Microsoft’s Prototype Stylus is All Kinds of Crazy

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The stylus may have been left behind in the age of multi-touch, but Microsoft researchers think they’ve got a way to give it new life.

Microsoft Research has posted images and video (via Engadget) of a stylus that changes functions based on how you hold it. For example, a typical pen grip allows for handwriting, but holding the stylus with a fist turns it into a stamping tool. Other grips include a paint brush, a spray can, a mathematic compass and, inexplicably, a flute or saxophone.

No word on when the stylus will come to market, if at all — the multi-touch and orientation sensors that allow the stylus to recognize hand position make the prototype rather bulky — but it’s a cool idea, especially for digital artists.

Now, if only Microsoft had a modern tablet device on which to use such a stylus. Courier, we wish you existed.