Electronic Kanji Dictionary Based on "Dasher"

A new interface is proposed for efficiently searching ideographic character sets such as the Japanese Kanji alphabet. The proposed interface is based on MacKay\´s Dasher, an interface originally designed to enable high-speed computer input for disabled persons. The Dasher interface allows a user to form words and sentences by "gliding" through a field of characters. This paper considers adapting the Dasher approach for gliding through a complex and unfamiliar character space. Information-theoretic algorithms are proposed to make the interface tolerant to variations among individuals\´ interpretations of Kanji characters, so that it is immediately usable by persons with no prior knowledge of Kanji. A software concept demonstration of the proposed dictionary is available, implementing some of the proposed features and algorithms