This 50-year-old Taiwanese man is making coloring cool enough for adults

Readers who grew up in the 90s will fondly remember big boxes of Crayola crayons, full of colors with names like “Radical Red” and “Jungle Green.” When it came to coloring, part of the fun lay in choosing from an array of different hues (120!) in an attempt to find a perfect match.

Ufro, a six-man startup from Taipei, is proudly taking coloring to the next level with the Mozbii, which is an iPad stylus made just for kids. Using RGB color sensors, Mozbii can detect the pigment of physical objects – the table, the flower bouquet nearby, the puppy’s coat. Pressing the bendable backside against something triggers the sensor, and then sends the color to one’s tablet via Bluetooth. Children can then use Mozbii to color in pictures on Mozbii’s iOS or Android apps.

Ufro founder Jeremy Shu demonstrated Mozbii for Tech in Asia from his office, and we can confirm that the tool works as promised. Color recognition is accurate, and it’s a thrill to see real-life pigments make their way into one’s digital palette.

Shu launched a Kickstarter campaign for Mozbii less than a month ago, and at press time it’s already surpassed its US$30,000 target by more than 30 percent. That should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Kickstarter campaigns closely – Mozbii’s kid-friendly premise and eye-popping tech make it a crowdpleaser.

It’s also the only stylus on the market that detects colors. While San Francisco’s Scribble Technology made waves in August for a pen that allegedly captured hues and worked both on mobile tablets and paper, the team quickly grew mired in controversy following accusations that their product was bogus. Tools like App Crayon and Crayola’s iMarker would make worthy competitors, but they can’t sense pigment. Shu says that he considered developing a product for amateur and professional artists, but decided against it because adults would likely have more specific needs.

“There are a lot of different scenarios we have to consider for color capturing – is it dark inside? Are you indoors or outdoors? Is there a texture? [Also], for color capturing for adults, they need to use different applications [like Adobe Ideas, or Sketchbook Pro]. So before we get into those specific markets, I need to make sure that the technology is mature enough.”

Shu intends to sell the Mozbii for US$99 a pop. That’s no bargain, but for parents hoping to nurture the inner artist in their children, it might be worth the investment.

The art of the Big A

At 50, Shu is older than your average startup founder. Despite his product’s target market, he exudes a sense of focus that’s all work and no play as he discusses Ufro and Mozbii. Like many East Asian startup entrepreneurs, Shu started his own venture partially to break free from corporate culture, and partially to fulfill a personal goal. In his case, that goal was to build a product that would foster creativity among children. Shu openly admits that Mozbii was conceived after he saw how his own children blossomed once they took on extracurricular activities at school.

“[After transitioning to a new school], their teachers told them to study more and develop a hobby,” says Shu. “One of my kids chose guitar, the other chose tennis. I saw how a self-generated hobby can drive them to learn better in the classroom. That experience taught me that if kids can focus on something they like themselves and develop a hobby, they can really grow from that hobby.”

Before leaving Quanta in October 2013 to focus full-time on Ufro, Shu managed ODM partnerships and operations for Apple, Acer, Asus, and Quanta. Not surprisingly, his vast network of connections to Taiwan’s component manufacturers made sourcing Mozbii a breeze. But Shu says that working for Apple, Acer, and Asus – three very different companies, despite their shared initials – instilled a desire to always put the user’s needs first. While Mozbii doesn’t bear an Apple logo, Shu points to its bendable sensor-point, its non-removable battery, and cloth tip as features inspired by the Cupertino giant.