A Glass Touch Keyboard and Mouse is Near Reality

By Douglas Perry
published

There is an intriguing project on Kickstarter that has people talking.

Jason Giddings wants to build a touch keyboard and mouse built in glass--and it looks like he'll be able to meet his $50,000 goal.

As stunning as the design of the keyboard and mouse may be, it may even be more amazing that Giddings is using a fairly simple technology to make it work. He uses a technology called FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection). LEDs placed on the frame of the glass surface send infrared light through the glass, which is reflected to cameras built into the keyboard base. The cameras determines the location of the touch and sends the data to the computer. There is no information on how fast and accurate the process is; and there is no haptic feedback, so the user would have to look at a screen to see whether or not a key target has been hit.

As of Tuesday morning, Giddings had collected only $5000. By noon, the number had jumped to $36,700 and 150 people who are convinced that the idea is compelling enough to spend money on. 11 people gave $150 to receive a future touch mouse, 12 gave $250 to get a touch keyboard, 76 gave $350 to get both and 3 people gave $1200 to get prototype and production units.

Douglas Perry
30 Comments Comment from the forums
  • alhanelem
    i wonder how long the glass stays clean and if its durable enough to last for a few years
    Reply
  • LuckyDucky7
    So when some user brings his fists down on the keyboard, what happens to it?

    (Also, how hard is it to integrate small motors into the keyboard's base so that when you press a key it fools your brain into thinking you hit it? That tech's been on smartphones for years!)
    Reply
  • apercu
    This doesn't seem like a good idea... No more resting fingers on your keyboard. That won't be tiring after hours of typing. :P
    Reply
  • kcorp2003
    nice idea. similar to mine except with the cameras. i welcome it! however the mouse design won't work for gaming. the mouse is more of a portable track pad.
    Reply
  • dark_knight33
    LuckyDucky7(Also, how hard is it to integrate small motors into the keyboard's base so that when you press a key it fools your brain into thinking you hit it? That tech's been on smartphones for years!)
    Funny, I always turn that off. Why do you need the phone to vibrate to know you've hit a key? You're looking right at the phone while you type! The click sound, letter highlighting, and actual typing on the screen aren't enough? With how quickly someone like me types on a desktop sized keyboard, the sensation would quickly become aggravating, as it would simply feel like a steady vibration. Not to mention, I think it would numb your wrists after a while.

    Also, I think it's kind of ridiculous to look at this concept and complain it doesn't have enough features. Last I checked, they don't build smartphone tech on kickstarter budgets.
    Reply
  • archange
    Really cool. Ideal for the company manager, the type who never has to actually use the cutting edge computer sitting on his desk. Plus points on the "wow" factor.

    Judging by the looks, it should drive Apple fans wild.
    Reply
  • thesnappyfingers
    i'll stick with the $30 keyboards.
    Reply
  • Why do people keep trying to fix things that are not broken?
    Reply
  • jezus53
    asmetooWhy do people keep trying to fix things that are not broken?
    Better question, why do people think tech for smartphones/tablets/laptops/desktops would be great to incorporate into smartphones/tablets/laptops/desktops? Just because it works great for one thing does not mean it is best to bring it to the other. Denim works great for jeans, but I wouldn't think about wearing a t-shirt made out of denim because that just doesn't work.
    Reply
  • LuckyDucky7
    Judging by the looks, it should drive Apple fans wild.

    You spelled price wrong.

    Reply