Adobe demos smart stylus and ruler for creative professionals
Fresh on the heels of the announcement of the Adobe Creative Suite turning subscription-only, the company also showed off two hardware projects: the Project Mighty stylus and Napoleon ruler.
Both hardware offerings use low-energy Bluetooth to communicate with an iPad or iPhone, and work with the new Creative Cloud software. The Project Mighty stylus is not a normal stylus -- Adobe has done an amazing job of integrating the software and hardware. The stylus has one button on board; when pressed, the software displays a menu of design options and content. If a user has drawings and files in his or her Creative Cloud clipboard, those items can be selected with a tap. If a user is drawing with the stylus, a finger can be used as an eraser.
The Project Mighty stylus holds user information, so it's a "smart stylus." One example in the video below shows a drawing of a wine glass on an iPad being copied and then pasted into the same Creative Cloud app running on an iPhone.
The Napoleon ruler got its name from the French emperor -- "a short ruler." Placed on a mobile device screen, the ruler works in concert with the stylus to make the creation of sharp lines and curves a snap. There is no word on when Project Mighty and Napoleon will make it to market, but Adobe says that these two hardware projects are "just the beginning" and that more paired hardware and software may be in the works.
