solution: attach receiver to writing plane so it corresponds to the plane as it moves.

o  Cannot be transmitting to multiple bluetooth signals.
[I had two laptops sending off bluetooth signals with the software installed, and it made it difficult for the ebeam to sync with one]
Possible solution: turn one of the signals off, or sync ebeam before other signals interfere with yours. Once your signal is synced there is no interference from others.

o  It has to be connected to a power source. This not too bad unless your computer or outlet is too far away

-  Stylus

o  Not always perfect, pointer may be slightly off to the side
Possible solution: Recalibrate

o  If surface is uneven, it would be difficult to write. As a test run was done for Monica with a flat wall with uneven surfaces, the pen would drag, make lots of noise, and be inconstant with writing.
Possible solution: If surface is uneven, write using button on the side of the pen and hover over the writing surface.

o  No built in/on eraser.
Solution: select eraser function from pen tablet/actions.

-  The Projection

o  Dependent on the location of the projection will determine the impact of the instructor/presenter. This is due to the shadow that is cast. If the projector is fairly low and behind the instructor, the shadow casted appears directly in front of the presenter, thus impeding their ability to see what they’re writing.
Possible solution: Stand to the side of where you plan to write, have the projector located higher with a better angle that casts the shadow below/away from the area of writing.

o  Projector screens in 2127 and 2134 are fairly large making it difficult to write on the higher parts of the screen.
Possible solution: if the presenter still wants to use the ebeam, it can be attached to their computer screen to simulate a touch screen with the stylus. Or the equipment can be set up, but instead of a stylus- the computer mouse could be used instead of the stylus.

o  The projection plane is larger than the white board.
Possible solution: 1) You could calibrate the screen, and only use the section that appears on the white board. 2) resize the screen via settings or moving the projector closer.

My opinions:

Overall the ebeam is a wonderful product. Simple, portable, and versatile. I believe it will have a huge impact on presentations, and various teaching subjects. The stylus allows a presenter to emphasize areas on a projection in real time. For example, a powerpoint slide that emphasizes various aspects needs to be preprogrammed to produce the various actions. The ebeam will allow the presenter to circle, highlight, write, and draw right on the powerpoint. Furthermore ebeam’s programming is integrated to work with powerpoint to begin with.

The reason I say various teaching subjects is due to the fact that areas that require many numbers, calculations, or detailed descriptions may not work as well. I believe that teachers will need some getting used to the ebeam in order to write proficiently with it. A marker is very exact and precise, the ebeam on the other hand can be slightly in accurate at times due to miscalibration. Writing with the stylus may also feel too big or small, depending on the screen size. Also due to the shadow that may be cast, the writer may not be able to see what their writing until they move out of the way. A solution to this will be provided in the other ideas following this section.

I like the concept of using the ebeam on any flat surface. If you have a projector, or even computer monitor you can use the ebeam. For the users who like writing on tablets, the ebeam can even be calibrated to a piece of paper, the main drawback to this is you cannot see the project on the paper, so you have to look at the image elsewhere to see what you are writing.

Looking back at the above notes, my personal issue is with the receiver’s ability to determine where I’m writing on a projector screen. This is due to the projector screen often shifting due to my writing against it, or the air currents in the room. It’s hard to tell the screen is moving when watching it, but as the screen moves the single flat surface being written on is no longer flat, but slightly wavy. To combat that issue, I attached the receiver directly to the projector screen to move as it does. The only problem with this is sometimes the orientation of the receiver would move and off set calibration. The solution to this is 1) stabilize the orientation of the receiver better, or 2) stabilize the screen from moving in the first place.

Other Ideas:

The ebeam can be great for various teachers who run a lot of projections from their computer, if it be videos, powerpoints, documents, etc. These teachers will be able to utilize ebeam really well. Allowing them to emphasize various points, or connect ideas/objects from one side of the screen to the other with a visual drawing in real time. Furthermore, these additions to their lectures via ebeam can be saved for future reference. As for teachers who do calculations, or write a lot, it takes practice to get use to, and to get fairly good penmanship. Some users will use it fine, but my guess is so many are used to markers, it’ll be a new experience.

One of the solutions for the teacher/presenter/etc that prefers markers is a different product through ebeam. I would assume it is a little more pricy though. Using a receiver, and a marker casing, the presenter places the expo marker in the casing and writes on the white board. From what I have researched, this technology is surprisingly accurate. The draw backs are that it is a little more bulky than the ebeam, more expensive, and has to be used with a whiteboard.

Returning to the concept of tablet users, different brands of computer writing tablets have been produced, and ebeam has one as well. It allows the user to use a tablet to write on. This eliminates the need for a receiver or flat surface. Ease of writing increases as the tablet reacts to the stylus via touch. The drawback to this is the user would be required to look at the screen/projection the whole time they write to see what they’re writing. I have seen teachers use technology like this in some of my classes, and they have become fairly proficient writing this way, and when they are finished, it can be saved and uploaded to black board.

Using ebeam with programs such as evernote: A wonderful concept, but I found difficult my first time around. It could be my lack of experience with evernote, my penmenship, the demo version I was using, or projection, but my biggest issue was getting all the words correct. When a typo occurred, I also found it difficult to go back/nor did I know how to erase letters using a stylus with no eraser.

Something to be analyzed more is evernote’s function with ebeam, it can be a useful program, granted the presenter understands its functions