Abstract: This invention provides an input apparatus which can correctly recognize and accept hand-written characters as soon as they are input without using such an input device as an optical character reader or a keyboard. when characters, etc., are written using a writing instrument having a pen grip (22) fitted thereto, the pressure of fingers applied to the writing instrument is measured by strain gauges (28a, . . . , 28c). The strain gauges (28a, . . . , 28c) output the pressure change of the fingers as waveforms representing electrical changes to a CPU. The CPU (40) separates the waveform into unit waveforms each corresponding to one character, and analyzes wave characteristics for each unit waveform. The waveform characteristics of the written character are then compared and collated with the waveform characteristics of each character of a writer which are in advance learned and stored. Accordingly, the hand-written characters can be correctly recognized immediately after written. Since mercury switches (29a, .

Abstract: This invention provides a pointing device which gives a feeling of operation closer to the feel of people without requiring an operation space. While a writing instrument having a pen grip (2) fitted thereto is held by a hand, a gripping force is applied by fingers as if a line were drawn in a moving direction of a cursor (the line need not be drawn in practice). The pressures of the fingers are measured by strain gauges (28a, 28b, and 28c), which send their corresponding voltage values to a CPU (40). The CPU (40) calculates the moving direction and distance of the cursor on the basis of the voltage values. Then, receiving the data, the cursor is moved to a designated position. When a microswitch (110) is pushed, the cursor position is made definite.