The I-Tech Virtual Laser Keyboard

avtchillsboro writes, "The NY Times has a rather fluffy article (registration required) about stuff you can buy to 'accessorize' your smart phone & or cell phone (so passé!). What caught my eye was the I-Tech Virtual Laser Keyboard. From the vendor's website: 'The Virtual Laser Keyboard (VKB) uses both infrared and laser technology to generate an invisible field and project a full-size virtual QWERTY keyboard on any surface... The I-Tech VKB reacts exactly like a real keyboard. Direction technology based on optical recognition enables the user to tap the images of the keys, complete with realistic tapping sounds(!), which feeds into the compatible PDA, Smartphone, laptop, or PC. Note: The VKB is both PC and Macintosh compatible!'"

Comments

Magic Touch

[Doc Ruby]

"The I-Tech VKB reacts exactly like a real keyboard."

One of the reasons I type so much faster than I can talk is that I get so much tactile feedback from the physical keys on the keyboard. My hands know when I've mistyped usually before I can even see the difference on the display. A little lingering feeling in my hands that they've missed the pattern they were expected to type. Despite the simulated clicking sounds to my ear, I expect that I'll make a lot more mistakes on a keyboard which doesn't offer tactile feedback that I've hit a key, complete with a little "throw" through its unique 3D spatial path.

That kind of feedback is extremely important to using any device. It's why eliminating any grasped tool for purely gestural expression seems doomed inferior to actually touching something. Maybe just a dumb pad that gives just tactile feedback, without needing to deliver any sensory info back to the processor, is plenty to complete the loop. But just tapping my fingers on an unresponsive surface, or one different in shape/texture/response every time, will be much worse than typing on even a tiny crowded keyboard, or maybe even A9 keypad entry.

other layouts

[gumbi west]

Does anybody know if these are offered in either split (aka natural) formats or alternative layouts (i.e. Dvorak). There is no reason not to except to keep overhead low.

Crowd here is missing a big thing in my book

[TheCouchPotatoFamine]

Old news, yeah, but with the concern hospitals have over a) using technology to reduce doctor errors and efficiency and b) maintaining a clean environment where, frankly, no pda or keyboard or tactile interface is yet clean in the slighest (disposable sleeves for pda, maybe, but stil..

I'd say the neatest thing is in hospitals where a bit of disinfectant on smooth surface is all it takes to keep transmission of shared consoles down - hey, even sliding paper rolls for the purpose. Any way just thought 'gee that's appicable'..