Making a Keyboard with Mutating Keycaps?

Montreal Geek asks: "I'm currently working on a pet project of mine for which I now find myself with the financial resources to bring to completion: the International Keyboard from Heck. The basic idea (most of the electronics and software for it have already been written) is that the keyboard has a variable layout (and a nice interface to change that layout) with the actual images on the keycaps changing to match what glyph/code-point it will generate. My problem is that I am unsure of which hardware solution to use for the actual, physical keycaps. My original prototype keycap uses a 7x9 array of leds under a lexan surface, but the power requirements of this many leds on a whole keyboard (even when scanning) is a tad prohibitive, and the lexan doesn't feel very good under a finger. Although glowing red keycaps look cool at first, I'm a bit worried that they will end up overly aggressive and annoying in the long run. Can you think of better alternatives? Keep in mind that the design must be resistant to repeated impacts (it is a keyboard after all) and, preferably, have fairly low power consumption so that the device remains practical for laptops." Although a few years from being truly affordable, might OLED technology be appropriate for this project? What other ideas might work out well for such a piece of hardware?

Comments

Clear keycaps + LCD?

[rpresser]

Just guessing here, but what about using an lcd panel under the keycaps, and using clear keycaps?

LCD?

[Panoramix]

I don't think there'll be many options to choose from.

Maybe opaque keys with a hole on the top, and a single-character LCD panel fitted in the hole (not 7-segment but pixelled, like those in "scientific" calculators). Then you can use a single bright light inside the keyboard that will shine through the white dots. And you could add a potentiometer to control the intensity of the light, like a car dashboard, in case it gets annoying. And you can put two lights, one green and one red, and a switch to turn on one or the other, or both, so you can change the light color.

I'm guessing power consumption should be much lower than leds on each key, too.

Re:Animation.

[Wiwi Jumbo]

Or for that matter helping people with choices.. "Y" or "N" flashing on the keyboard when you have a yes or no decision.

There's probably lots of stuff you could do with an animated keyboard....

Re:Reposte

[SlipJig]

I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, and my wife doesn't. When I'm not glued to my laptop we share a desktop machine and tend to switch often. It has a DvortyBoard, which is hardwired to switch between the two layouts with a keypress, and is dual-labeled, but the dual labeling is confusing to my wife because she looks at the keys. Something like this would be a godsend for her.