IO Brush is a cool new drawing tool that aimed for the kids. We know that sometime it’s hard for the kids to draw on the computer using the virtual brush controlled with the mouse (I guess not just kids, I also find it hard to draw using the mouse). Well, by using this IO Brush, kids (and me) now can draw on the computer just like he draws on the real canvas.

Technically, IO Brush is a drawing tool to explore colors, textures, and movements found in everyday materials by “picking up” and drawing with them. I/O Brush looks like a regular physical paintbrush but has a small video camera with lights and touch sensors embedded inside. Outside of the drawing canvas, the brush can pick up color, texture, and movement of a brushed surface. On the canvas, artists can draw with the special “ink” they just picked up from their immediate environment.

In the current prototype, there’s a small CCD video camera in the brush’ tip with a ring of white LEDs around it. Force sensors are also embedded inside of the brush, measuring the pressure that is getting applied to the bristles. When the brush touches a surface, the lights around the camera briefly turn on to provide supplemental light for the camera. During that time, the system grabs the frames from the camera and stores them in the program.

On the canvas, the brush lets the artist draw with that special ink s/he has just picked up. Currently, a large touch screen with a back projection screen is used (as the canvas).

[ More Information About IO Brush ] [ Via TheGadgetBlog ]