Lalith Satheesh@lalith_w3

Atheon: From Pencil to Pixel is a smart handwriting-tracking system designed to capture the motion of a pencil directly from the writing instrument itself. A miniature global-shutter camera mounted near the pencil tip observes the paper surface while a synchronized LED strobe freezes motion during each exposure. Computer-vision algorithms track the changing paper texture between frames to estimate the pencil’s movement across the page, allowing physical handwriting to be reconstructed as a digital path. The system is built around a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, an OV9281 global-shutter camera, custom strobe electronics, and a compact battery-powered design intended to fit onto a handheld writing device. Unlike systems that require special paper, a tablet surface, or an external overhead camera, Atheon is intended to work directly on ordinary paper while preserving the natural experience of writing with a pencil. The project focuses on solving the challenges of motion blur, changing pencil angle, perspective distortion, limited working distance, and reliable visual tracking during fast handwriting.

🌎 Hybrid Hackathon | 💻 Online Build: September 10–16, 2026 | 📍 On-site: September 15–17, 2026 The official hackathon of AI Infra Summit — co-organized by Kisaco Research and lablab.ai. Build production-grade AI applications on the modern AI infrastructure stack, alongside 8,000+ attendees, researchers, founders, and infra leaders. 📍 On-site Venue (September 15–17): Santa Clara Convention Center 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA 📍 On-site participation is by invitation only. Travel and accommodation expenses will not be covered.