Electronic Blackboard

Published February 2000

A communications device that has the appearance of a normal chalkboard but in fact is an electronic transponder that converts handwriting on the board's surface into digital signals. The signals can be transmitted over a normal telephone line and reconverted at a remote location to a TV monitor display. Electronic blackboards are useful in teleconferencing, and the data link required for their use is less expensive than video transmission requiring satellite or broadband cable transmission. AT&T manufactures and markets the blackboard under the name Gemini.