Artifact Details

Title

The Rand Tablet

Catalog Number

X450.84

Type

Physical object

Description

The Rand tablet was one of the first devices for the input of freehand drawings. Its pen-like stylus sensed pulses of electricity coursing through the tablet's fine grid of conductors - fixing a position within one one-hundreth of an inch across the tablet's 11-inch square surface. The user could enter lines or points by pointing and record their coordinates by pressing down on the stylus.

Date

1963

Manufacturer

RAND Corporation

Place Manufactured

U.S.

Dimensions

1 x 24 1/4 x 20 1/4 in.

Category

I/O/pointing/tablet

Subject

Input; Pointing

Credit

Gift of the Rand Corporation

Lot Number

X450.84

Related Records

X413.84A-B Rand Stylus