Electronics

Color-sampling Scribble pen races past crowdfunding goal

Color-sampling Scribble pen races past crowdfunding goal
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for the Scribble Ink Pen that allows people to scan a color and then write or draw with it
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for the Scribble Ink Pen that allows people to scan a color and then write or draw with it
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A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for the Scribble Ink Pen that allows people to scan a color and then write or draw with it
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A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for the Scribble Ink Pen that allows people to scan a color and then write or draw with it
The Scribble Stylus version of the device allows users to scan colors and use them on a mobile device
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The Scribble Stylus version of the device allows users to scan colors and use them on a mobile device
Using the Scribble, people need only scan a color for a second or two and it will be immediately useable
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Using the Scribble, people need only scan a color for a second or two and it will be immediately useable
The Scribble has over 16 million possible colors available
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The Scribble has over 16 million possible colors available
The Scribble can store over 100,000 colors in its 1 GB memory
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The Scribble can store over 100,000 colors in its 1 GB memory
The device works with Photoshop and is compatible with both PC and Mac computers
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The device works with Photoshop and is compatible with both PC and Mac computers
An accompanying mobile app allows users to save, organize, tag, search and convert colors that have been scanned
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An accompanying mobile app allows users to save, organize, tag, search and convert colors that have been scanned
Refillable cartridges are available for the ink version of the pen
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Refillable cartridges are available for the ink version of the pen
The Scribble is available in a variety of different colors itself
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The Scribble is available in a variety of different colors itself
The Scribble mobile app is available on both iOS and Android
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The Scribble mobile app is available on both iOS and Android
The Scribble mobile app provides users with information about the color they have scanned
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The Scribble mobile app provides users with information about the color they have scanned
The mobile app also provides information about the status of the user's Scribble device
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The mobile app also provides information about the status of the user's Scribble device
View gallery - 12 images

Back in May we reported on plans to create the Scribble – a pen that can scan and reproduce any color you can find on the fly. After the project smashed its Kickstarter target in just five hours, those plans are now one big step closer to reality.

The Scribble allows users to scan objects with a color sensor at one end and analyzes the color of the object using a built in microprocessor. Depending on the version of the device being used, you can then draw on paper with the scanned color using the Scribble Ink Pen or on a mobile device using the Scribble Stylus.

According to Scribble, the device can reproduce over 16 million unique colors and can store over 100,000 in its 1 GB internal memory once they have been scanned. Refillable cartridges will be available for the ink version of the device and a mobile app allows users to save, organize, tag, search and convert colors that have been scanned.

Using the Scribble, people need only scan a color for a second or two and it will be immediately useable
Using the Scribble, people need only scan a color for a second or two and it will be immediately useable

The Scribble works with Photoshop and is compatible with iOS, Android, PC and Mac devices. It powered by a Lithium-ion battery and is charged via mini-USB. Users can select from six different tip sizes for different stroke weights.

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Scribble was launched yesterday to raise money for its final development and production. The campaign hit its US$100,000 goal within 5 hours and about $280,000 has been raised at the time of writing, with 34 days left to go.

Refillable cartridges are available for the ink version of the pen
Refillable cartridges are available for the ink version of the pen

Assuming all goes to plan with the development and production process, production and delivery of the Scribble is expected to begin from March 2015. A limited number of early bird pledges for the Scribble Stylus and Scribble Ink Pen are still available at $79 and $149 respectively.

The Kickstarter pitch video for Scribble is below.

Source: Scribble, Kickstarter

UPDATE, August 13: As several readers have already pointed out below, funding for this project has just been cancelled. Scribble Technology, the company behind the Scribble Pen, has been asked by Kickstarter to produce a new, more detailed pitch video. The company says the video is being re-shot and that the campaign will be re-launched as soon as the video is ready.

UPDATE, Sept.3: Scribble has now launched a new crowdfunding project that is not on Kickstarter, and has already surpassed its funding goal.

View gallery - 12 images
5 comments
5 comments
Bob Flint
Think outside the art box, if the inks can be made to color match and touch -up applications; automotive, furniture, possibly even fabrics...
James Donohue
Reminded me of the Bic Four Color Pen: http://www.bicworld.com/us/products/details/18/4-color
Rick Dickinson
Project cancelled, explanation questionable. Somebody got some 'splainin' to do.
sieler
There seems to be incredibly little information in the video about the ability to create colors on paper (IIRC, one incredibly tiny glimpse of a girl copying an orange color and then drawing with it, plus a later shot of some pastel colors on paper (without copying)).
(For that matter, the video's showing of colors on a computer tablet is pretty poorly done ... the color often doesn't match the scanned color.)
Wait ... I went to the KS page ... funding cancelled two hours ago!
DomainRider
Looks like it was all pie-in-the-sky - the Kickstarter project funding has been cancelled, despite raising more than 3x its goal.