At MIX10 Bill Buxton – the guru of Natural User Interface at Microsoft brought someone from Pioneer Studios (who incidentally happen to be the guys behind the Courier videos) to demonstrate a Microsoft Research NUI project called Project Gustav. Gustav is a project that lets a painter paint on a digital screen exactly he was painting on his regular canvas. The artist has the ability to use his hands to rub or smudge paint very much like they do in real life. A palette filled with color options and a wide variety of brush options all simulating the old school paint experience.
The video shows both pen and human touch as input points, which the Courier is expected to have. The pen seems very much like the one Courier is speculated to have. Undoubtedly, Gustav will be a part of the Microsoft Courier. Demo video:
And here’s an image of the Courier with the palette and pen:
More on Project Gustav
PS: Sorry about the lack of audio, my recording settings screwed up :|