Abstract: A “gliding” interface operates in a space of visual perceptions and tries to predict an intended pattern sequence to enable a high-speed recognition of Asian writing with a simple interface. When a search begins, the user is presented with a collection of visual patterns within a box. The user can “zoom in” on a visual pattern by moving the cursor toward it. As the user zooms closer, a new layer of patterns appears within the box. The new layer includes more complex visual patterns than those in the previous layer. The system is mistake-tolerant, with no single cumulation of visual patterns required to achieve a specific visual pattern; rather, a statistical algorithm selects the visual patterns most likely to match the unknown structure. The algorithm is updated as the user searches, tracking every visual pattern that the user traverses while using the interface. A database contains groups of visual patterns that describe each Kanji character.