Written

Inventors Mark Barker and Robert Hoffman have created the Scribble—a pen that allows the user to scan a color and then use that color to write or draw.

The smart pen industry has seen its share of installments, between Adobe’s “Mighty” stylus and Livescribe’s word scanning tool; Apple is also reportedly investing in a pen venture. None put forward the exact color capabilities of the Scribble, however.

There will be two versions of the Scribble: one that contains an ink cartridge that allows users to write on paper and the other that works as a stylus for mobile devices when the proposed Scribble+ app is installed.

Both types use a color sensor and LED illumination to sample any color and upload it to a computer or mobile device which then sends the color back to the pen. The pen will be able to reproduce over 16 million colors, but only 100,000 can be saved onto its 1 GB onboard chip. It connects through Micro-USB cables or Bluetooth technology and uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery.

Although there is presently only a working prototype of the Scribble, there is currently a Kickstarter campaign to fund money in order to make the pen available to the general public.

Social studies teacher Jaimie Baranoff stated, “The pen seems to be a cool idea. I would use it because I like to use color pens for grading and checking homework.”

Senior Daphne Zhu mentioned, “Although the pen is a cool idea, I don’t think it’s very practical. I wouldn’t really have any use for it, and it’s less expensive to buy just a pack of color pens.”