Those sticky notes that took over the business world my be about to get the brain transplant they need to take over the digital world.

This could be big, folks. So, follow along here (this may take some explanation):

First, some extremely clever chaps from Anoto (we've written about them before) came up with an idea for paper that is peppered with a nearly invisible, seemingly random pattern of dots. They then build a teensy little scanner into a smart pen that reads the pattern as you write or draw, so it always knows precisely where you are on the paper. Whoala! A digitizer, without the pesky tablet.

Of course, all your cool drawings and writings wouldn't do you much good bottled up inside a smart pen. So, the radio wizards at Ericsson helped Anoto incorporate BlueTooth technology into their pen to let all that inspired data out, without wires.

Finally, 3M knows a bit about applying cool science to paper, so it quickly saw the potential of marrying Anoto's magic pen with their magic paper (i.e. Post It(R) Notes).

The result of this 3-way collaboration?

3M sticky notes and note paper that, thanks to the Anoto Pen, remember what you write on them and transmit all this inspired note taking wirelessly to your Ericsson phone or BlueTooth-equipped PDA or laptop.

Best of all, you might not have to wait all that long, for this science-fiction scenario to become retail reality, since the Anoto is already in production and BlueTooth devices are starting to emerge.

Copyright © 2006 Stephen Jones All rights reserved.