Virtual Typing

Computing is now not limited to desktops and laptops, it has found its way into mobile devices like palm tops and even cell phones. But what has not changed for the last 50 or so odd years is the input device, the good old qwerty keyboard. But with mobile devices, a full-blown keyboard is not a feasible idea. Alternatives came in form handwriting recognition, speech recognition, abcd input (for SMS in cell phones) etc. But they all lack the accuracy and convenience of a full blown keyboard. Speech input has an added issue of privacy. Even folded keyboards for PDAs are yet to catch on. 

It is in this context that a new generation of virtual input devices are being paraded, which could drastically change the way we type.

Projection keyboards

Projection key boards or virtual key boards claim to provide the convenience of compactness with the advantages of a full-blown qwerty keyboard. These are not real keyboards, but virtual ones that can be projected on any surface. The ‘keyboard’ tracks the finger movements and processes that information to decipher the intended keystroke. Such systems can also function as mouse. 

One of the players in this area is Canseta with their Electronic perception system. This system comprises of three modules, the sensor module, IR-light source and the pattern projector. According to Canesta documentation, these chips work essentially like an radar, where the distance is calculated by calculating the round trip time a electronic pulse takes to reach a target and back. Only, Canesta uses infrared instead. Canesta also claims these chips are not fooled by ambient lighting, which is a major cause of concern in nearly all IR-based devices. The chip creates a relief map of the projected area and calculates the position of individual fingers with respect to the image. This 3D relief map is further processed by Canesta’s proprietary software before passing to an application. The current accuracy of the system is about 95%.

The chip and lens together measure 8x8x8 mm. The infrared light source is in a separate 6.4 mm r x 12 mm module. And the pattern projector measures 9x9x12 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 relatively thin cell phones. An interesting use of such keyboards would be in sterile environments like operation theaters where standard keyboards and mice can be a cause for concern.

Another player in this segment is an Israeli company, VKB Inc. Its product uses a class-I laser (low power) to project a keyboard. For translating finger movements this also uses IR.

Motion capture

Motion capture is yet another interesting to input to a portable device. One of the products in the offing is being engineered by SenseBoard Technologies. This is a set of clips that fit into your hand and try to sense the motion of the fingers and the hands (wrist) and translate them into keystrokes. As there is no map to use as reference, this relies on touchtyping (the standard QWERTY typing). According to SenseBoard the translation process also uses artificial intelligence. Once the key stroke has been decoded, it is sent to the portable device either by cable or via wireless. The advantage of such an system is that you do not need an surface for typing, you can even type in plain air! There is also the provision for a pause button to avoid translating extraneous hand movements like the lifting of a cup etc., during typing. Sense board also claims that this system will reduce RTIs as the user in not constrained to a stationary keyboard or an hard surface. 

Kitty

Kitty is a “finger-mounted keyboard for data entry” system developed at the University of California at Irvine, USA. Kitty is an acronynm for KeyBoard independent Touch Typing. The user wears a light weight glove and key strokes are combined making a contact of the fingers with the thumb on the basis of touch typing, making the learning curve for touch typist nearly zero. 

Advantages of this system over the above described systems include fairly error free output as the functioning of this key board is nearly the same as the traditionally keyboard except here the key press is interpreted as an contact between one of the fingers and the thumb. The signals here are discrete whereas in the systems described above the signals are continuous.

Ankit Khare