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Virtual Keyboard a Reality
billmaly writes "Yahoo has a photo and blurb here about a Virtual Keyboard
That shows a photo and bit of text on a virtual keyboard for Palm and other mobile devices. Applications seen for mobile computing, as well as areas where a standard, physical keyboard are not practical. Very cool stuff from Siemens!"
Excellent idea (although perhaps red-on-brown isn't the most ergnomic of configurations) :)
:)
I can see a particular application for this - people who have to author documents in many different languages. If you're a translator, or you're working on application localisation, you're quite often going to want a different key-map from your everyday layout. With this thing, a couple of clicks could give you a keyboard laid out for writing Russian, Greek, German, or whatever-you-like!
Perhaps you could even program it to give you an "any" key...
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This really does look neat, but I see two problems with it. First, it won't provide the tactile feedback of a real keyboard, so I imagine it would be easy to type between "keys." Second, notice how far away the "keyboard" is away from the Palm; I think the little screen would be difficult to read from that distance (at least it would be for a poor myopic fool like me!)
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Anyone see the comparison with the virual interfaces they show in the Final Fantasy movie?
I thought those were neat, but still distant future.
Now, it seems I could project a computer interface on the wall if I want to!
Where can i buy this?!
What is accepted as a keystroke? I know when I'm writing I tend to hold my fingers on the buttons. And sometimes I might want to keep a button down for a period of time. How does this work on a keyboard that optically detects the strokes? And doesn't it become ergonomically really unsuitable for longer periods of writing?
Neat keyboard and great for people like me who like to use computers in low or light. I'm always turning on pesky desklamps to find the keyboard.
The lack of tactile feedback is a bummer though. Maybe if it chirped when you hit a key, though that might drive you nuts.
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Wow, a virtual keyboard take up no space !! WRONG !!
look at the size of that projector thingy. it's big! Those rubber/cloth folding keyboards are a lot more practical. A flat object is much more pocket-friendly than boxsy objects.
The formfactor is important here. for a desktop, the size doesn't matter that much and a normal kb is the way to go.
I'm guessing based on the photo. This might be totally wrong, but it's the best explanation I can some up with:
I doubt if they're using galvanometers and mirrors to scan that image onto the desktop. For one, they're too expensive, and also that pattern is way too complex to draw with even the fastest galvos.
More likely it's a hologram etched onto a lens, with a really bright laser diode behind it. I'm skeptical as to how visible that keyboard would be except in complete darkness.
So how to they determine which key you're pressing? Well, if they were scanning the image onto the surface, it would just be a matter of using a single photo transistor to measure the brightness of the dot as it moves across the surface. If the brightness changes at a particular point, then you know there's an obstruction. You can map this to a particular key by taking into account the positions of the fingers in the normal typing position. Multiple keys might be obstructed at one time - you only count the one that's closest to the light source.
If it's a static image, it's a little harder. The only way I can think of is to either use a CCD to to capture the whole image, or use a mechanical photo interruptor to blank out a section of the image at a time.
If it's cost effective and it really works, this is a damned impressive product.
I don't know about you, but i don't really see the utility of having to project a virtual keyboard onto a flat surface. I use the stowaway portable keyboard with my iPaq, and the thing rules. I can use it on my lap, in a meeting, on a plane...almost anywhere.
I think you'd look kinda foolish fiddling around with you crotch on an airplane, trying to explain "Oh, no...no, no - don't call the sky marshalls, i'm typing!"
I think this is a case of technlogy for technolgies sake.
For now, i'll use my keyboard occasionally, and my hand predominantly, with my handheld, thank you uvery much.
There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
I'll hazard a guess that using the built in hand recognisition will be the way to go.
I don't know about you, but I can type aprox. 250 chars per minute on a regular keyboard with aprox. 0.5% errors. I can probably write around 60 chars per minute using normal handwriting. That's a 75% slowdown, if you're right. Me - I'd much rather use a keyboard.
Besides the question of how quickly and accurately this device can detect your 'key taps"[...]
Well, since a regular keyboard can "only" keep up with 30 chars per second (1,800 chars per minute), you "only" need to be able to translate 30 keytaps per second. Given the power of even low-end processors, I don't think this will be a problem; I'll guess that it'll be the reading-equipment, that'll be setting the limits at first.
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...there's three words that would worry me about using this as a keyboard for any length of time: Repetitive Strain Injury.
Touch-pad keyboards have pretty much been banned on office equipment since the mid-1980s because although they allowed users to type at great speed, they also caused massive incidence of RSI. Since then keyboards have all required definite "clicks" that need greater muscle movement.
Of course this would be fine for brief use (on a PDA or similar). And it does look cool.
If you have to have tactile feedback, then this wouldn't be for you. I have been using a keyboard/mouse http://www.fingerworks.com/stealth_product.html with no tactile feedback for 2 months now, and love it. Works really well, and is just "different" from a regular keyboard.
However, one huge problem I see with the projected keyboard is finding the home keys. The Stealth has little bumps on all the home keys, and they are VITAL. It allows you to QUICKLY realign the fingers every time you pause. It would be very time consuming if you had to look at the keyboard each time. The realignment is necessary since you don't get to sense hand drift at each key press the way you do with a normak keyboard.
Adrian