Collaboration System

Abstract

A collaboration system provides enhanced user interface to enable users to interact with electronic devices. In one embodiment, users can add content to a digital system by using a pen that streams coordinates so that input to the digital system may be based on conventional pen and paper handwriting. In another embodiment, a pie-based menu system is used for input to large display area digital devices in which an occluded portion of the pie-based menu system is not used for direct input by the user. The selection of which areas of the pie-based menu system should be omitted from use is adaptive and responsive to whether the user is left-handed or right-handed, and the wrist angle defined by the user's posture. In still another embodiment, an ergonomic open-shaped pie menu system is provided to facilitate selection of options on a digital surface.

1 . A collaboration system, comprising:
 an electronic pen, the electronic pen enabling a user to write on paper to enable the user to see what the user is writing while using the electronic pen, the electronic pen further being configured to record information about strokes made by the user while writing;   a collaboration server, the collaboration server having a processor and a memory, the memory containing an electronic pen input software program and a collaboration software computer program, the electronic pen software program and collaboration software computer program containing data and instructions which, when loaded into the processor configures the collaboration server to perform a method including the steps of:
 establishing a collaboration session to be shown on a large digital surface; 
 receiving input from the electronic pen over a communication network; 
 processing the input from the electronic pen using the electronic pen software program to recreate what the user was writing while using the electronic pen; 
 incorporating the recreated writing into the collaboration session; and 
 causing the recreated writing to be shown during the collaboration session on the large digital surface.