Got messy handwriting? Someday your tablet could fix that problem automatically. Watch the video embedded above to see a new tool in action.

Microsoft researcher C. Lawrence Zitnick recently published a paper about a new “Handwriting Beautification” technique where a tablet can actually correct your handwriting–replacing a sloppy letter with the most beautiful iteration of that same letter in your handwriting. Here’s more about the project:

Recently, there has been an increase in interest in the tablet form factor for computers, which was lead by an associated interest in alternative methods for user interaction beyond a keyboard and mouse. These include the use of multi-touch and stylus input. The use of a stylus with a tablet computer closely mirrors that of pencil and paper, while providing the ability to re-imagine and improve the experience.
In this paper, we propose a novel approach to beautifying handwritten notes using a tablet and stylus.

If you want more stylus resources for tablets, check out these posts…

Best stylus for tablet writers

How to make a homemade stylus