1

CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Writing has been part of human civilization since 3150 BC (Mark,

2011) and it has been the framework of our communication. It became an

essential element of human expression; the ability to articulate oneself through

the written word provides one with the opportunity to share their knowledge

in a meaningful and effective way. Writing makes our thinking and learning

visible and permanent. Writing is extremely important in today’s society.

Communications is transmitted more through writing than any other type of

media. The most binding contracts and agreements are written and signed.

Writing is part of a creative project, whether it is a film, building, or a piece

of literature. Without writing the flow of ideas halted shortly beyond the

source. From an educational perspective, developing written skills will enable

students to learn how to compose ideas, organize their thoughts and

arguments, support key points and share information. Acquiring these skills

will also prepare students for their future academic and professional endeavors

(Nowacek, 2018).
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The study focuses on a holographic device to be used to display, to save

and to retrieve data and information. Holography is the technique of creating

holograms - that is special kind of images on 2-dimensional surfaces that

create the effect of 3 dimensional objects (Workman, 2013).

The basic principle of holography is to create the image using two

simultaneous beams of light that interfere with each other to form a complex

image on a suitable photographic film. These two beams of lights are created

by splitting a light source in two with one source reflecting light from the

object to be photographed on the film and the other falling directly on it from

the source. The image developed in this way is the hologram. The light source

used for holography is usually a laser light. When light from any source falls

on the film hologram, it changes this light to reconstruct the light pattern of

original object, creating a three-dimensional image.

A holographic image can be seen by looking into an illuminated

holographic print or by shining a laser through a hologram and projecting the

image onto a screen or any device. It is based on the principle of interference.

A hologram captures the interference pattern between two or more beams of

coherent light (i.e. laser light). One beam is shone directly on the recording

medium and acts as a reference to the light scattered from the illuminated

scene (Robin & Poorvika, 2013).

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Rationale of the Study

Digital writing devices associated with the use of computers, tablet PCs,

or mobile phones are increasingly replacing writing by hand (Mangen &

Velay, 2010).

For decades now, writing on paper is the common way of taking down

notes. However, paper is made of trees. The loss of trees and other vegetation

can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding,

increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for

humanity (Pachamama Alliance, 2019).

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2016 State of the Forests report

revealed that 7 million hectares of forest are lost annually while agricultural

land expands by 6 million. The biggest threat to forests today is industrial

agriculture production of commodities like Conflict Palm Oil, fabric, paper and

logging. Only 4 billion hectares of forest remain worldwide according to

Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 (Food and Agriculture

Organization, 2016). In the Philippines alone, the country's biodiversity is

considered one of the richest in the world. But it is also among the most

threatened. The Philippines is losing approximately 47,000 hectares of forest

cover every year, according to the data provided by the Forest Management
 4

Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Cabico,

2018).

The full environmental impact of paper usage may not be obvious. All

the steps involved in creating paper—wood extraction, processing, production,

transportation, use, and disposal—contribute to significant environmental

challenges. Recycling paper and using recycled paper can help alleviate

concerns associated with much of the process, though it is difficult to quantify

its effect on reducing demand on forests. Likely, it is happening at a scale that

helps abate the impacts from increasing demand yet does not create a net

reduction in the rate of forest extraction (Sarantis, 2002).

The researchers aim to develop a device called Holographic

Writingpad. This will not eliminate the old-fashioned way of writing. People

will still get to write manually through a holographic display. It will be a very

innovative way of digitally handwriting your notes with a smart pen on a

holographic device. Users will still get the benefits of handwriting, plus the

advantages of using digital technologies. They can easily save/upload notes

for easy access. It is eco-friendly, saves space and offers slick features and

organizational tools. And, you will never run out of paper.

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Theoretical Background

This study is anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory by

Everett Rogers. This theory relies heavily on human capital. The innovation

must be widely adopted in order to self-sustain. Within the rate of adoption,

there is a point at which an innovation reaches critical mass (Hartzell, 2017).

This theory originated in communication to explain how, over time, an

idea or product gains momentum and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific

population or social system. The result of this diffusion is that people, as part

of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or product. When promoting

an innovation to a target population, it is important to understand the

characteristics of the target population that will help or hinder adoption of the

innovation (Lin & Hingson, 2014).

It is a theory that seeks to clarify why and at what rate new ideas and

technologies unfold. Rogers emphasizes the perception of age and explains

that it's the component of your time that differentiates diffusion from

alternative varieties of communications analysis. The goals of the diffusion

are to shorten process between the introduction of product and its widespread

adoption. Product innovations have a variable rate of acceptance. Some

diffuse from introduction to widespread use during a few years; others take

decades (Citeman, 2010).

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Rightly so, people are still keen on using the traditional way of writing

since they are used to it. However, as time and technology advances, a large

group of people will adapt to innovations like the Holographic Writingpad.

Integrating writing with technology will only improve and enhance the

process.

Another theory that supports this study is the Cognitive Flexibility

Theory. This is often the human capacity to adjust the cognitive handling

strategies to confront modern and startling conditions within the environment.

This includes three critical concept characteristics. Firstly, Cognitive

Flexibility is an ability to learn through experience. Secondly, Cognitive

Flexibility involves the variation of cognitive process methods. It may be a

sequence of operations that search through an issue area. This implies that as

individuals go through their ordinary schedule, they will tend to hunt for

options to ease the method. At that point, they will adjust to the modern

arrangements & developments (Payne, Bettman and Johnson, 2003).

These theories will be integrated with holographic technology.

Holography has been a very useful tool in many areas, such as in commerce,

scientific research, medicine, and industry. The advancement in technology

has been substantial (Sarcar et al, 2010).

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Over the years, technology have grown rapidly and as expected there

have been some related technologies to the proposed Holographic

Writingpad. One of those is the Samsung Galaxy Note. It is a series of high-

end Android-based smartphones and tablets developed and marketed by

Samsung Electronics. The line is primarily oriented towards pen computing;

all Galaxy Note models ship with a stylus pen and incorporate a pressure-

sensitive Wacom digitizer. All Galaxy Note models also include software

features that are oriented towards the stylus and the devices' large screens,

such as notetaking and digital scrapbooking apps, and split-screen

multitasking. The Galaxy Note smartphones have been considered the first

commercially successful examples of "phablets"—a class of smartphone

with large screens that are intended to straddle the functionality of a

traditional tablet with that of a phone. Samsung sold over 50 million Galaxy

Note devices between September 2011 and October 2013. 10 million units

of the Galaxy Note 3 have been sold within its first 2 months, 30 million were

of the Note II, while the original Galaxy Note sold around 10 million units

worldwide (Segan, 2012).

Another related technology is the projection keyboard. A projection

keyboard is a form of computer input device whereby the image of a virtual

keyboard is projected onto a surface: when a user's fingers are placed on the
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projected "keys", the device translates them into keystrokes. It optically

detects and analyses human hand and finger motions and interprets them as

operations on a physically non-existent input device like a surface having

painted or projected keys. In that way it can emulate unlimited types of

manually operated input devices (such as a mouse, keyboard, and other

devices) (Kois, 2012).

The laser keyboards use laser and infra-red technology to create the

virtual keyboard and to project the hologram of a keyboard on a flat surface

(Creamer, 2012).

Both of these devices are merged into a simplified version that is usable

for regular students, teachers, businessmen, etc. Anyone whose regular day

involves note-taking, meetings and presentations will find the Holographic

Writingpad beneficial.

The concept of Holographic Writingpad is that it has the same input and

output functions as a traditional note-taking but is neither mechanical nor

material. Several technologies such as digital image processing, pattern

recognition, finger recognition, and tracking, are required to complete a

holographic writingpad. Currently, there are still a variety of challenges that

must be overcome in order for it to be developed. These challenges include

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variable conditions such as differences in skin tones between users, complex

environments, inconvenient add-on devices, and the limitations of various

algorithms (Gao, Fan, Jiang & Han, 2008).

There have been studies related to this research. Kazuhiro Terajima,

Japanese researcher and writer, and his team developed a system that is

capable of using the images captured by a high-frame-rate camera to track the

3D motion of the human hand and fingers so that in-air typing motion could

be recognized in 2009. Overall, the objective of the research was to design a

fast finger tracking system that could be used as an in-air typing interface. By

using a template-matching-based method, they were able to significantly

reduce background effect and make tracking possible even without markers.

The high-frame-rate cameras were used because they were capable of tracking

and recognizing rapid typing motion. Furthermore, so that real-time

recognition could be accomplished. They built new hardware for the purpose

of parallelizing and accelerating the image processing speed. Ultimately, they

were able to complete their objective of achieving real-time recognition of in-

air typing motion. Additionally, the template machine-based method that they

implemented proved functional even when faced with environments varying

illumination and cluttered backgrounds and significantly decreased the errors.

 10

Conceptual Framework

 Holographic  Data of user’s

Writing Pad usage of
Device paper and
 Specialized reliance on it
Pen paired  Problems
with the encountered
device by users with
handwriting
 User’s
commands

Laser light projection

or Holographic display

Figure 1: Holographic Writing Pad Conceptual Framework

The researchers of the study aim to develop a device that could project

and imitate a sheet to write on to help minimize the usage of paper, provide

better storage, portability and security for documents. Holographic Writing

Pad’s device uses laser lights to project something on any flat surface that
 11

would represent a paper to write on. The user will be able to change the paper

size in the device’s settings for default paper size or in the writing page of the

Graphical User Interface (GUI) display via option icon. A specialized pen that

is paired with the device serves like a stylus pen is used to write on the display.

A sensor is used to track the movement of the specialized pen when it hits the

holographic display. The pen’s point has a property that is easier to be tracked

by the device’s sensor for better tracing purpose. The device then processes

what the user writes and projects it back to the display in real time. This way

the user will look like he/she is writing on a piece of paper. All other

interactions between the user and the display will also be done using the

device’s specialized pen.

The device also a local storage for the documents created. The saved

documents can be accessed by connecting the device to a Personal Computer

(PC) or Macintosh (Mac) through USB cable. The device also has the

capability to send a save to another device wirelessly.

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Table 1: COMPARATIVE MATRIX

Existing Features Limitations

Technology
• Easy to access writing medium. • Too
• Auto storage to local phone’s complex to
Samsung Notes memory use due to
• Ability to edit graphic designs and multiple
Year 2011 photos through the use of video features
editor • Difficult to
• Handwriting to Text transfer files
on multiple
devices

• Allows user to input or type • No storage

Projection information without the actual of its own
Keyboard keyboard hardware • Entirely just
an input
Year: 1992 device
 13

THE PROBLEM

Objectives of the Study

The goal of the study is to develop a device “Holographic Writing Pad”

for the purpose of replacing paper in schools and by doing so reduces

deforestation and by doing reduce the cases of illegal logging. Specifically,

this study seeks to address the following sub-objectives:

1.) To gather data about paper usage in general in relation to note-taking

2.) To determine a method that can organize and stabilize paperworks

3.) To define a schema that minimizes the use of paper, provides better

storage, portability, and security for documents

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study aims to develop a device with a software that can virtually

project paper like display through laser lights to represent a writing pad to

write onto called as “Holographic Writingpad”. The said technology will

serve as an alternative for writing on paper in the future to help lessen the

rapid rate of mother earth’s global warming due to the constant deforestation

for supplying the needs and wants of humanity. Any activities that involves
 14

note-taking or writing will benefit from the device. However, it also has its

own limitations.

1. Unlike a mobile device, it can't receive or send files via Bluetooth.

2. Since the device won't recognize inputs other than the stylus pen, it

would be nearly impossible to input without the stylus pen should the pen be

damaged or lost.

3. When printing an actual document, the device would still need an

actual working printer.

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Significance of the Study

The outcome of the study will be beneficial to the following:

Students. They will now have access to a device that could be used as

an alternative for paper and pen when taking down notes.

Instructors/Professors. Instructors can easily take down notes and

prepare daily reports/programme for their students.

Businessmen. It is but normal for them to always have papers, notes

handy. Having the device will lessen the need of paperworks.

Public Speakers. While speaking to the masses, they can easily jot

down notes and pointers.

Department of Education (DepEd). Once the efficiency and

importance of the device is proven, the department may suggest or propose

its usage to all schools.

Researchers. The researchers will benefit from this study because the

study helps improve their coordination, teamwork and programming skills.

Future Researchers. The future researchers would benefit from this

study because the data gathered may be used to develop the device, and to-be
 16

implemented related applications and researches. It would serve as a guide for

their studies.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This diagram shows the flow wherein the components of input, process,

and output are clearly identified.

Figure 2:

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Data of user’s  Requirements

usage of paper and Phase Holographic

reliance on it  Design Phase
Writingpad
 Problems  Development Phase

encountered by  Testing Phase

students  Iterations
 Appropriate tools  Deployment Phase
in creating the

reports.
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Figure 2: Flow of the Study

Figure 2 shows the flow of the study. The flow is divided into three

parts. First, the input is the requirement needed for the device to function.

Second, the process is the development and creation of the. Lastly, an output

which is the complete device itself.

Research Environment

The study will be conducted at the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus of

selected Computer Studies students. With the guidance of the instructor and

researchers, orderliness will be observed. The students are still using the

traditional process of note-taking through the use of pen and paper.

Research Informants

University of Cebu-Banilad has more than 60, 000 all throughout the

departments. This research will focus on a few BSIT/IS students who will answer

the interview questions about the traditional way of note-taking. The number of

informants that will be interviewed is 10.

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Research Instrument

The essential tool used in gathering the data for this study is the interview

guide which is made by the proponents. This includes questions regarding the

students’ manual process of note-taking in and the problems they have

encountered.

Software Engineering Model

This study used the Agile Methodology as the Project Methodology for

the design, development, and documentation of “Holographic Writingpad.”

Figure 3: Waterfall
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As shown in figure 3, the Waterfall method has five phases. Each phase was

allocated to specific time frames. The researchers decided to use the Waterfall

Methodology as it progresses through easily understandable and explainable

phases which makes it easy to use. A schedule can be set with deadlines for

each stage of development and a product can proceed through the development

process model phases one by one. These ensure that the project will move

efficiently, easily and value is optimized throughout the development process.

Table 2: BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

Key Partners Key Activities Value Customer Customer

Propositions Relationships Segments
1. Schools 1. Device
2.Businesses development 1. Minimize 1. Social 1. Students
2. Designing paper Usage Media 2. Teachers
System 2. Easy saving, 2. Email 3. Business
accessing and Persons
Key Resources sharing of notes Channels 4.Public
Speakers
1. Interest in 1. Retail Stores
Technology 2. Direct Sales
2. Creativity and Delivery
Flexibility

Cost Structure Revenue Streams

1. Device development cost 1. Scheduled Demos

2. Holographic Device and digital pen 2. Advertisement
cost 3. Profit Share
3. Time & Energy
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User Interface Design

Figure 4: Main Menu

The holographic writing pad has 3

features on the menu. File creation, File

search, and settings. Settings has the

following options: display size, display

color, display type. File search lets you

search the files you have previously

created. File Creation, when clicked,

leads to you to [Figure 5].

Figure 5: Writing

This is the main feature of the

Holographic Writing pad, with a

specialized pen, you can write anything

you want. Whether it be random texts to

passwords to very sensitive information.

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Figure 6: File Saving

Another feature of the Holographic pad is

that you can save your file for further

use/viewing/editing. In the settings

[Figure 1] you can add a password for

security measures if the file you have

saved is important.

Figure 7: Browsing/Viewing Files

Files you have saved will be stored here

under the filename you have saved it with.

You can SORT the files through

alphabetical order, file size, date modified

and such. You can access these files with

a tap from your pen.

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Figure 8: Page Option

This is one feature found on the device

that is very useful. It is found on [Figure 2

& 3]. Notice the 3 lines, if the user clicks

that the options drop down and the user

has the ability to execute one of the five

functions displayed. The purpose of

giving access to these options to the user is to provide more flexibility to the

device.
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Table 3: Gantt Chart

 25

Definition of Terms

To understand and avoid misconceptions of the common words used all

throughout the context of the study, these are the following words with its

meaning:

Hologram. is a three-dimensional image, created with photographic

projection.

Holographic. are images produced using hologram.

Holographic device. is a device that projects a hologram using lights.

Holographic Writingpad. is the holographic projection/display of paper like

pad to write on.

Smart pen/Specialized pen. is the pen paired with the production of the

“Holographic Writingpad”.

Laser keyboard/Virtual keyboard/Projection keyboard. is a holographic

display of a computer keyboard.

Infra-red. (of electromagnetic radiation) having a wavelength just greater than

that of the red end of the visible light spectrum but less than that of

microwaves. It is one of the critical components of the “Holographic

Writingpad”.
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REFERENCES

A. Books

Beyer, H. & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual Design: Defining Customer-

Centered Systems. Academic Press: Kaufmann Publishers.

Creamer, Michal (August 4, 2012). Laser Keyboard and Mouse

Reviews.

Jansen, R. S., Lakens, D., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2017). An integrative

review of the cognitive costs and benefits of note-taking. Educational

Research Review, 22, 223-233.

Hartzell, Michael (July 31, 2017). Diffusion of Innovations.

Kois, Eloi Rylan (July 06, 2012). Projection Keyboard: Input Device, Virtual

keyboard, Startup company. Press: Tract

Mark, J. (2011). Ancient History Encylopedia.

Preece, J., Rogers, Y., Sharp, H. (2002). Interaction Design. Beyond

human - computer interaction. New York: John Wiley Publishers

Radesky, J. S., Schumacher, J., & Zuckerman, B. (2015). Mobile and

interactive media use by young children: The good, the bad, and the
 27

unknown. Pediatrics Perspectives, 135, 1-3. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-

2251.

Sarantes, H. (2002). A Step-by-Step Plan to Save Money by Saving Paper.

B. Journals

Cabico, K (2018). Recovering the Philippines’ forest cover.

Nan Lin and Ralph Hingson. Diffusion of Family Planning Innovations:

Theoretical and Practical Issues Retrieved from Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 189-

194

Nowacek, R. (2018). What Makes Writing So Important? [Brochure].

Brown University and the University of Missouri.

Robin Johny K., Poorvika E. (2013). International Journal of Scientific &

Engineering Research, Volume 4, Issue 9

C. Other Sources

Gao, J., Fan, W., Jiang, J., & Han, J. (2008). Knowledge transfer via multiple

model local structure mapping. In Proceedings of the 14th ACM

SIGKDD international conference on Knowledge discovery and data

mining, pp.284-291.

Niikura, T., Watanabe, Y., Komuro, T., & Ishikawa, M. (2012). In-air

Typing Interface: Realizing 3D operation for mobile devices. In 2012

 28

IEEE 1st Global Conference on consumer Electronics (GCCE),

pp.223-227.

Payne, J. W., Bettman, J. R., and Johnson, E. J., The adaptive decision maker.

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003.

Sarcar, Sayan & Ghosh, Soumalya & Kumar Saha, Pradipta & Samanta,

Debasis. (2010). Virtual keyboard design: State of the arts and research

issues. TechSym 2010 - Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE Students'

Technology Symposium. 289-299. 10.1109/TECHSYM.2010.5469165.

Segan, Sasha (February 13, 2012). Enter the Phablet: A History of Phone-

Tablet Hybrids. PC Magazine.

Terajima, K., Komuro, T., & Ishikawa, M. (2009). Fast finger tracking

system for in-air typing interface. In CHI’09 Extended Abstracts on

Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp.3739-3744

Workman, Robert (May 23, 2013). What is a Hologram?

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Appendix A

Transmittal Letter

January 14, 2019

MR. ERIC ORTEGA
Faculty, College of Computer Studies (CCS)

Dear Mr. Ortega:

Greetings!

We are the students of the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus taking up Bachelor of Science in
Information Technology. We are conducting a study on the practicability and viability of our
proposed device, the Holographic Writingpad, as an alternative to the traditional way of writing
and taking down notes.

In connection with this, we would like to request for your kind approval to distribute
questionnaires to any of your class to conduct the study. We assure the confidentiality of the
information that will be gathered.

We are looking forward for your favorable response.

With appreciation,

Cristian G. Paragoso Jephunneh C. Mabini

Carl Brendon Cortes Kate T. Masong

Noted By:

DR. JUDY ANN FERRATER-GIMENA

Adviser

Approved By:

MR. ERIC ORTEGA

Faculty
 30

Appendix B

Research Instruments

Questionnaire

Name of Participant:

Age:

Gender:

Date of Participant:

Guide Questions:

• What are the primary usage of paper?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

• What are the challenges that you encounter when taking down notes
using pen and paper?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

• Are there any suggestions and recommendations that you could think of
to enhance the traditional way of note-taking?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Appendix C

Location Map

Figure 9:
 CURRICULUM VITAE 32

PERSONAL DATA

NAME: Cristian G. Paragoso

DATE OF BIRTH: December 11, 1986

ADDRESS: 835 UCMA Village, Lahug, Cebu City

GENDER: Male

CIVIL STATUS: Single

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

CONTACT NUMBER: 09158416454

_____________________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

COLLEGE: Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering

University of San Jose-Recoletos

Magallanes St., Cebu City

School Year 2003 – 2008

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

University of Cebu – Banilad Campus

Banilad, Cebu City

School Year 2012 – Present

HIGH SCHOOL: 1999 – The Sisters of Mary Boystown School

Tungkop, Minglanilla, Cebu

ELEMENTARY: 1993 – Tungkop Elementary School

Tungkop, Minglanilla, Cebu

 33

PERSONAL DATA

NAME: Carl Brendon R. Cortes

DATE OF BIRTH: August 30, 1996

ADDRESS: Brgy. Cubacub Mandaue, Cebu City

GENDER: Male

CIVIL STATUS: Single

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

CONTACT NUMBER: 099956195084

______________________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

COLLEGE: Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

University of Cebu – Banilad Campus

Banilad, Cebu City

School Year 2017 – Present

HIGH SCHOOL: 2013 – Ateneo De Cebu

H Abellana, Mandaue City, Cebu

ELEMENTARY: 2009 – Marie Ernestine Science High School

Gov. M. Cuenco Ave, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu

 34

PERSONAL DATA

NAME: Kate T. Masong

DATE OF BIRTH: June 9, 1998

ADDRESS: Mango Green Village A.S Fortuna St.

Banilad Mandaue City

GENDER: Female

CIVIL STATUS: Single

RELIGION: Roman Catholic

CONTACT NUMBER: 09185561441

______________________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

COLLEGE: Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

University of Cebu – Banilad Campus

Banilad, Cebu City

School Year 2017 – Present

HIGH SCHOOL: 2014 – University of the Visayas – Toledo City Campus

Poloyapoy St, Diosdado Macapagal Highway, Toledo City

ELEMENTARY: 2010 – Asturias Central Elementary School

Poblacion, Asturias Cebu

35