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.
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.
Swappable game controller layouts. I want one.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yep, this keyboard has iBoard written all over it :-)
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.
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.
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).
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?)