[Tfug] Virtual Keyboard

[jblais]

Hello -

We were just looking for unusual stuff for our next machine, so I was
wondering if anyone ever played with something like this..

Overview:
Virtual keyboard that can be projected and touched on any level, smooth
surface. The keyboard watches your fingers move and translates that action
into keystrokes in the device.

Interface:
BlueTooth or serial
Blackberry, Smartphone and PDA owners or MAC
Cost:
BlueTooth or serial: $199.00
Blackberry, Smartphone and PDA owners or MAC : $178.00
Technology:
The 0.25-micron sensor chip at the heart of the solution includes a barrel
lens that senses the light bouncing off a finger. The chip and lens together
measure 8 x 8 x 8 mm. The infrared light source is in a separate 6.4-mm
diameter x 12-mm module. And the pattern projector measures 9 x 9 x 12 mm.
All three devices need to point outward from the system in a similar
orientation — a tricky placement and integration challenge for a PDA and one
currently not feasible for the next-generation of relatively thin 2.5G
cellphones.
Performance:
·         Canesta's usability tests show typists capable of entering
65-to-80 words per minute at a 2.5-to-3 percent error rate on a traditional
keyboard are able to type 45-to-50 wpm at a 5 percent error rate on the
company's projectable keys. That's twice the 25 wpm rate and similar to the
accuracy level of users entering text on small "thumb" keyboards used on
many PDAs today, said Joep van Beurden, the vice president of sales and
marketing at Canesta (San Jose, Calif.).
Websites:
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
http://www.alpern.org/weblog/stories/2003/01/09/projectionKeyboards.html

Joe