Multi-Touch Gorilla Glass Keyboard Given Another Look
Kickstarter project shows up at CES 2012 with its stunning prototype.
While the idea of a touch-based keyboard isn't completely new, the Glass Multitouch Keyboard demoed at CES was quite stunning. What started out as a very successful Kickstarter project back in November quickly turned into an awesome prototype unveiled at CES 2012. Although we aren't too sure how many people would prefer a touch-based keyboard over a tactile one, the Glass Multitouch Keyboard looks undeniably awesome.
Created by Jason Giddings of Giddings Product Development, the keyboard utilizes frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) technology to recognize key touches across its Gorilla Glass 2 surface area. Although the demo at CES was a non-working prototype, the product is definitely promising. The keyboard will come with Windows and Mac support, the ability to register multitouch gestures, and both wireless and USB connectivity. Giddings also hopes to integrate speakers to produce haptic feedback like the kind found in many smartphones today.
These photos snapped by the folks over at The Verge show the prototype with a laser etched QWERTY setup, but when the product ships it'll come with a variety of custom layouts. The first batch of production models will be given to the Kickstarter backers who funded $250 or more and is expected sometime in May. After that, the product will start shipping throughout Europe for medical use so it may not be available commercially until later on this year.
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super cool and prestigious but not so useful.
A keyboard that can also function as a touchpad & maybe even a mouse controller?
Swappable game controller layouts. I want one.
this looks awesome i would love to get my self a couple of these for my rig
i couldnt imagine playing skyrim with it, i require my sense in touch so i dont have to look at it while in combat, i find it hard enough typing a essay with a tablet or texting with a cellphone.
if it was like braille and you could feel the letters and each key had a boarder you can touch then its an improvement,but it does look very nice though,
soon we can eat with our fingers and use the keys then wipe it down after each meal.
It looks cool to play with, But I can't see typing on it for long periods of time.
how are you going to rest your fingers on asdf and jkl; without it registering on the touch senstitive glass laser etched keys? very questionable...
It looks cool to play with, But I can't see typing on it for long periods of time.
I have to agree. Typing for long periods of time will take a completely different style since the keys do not move. My bet is that people will complain that it is hard on the hands, and may even cause more instances of carpal tunnel, or other stress related injuries. I have worked with some people who literally pound their keyboards. While the glass would likely not break, that style of typing, IMHO, on this keyboard would likely cause injuries.
If only this KB had clear glass tactile keys it would be awesome. Flat KBs will never take off.
Add backlit led to the "keys" and have them glow brighter or change color when you hit them. Maybe an optional scratchpad on the side?!
Looks dope.
I hate the way traditional keyboards get dirty and are very hard to clean. By the looks of this, you could just spray it down and wipe off the flat surface to clean it. As long as it is super-responsive, I could see gaming on this as well.
I have to agree. Typing for long periods of time will take a completely different style since the keys do not move. My bet is that people will complain that it is hard on the hands, and may even cause more instances of carpal tunnel, or other stress related injuries. I have worked with some people who literally pound their keyboards. While the glass would likely not break, that style of typing, IMHO, on this keyboard would likely cause injuries.
Why would having to press less cause more injuries? I agree, people (like the cavemen that smash the keys) will have to relearn to type. But you aren't going to be pressing super hard once you realize you don't need to. Instead of having to press a key all the way down and let the key pop back up again, you just basically tap your finger lightly on a key.
super cool and prestigious but not so useful.
Yep, this keyboard has iBoard written all over it :-)
Why would having to press less cause more injuries? ~ But you aren't going to be pressing super hard once you realize you don't need to. Instead of having to press a key all the way down and let the key pop back up again, you just basically tap your finger lightly on a key.
The same reason the glass-keyboard notebook (which looks nice) still sucks as a keyboard.
A REAL keyboard (more so on the desktop than a notebook), the keys moving gives you a tactile response (going down/slight click noise) - you can't inexactly rest your fingers on a touch screed device (which is what this is, minus the screen).
- Even if you COULD rest your fingers on the keys, you'd have to use muscles/time/energy to lift your finger and press down... most likely.
- You cannot touch type... no surface = no touching... so you'll be looking at the keyboard more than the screen. (Most of what I type here, I'm not looking at on the keyboard)
- Real Keys are LIKE shock-absorbers. You know, like on a car, or even your shoes. With a flat surface, your fingertips are constantly hitting a solid surface.
YOU can simulate this yourself. Pretend to type on your table for 15-20 minutes straight. If you want, draw a keyboard on a piece of paper and use that. Get back to us on how you fingers feel. This was also the response with the light-projected keyboard (your table surface IS the keyboard)... draw backs: doesn't work well in bright rooms... pain in the finger tips, no tactile response.
On a REAL keyboard, you typically only need to press about halfway down for the press to register, the remaining distance is cushion. Most keyboards have a rubber pad under all the keys.
Again, you can simulate this by typing on YOUR keyboard, then move your hand to the table and type some more... or even the bare plastic areas of your keyboard.
This gorilla glass keyboard looks nice... but its useless as a keyboard. There are already other flat-cleanable keyboards for the medical industry.
I hope they make it edge-lit with a few RGB LED's, that could be mixed to give you whatever color you wanted... seems like it's just begging for it.
sweet i want one, if they can make it so it doesn't fry when you spill a drink on it, this will probably show up in alot of offices, if it can read a fingernail tap women are going to love this. office cleaners will love this and i bet it would reduce some of the flu season spread.
the impact argument is for sissies. if your hands are so delicate you can't adapt to finger tip to finger flats then you have no business being in computers. i have huge hands but i am also not built like a 3 year old and have had enough never dulling due to frostbite and smashed my fingers with a hammer enough that i don't complain about lap tops weight because my 18v dewalt impact drill all day has conditioned me into assigning you names of girly man and such and creating sub catagories or said levels of whiny girly man-nes.
flagging me for this kind of candor will only affirm how dead on right i am in your wearing a dress and how long your skirt is. i saw it to the face of my IT friends all the time when i hear them quip about doing any real work involving manual labor because i do it all and they are supposedly smarter then me.
anybody who whines about keystrokes whines about how heavy and hard it is to use a fork & spoon & knife and still has to be breast fed from what i have seen ( that's not a bad thing i wish i could still get away with it if my wife would let me {trust me it's not going to be my mom but if your mom is hot, i might be able to work something out})
some of us more musically inclined have been drumming our fingers on desks for hours at a time since 2nd grade even if it was just to drive sensitive whiners nuts.
The same reason the glass-keyboard notebook (which looks nice) still sucks as a keyboard.A REAL keyboard (more so on the desktop than a notebook), the keys moving gives you a tactile response (going down/slight click noise) - you can't inexactly rest your fingers on a touch screed device (which is what this is, minus the screen). - Even if you COULD rest your fingers on the keys, you'd have to use muscles/time/energy to lift your finger and press down... most likely.- You cannot touch type... no surface = no touching... so you'll be looking at the keyboard more than the screen. (Most of what I type here, I'm not looking at on the keyboard) - Real Keys are LIKE shock-absorbers. You know, like on a car, or even your shoes. With a flat surface, your fingertips are constantly hitting a solid surface.YOU can simulate this yourself. Pretend to type on your table for 15-20 minutes straight. If you want, draw a keyboard on a piece of paper and use that. Get back to us on how you fingers feel. This was also the response with the light-projected keyboard (your table surface IS the keyboard)... draw backs: doesn't work well in bright rooms... pain in the finger tips, no tactile response.On a REAL keyboard, you typically only need to press about halfway down for the press to register, the remaining distance is cushion. Most keyboards have a rubber pad under all the keys.Again, you can simulate this by typing on YOUR keyboard, then move your hand to the table and type some more... or even the bare plastic areas of your keyboard.This gorilla glass keyboard looks nice... but its useless as a keyboard. There are already other flat-cleanable keyboards for the medical industry.
@kensingtron
For tactile user feedback they should add a small vibration to the keyboard. Another issue is it really does look cool, but think about after you start to use it (finger prints).
Looks cool. But i am not going to use one. Just curious, will it breaks if i drop from waist length??? Is the Gorilla tough enough?
Looks awesome, but wouldn't function.
A few ways to make it better:
1) Detect how much pressure is being applied, so only keys with fingers squished against them would activate, so you could actually put your hands on the keyboard.
2) Slightly raise the glass to form rectangles around the "keys" so you can feel where you're putting your fingers.
3) Shoot some IR up at active keys, making your finger feel slightly warm when a key is activated (thermal response?)
i've never liked touchscreen keyboards
Looks like something I would hang on my wall for decoration. I guess it would be okay for those Apple users that want to add some new flair to their already flaired up device.. but for the average PC user and definitely gamer, I don't see this having a positive impact in the market as far as their shares go. Rather stick to getting a Logitech or other keyboard unlike this one.
now you really have to look at your fingers while typing...tactile keyboards are and will always be the best...now matter how you look at it....
@kensingtronFor tactile user feedback they should add a small vibration to the keyboard. Another issue is it really does look cool, but think about after you start to use it (finger prints).
there is no way a "small vibration" is going to be anything like the feedback from mechanical keyboard. its a joke that you people keep saying this cliche bullshit. according to the black widow specs it takes 50g force to press a key. simulate that with feedback. simulate sliding your fingers across keytops to reposition your hands on the board with your vibrations.
what a stupid solution. and how stupid that it is regurgitated so often.
Wonder if they will implement Swype?
The keyboard of the future will be hooked into our brains somehow. No way to touch-type with this as-is (there may be a way to resolve this). The reason on-screen touch keyboards work fairly well now is because the users' eyes do not leave the screen and they are interacting directly with the device they are observing.
I could see this working well for my kitchen PC, as I rarely type much...but it's equipped with a touchscreen monitor already! Little need for a separate keyboard. I'd rather one of those laser keyboards...at least they require less room.
Nice design, but an epic fail.
I know some people wouldn't mind using this for their daily productivity. However, without, you really have to constantly look at this keyboard to determine which keys you are pressing. This is no different from a touchscreen keyboard, and I would prefer that over this.
I've been typing since grade school. Took keyboarding class in school. So that makes it 20 years I've been typing. First off I like f-14's response. I agree that for key strokers the world over this is going to be a new world. I've been typing in the dark since I've had kids (ha ha... not for that reason either. Kids go to bed, you have quiet and can work on things. But lights on means kids wake up). I've not had an illuminated keyboard either. This sounds outstanding. If I had some capital I would LOVE to throw some at this idea. I would think before it's said and done that there will be quite a few convenience factors taken care of (the chopstick typers, the lookers, the gamers). This will probably end up quite different in the end but with the same concept I hope.
Imagine spilling your coffee on it. just wipe it off
Honestly, I don't think this can ever be anything but a stunt. I've used touch-based keyboards, and every time it's been a game of picking at the "keys" to get anything done. No touch-typing means not worth it.
overpriced POS
Now if he could get some led lighting to refract within the glass to make the buttons glow, I'd be all for it!
wow.. elegant! but i think it is not suitable in gaming
Even the old membrane keyboards (by which I mean, for instance, the Atari 400/800) had slight raised surfaces around the "keys" so you could tell where they were and where your fingers were in relation to them.
If the final (or .1, or 2.0) version of this doesn't have something similar for those of us who do touch type, well - pretty, but useless for us.