A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of developing an automatic Chinese/Japanese input device for a machine translation complex. A specific scanning technique to digitize Chinese/Japanese ideographs is recommended as a result of the study. Results of the study include specification of the resolution necessary to successfully digitize the Chinese/Japanese ideographs, the minimum number of gray levels required for successful digitization, the recommended matrix size necessary for comparison/recognition analysis, and the logic required in the scanner to successfully digitize Chinese/Japanese ideographs at a reasonable rate. The study also determined that noncharacter recognition should be handled in a mini-computer rather than with built-in scanner logic. The conclusions reached with regard to resolution and gray scale requirements are supported by hard-copy displays of Chinese/Japanese ideographs. Scans of Chinese/Japanese test ideographs imaged onto film are made at the recommended resolution and displayed using the Mead Digital Graphics Generator. This unique display device made possible an examination of the effects on Chinese/Japanese ideographs of scanning with various resolutions and utilizing different gray scales. (Author)