Wacom is releasing a new gizmo called the Inkling that may make the process of moving from sketching to digital much smoother. As shown in this video, the system has a pressure sensitive ink pen and a receiver that keeps track of the pen’s precise movements, which are captured and can then be downloaded to your computer in bitmap or vector format.
This has some pretty intriguing potentials for UX work:
- Sketches can be done on any paper or pad, and still be digitally captured.
- No need for a scanner, and the time taken to do the scanning is eliminated.
- Better quality than digital camera captures, and again, not time need to do the capture.
- Layers can be added by pressing the button the the receiver, which can include options for states, contextual information, whatever.
Of course, the idea that I can open and edit my sketches as vector art almost without delay has me thinking about how this will improve how I work.
Also interesting, the comments on the Wacom page have a good bit of discussion about what kind of ink pen inserts will be compatible with the Inkling, including whether mechanical pencil inserts will work. I suspect this device will be modded and hacked very quickly. I look forward to trying this think out.
