Tablets reverting to type

By P.M.

THE keyboards that appear on tablet computers using a touch screen, such as the Apple iPad, can be a touch fiddly to use. They can be particularly frustrating for those who have mastered the art of touch typing: resting your fingers on any part of the virtual keyboard, as you would on a mechanical one, results in activating an unwanted key. And since the keypad is flat, there are no tactile hints as to where the keys are located. As a result, typing can be slow and error prone. Now, though, Christian Sax and Hannes Lau of the University of Technology in Sydney think they have come up with an alternative. They call it the LiquidKeyboard and they unveiled its prototype on August 23rd at the Tech23 conference in Sydney.

When the user puts his fingers on the surface of the screen a group of keys morphs around each individual finger. The system senses the positions of the fingers and, by calculating the surface area of a finger touching the screen, its relative pressure. The positions of the surrounding keys are set in relation to each finger. The position of the groups of keys can be varied according to finger positions and a user's preferences. (See the video for a demonstration of how it works.) The system allows a typist to find keys and to touch type without tactile feedback, say the researchers, who are looking for partnerships to develop the technology. It might take a bit of getting used to, but for frustrated touch typists that might be worth the effort.