The Future of PC Keyboards? [Update]

[mr.Curmudgeon]

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/


mrC

[Sephroth57]

omg thats awesome, do they sell those yet. i would pay like 300$ for that

[mr.Curmudgeon]

omg thats awesome, do they sell those yet. i would pay like 300$ for that

Unfortunately, it's a prototype. Those OLED screens would make that thing cost a LOT more than $300, I imagine. 

[pointdablame]

awesome.

I want one... NOW

[NY_in_TX]

dude imagine arcade buttons with OLEDs...dude that would be SWEET!

[shmokes]

I don't even think it's a prototype.  I think it's a mockup -- but a GREAT idea.  It WILL eventually happen.  It's too good an idea not to.  But, like Mr. C said, it's way too expensive right now.

[Stingray]

It's beautiful.

-S

[AmericanDemon]

I would love to have one of those.  Its the proper way to do a zboard.    Custom layouts for any and all games.

[SOAPboy]

saw this a day or so ago..

Patents pending

Give it some time, itll come out..

And from what i keep hearing OLED screens are cheap..

[AlanS17]

That thing is pretty slick. Wonder what it takes to configure it.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

I don't even think it's a prototype.  I think it's a mockup -- but a GREAT idea. 

This site says it's a prototype, so I'm assuming it's a working model.

For me, this is a suitable "cheapy" version, for now (I just ordered it yesterday):





mrC

[SOAPboy]

I don't even think it's a prototype.

[Jabba]

A very sweet keyboard. I wonder if it will be clicky like the old IBM Keyboards or smushy like the crappy keyboard I am typing on now...Oh well, guess we'll jst have to wait and see...

[SOAPboy]

A very sweet keyboard. I wonder if it will be clicky like the old IBM Keyboards or smushy like the crappy keyboard I am typing on now...Oh well, guess we'll jst have to wait and see...

Smushy most likely.. i havent seen a "clicky" keyboard in forever..

CHEAP smushy keyboards suck.. quality ones are worth it NOT clicking..

[mr.Curmudgeon]

The Eclipse DOES come with the pad right?

Actually, I don't think it does. Thanks for all the info though, if I have any questions about it, once I start using it, I'll be sure to PM ya'. You've got enough hours/days in on WoW, I imagine you've given this keyboard quite a beating.

hehe.
mrC

[SOAPboy]

The Eclipse DOES come with the pad right?

Actually, I don't think it does. Thanks for all the info though, if I have any questions about it, once I start using it, I'll be sure to PM ya'. You've got enough hours/days in on WoW, I imagine you've given this keyboard quite a beating.

hehe.
mrC

Its taken a pretty good beating.. TAB key is a bit beat from Switching targets in WoW and checking stats in FPS games.. but it still works good.. tho this ---smurfette--- has a good 6 months of game time on it..

[mr.Curmudgeon]

UPDATE on the OLED Keyboard:

"Atremy Lebedev, is the creator of the Optimus ninja OLED keyboard. Lebedev is planning on mass producing this thing in a year or so and sees the price at somewhere in the $200-300 range." [link] (emphasis mine)

Wow. That'd be cool.
mrC

[Zakk]

I'll go as high as $500 if the interface is easy to use.  Hell I'd buy two, one to have at the office that displays my business card.  That's slick!

[patrickl]

A few years later and on the live journal page there is a message that  pre orders will be accepted from may 20th. I saw a price mentioned of US$ 1564. That's a joke I hope?

[shmokes]

I know.  I remember they initially said it would cost no more than a good cell phone.  $1500 cell phone?  Hell, the iPhone will be less than half that.

Who in the name of god is going to drop $1500 on a preorder for a keyboard that they have never touched?  Are the keys even properly convexed, or are they just flat across the top?  How is the action?  Springy, cushy, ---smurfy---?  Did they fix the button layout to match a standard U.S. keyboard, or is it still the Russian layout, which puts the enter key like 1 1/2 keys further to the right than a U.S. keyboard?  The thing looks damned cool, but cool as in, I'll get a keyboard like this like five or ten years from now, and it'll probably be made well by Logitech instead of these yahoos.

[Xiaou2]

 The idea seems cool..   but then you realize the practicality of it all.

 I started out as a two finger letter basher.  But after so many years
of IMs  and message board posts...   Ive realized how little I ever
glance at the keyboard at all.    Yes,  I make many errors every now
and then..but more often than not..  I am getting the correct key.  And if
I do not, I simply hit backspace and retype it... which is still faster than
looking at the Keys.

 Why would one want a cool display on the keys that they barely look at?

 I think the best reason is for a place like a business which has people
that speak (and type) different languages.   Other options are usage for
specialized software shortcut clues... such as making them a different color
or putting various Icons on them.

 And finally, there is another somewhat impractical idea... which is to make a game
in which the KB is a game display.   Such as little ants crawling around on the keys
and you need to smash them by pressing the key.   Could be fun..  but...
how many people are going to bash their expensive KB to hell to play such a game..
And..  do you really think that people are going to buy these in such mass
quantities for such a reason?   Even at mass quantities, the cost will still be
very high.   
   
 So, the KBs main target will be the business world and or for the very
rich who want a certain look and can afford to get it.
 
 If the thing does well..  and OLEDs get even cheaper, its conceivable that
in time the KB could drop to the $300 range.  But, dont hold your breath...
as that could take at least 1 - 2, (or more) years after being on the market.
(if ever)


  On a personal note...  I got hooked on the PC keyboards that have the
Laptop style buttons.   They have a much shorter 'throw'...  and are so much
faster (and more comfortable) to type with.   They also seem to be a bit less
mushy too... which gives you a much better feedback.

 

[leapinlew]

The idea seems cool..   but then you realize the practicality of it all.

This is an answer looking for a solution. Many products have come out over the years with no apparent reason to exist. It's very possibly the app for this keyboard hasn't been invented.

For MAME purposes, it could flash an OK key to help out the noobs. 

[AtomSmasher]

I'm still happy with my 10 year old keyboard I got free (after a $10 mail in rebate) from Bestbuy     An old fashioned clicky keyboard that still works great.

[patrickl]

Per key it's cheaper than the Optimus mini. On the other hand, per pixel the price is the same as for the Optimus mini.

Wouldn't it be easier to put a single LCD under transparent keys and put a bezel around the keys to hide the key mechanism and electronics?

:edit: Lol, nevermind he also thought of that with the Optimus Upravlator keyboard. Although it's not really a keyboard (for text)

[ChadTower]

It would be easier to do it with a single keyboard shaped touchscreen LCD.

[Zakk]

It would be easier to do it with a single keyboard shaped touchscreen LCD.

Actually, that's a pretty damn good idea. I think there would be problems with resting your wrists or palms on the glass, but still....

[ChadTower]

And probably speed/accuracy.  Touchscreens aren't usually up to the type of input a keyboard gets.

[shmokes]

Not to mention the lack of tactile feedback.  Have you ever been playing DDR and realized that you were suddenly missing steps because you had inched your way off the sensor pads?  There's no way I could type nearly as fast on a touchscreen as I can on a real keyboard.

[ChadTower]

Not without a bit of retraining, but it would be possible, I'd think, with time and practice.  Artificial tactile feedback would be possible.  Think about something like slightly bumpy overlays in the shape of a key matrix.  You could even put in the f and j bumps.

[shmokes]

Actually, Immersion, the company that successfully sued Microsoft and Sony for infringing on their patents for rumble technology inside gamepads, has developed a force feedback technology that sits beneath touchscreens and simulates tactile feedback such as button presses.  It sounds really cool.  So something like that could make a keyboard what you're talking about MUCH more usable, I think.

[ChadTower]

I don't know that I'd want to put moving parts into a device designed to eliminate the moving parts (as my concept goes).  It's a good hybrid between my thought and the traditional keyboard, though.

[patrickl]

I guess if they could make a touchscreen shaped "like a keyboard" then it would work yes. They might even just glue see through keys on the touchscreen. Pressing the key would then press the underlaying touch screen and "press the key". The keys then don't move, but I don't think that would be a big issue.

You might need a sensitivity setting so not just any touch of a key results in a keypress. Otherwise just putting your fingers on the keyboard (to get ready to type) would result in a lot of keypresses.

[ChadTower]

That's definitely an issue.  You'd have to either retrain to keep your fingers slightly above the keys (I actually type that way), or use some mechanical method of completing the touchscreen contact.  The mechanical method brings back some of the issues of a normal keyboard, I'd think, but using an LCD underneath gives you the graphic ability to redraw keys based on anything you can think of.

[Xiaou2]

 At first I thought this was impossible to work well...  but I think
it 'might' be ok actually...

 Heres my thoughts on a good model...

0)  The Touch screen must sense pressure. (not just touch)

1)  You must make a raised overlay that has boxes to physically
separate the virtual keys.  any pressure on these will not register
via programing. 
 
2)  The LCD should not have pressure on it..  so all the physical activity must
occur a few mm above it.

3)  The system needs a type of solenoid kicker..  BUT,  it must be Fast
and very durable.   Also, because you may hit keys very quickly.. it may
be best to have more than one kicker and alternate them.  There cant be
a delay in the 'action' either.. or it may throw off the fast typer.

4) The touch plate should be able to move a little.  Maybe half the distance
of a laptop key travel.  This may help to get a better tactile 'feel'  of an
actual press motion.   If you try to put pressure on an immovable object
such as your wooden desk..  its very awkward.. and could even be painful
over only a short time span.  There needs to be a dampening / absorbing
effect,   yet can not be too "bouncy". 

 An idea is a soft material such as a very soft jell under the touch plates
mounting boarder.  And or maybe also a spring system under the
vertical sliding assembly to pop it back up to you.

 The Lcd can not be too far away from the Touch plate system, or it
will be hard to see the buttons clearly (for those who look at the keys).
The lcd could be hard fixed a certain distance from the touch plate,
and both of them can travel together via the spring system underneath
the edge boarders.

--
.     _____                                     .
.     ----. _|___           _           _    1.
.          ||__  |  \____/  \____/       2.
.          | @.| |______________    3.
.          | @|| |______________    4.
.          | @|| |L_C_D_L_C_D_L_    5.
.          | @||_______________     6.
.          | @|  ZZZ                            7.
.          |.@|_ZZZ____________    8.
.          |___________________    9.
.                                                      .

 1 - Outer Shell
 2 - Key/LCD Carriage
       2 & 3 - Raised Overlay
       4 - Touch & Pressure sensor
       5 - LCD
       6 - Bottom of Carriage Assy.
 7 & 8 - Spring
 9 - Bottom of outer shell

 Also note:

 @    = Compressible Jell
 ZZZ = Spring
 
 *solenoids not shown here

[shardian]

In the newest Popular science, they have an article dealing with a cellphone with a feedback producing smooth keypad. It uses little motors or something to let you know you are over a key, and does something to give you the feeling of pressing a button. If you can't tell, I didn't read the article too closely.