A Keyboard That Keeps Up With Your Hands

The AutoKeybo keyboard uses computer vision and a Raspberry Pi to automatically slide different sets of keys, or a mouse, under your hands.

Nick Bild
4 months agoProductivity
The transforming keyboard you never knew you wanted (📷: AutoKeybo)

As a writer for Hackster News, I am exposed to all the latest technology. Everything from innovative consumer gadgets to cutting-edge academic research in areas including artificial intelligence, user interfaces, and robotics crosses my desk each day. But now, it is official — I have seen it all.

Alright, so maybe that will only hold true until tomorrow, but the AutoKeybo — which was just demonstrated at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show — came at me right out of left field and left me speechless (fortunately, I can still type). Just when you thought the keyboard and mouse, which have been around essentially unchanged for decades, were solved problems, the AutoKeybo appeared to challenge that assumption. Whether it will prove to be useful, or go the way of the Segway, remains to be seen, but once you have seen this unusual keyboard, you will never be able to look at your old keyboard the same way again.

The problem the developers want to solve with this device is context switching. In particular, they believe that we should not have to continually lift up our hands to reach for a mouse or numeric keypad as we shift from one task to the next. And although this is such a common chore as to be automatic for most of us, it does seem that there could be the potential to increase productivity by eliminating this unnecessary activity.

The way that the team achieved this goal is definitely eye-catching, if not a bit odd. AutoKeybo is equipped with a Raspberry Pi 5 computer and a camera that watches the user’s hands. By running a computer vision algorithm onboard the Raspberry Pi, the keyboard can understand when the user is lifting one of their hands. And when such an event is detected, trays slide in or out to expose a different function.

The keyboard has a split design, with a different set of keys presented to each hand. The top trays extend to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. When either hand lifts, the trays slide in independently to reveal a numeric keypad on one side, or a trackpad or mouse on the other, which are then positioned immediately below the hands without having to reach. Lifting the hands again restores the QWERTY keyboard.

A slight lifting of the hands transforms the keyboard (📷: AutoKeybo)

The AutoKeybo is intended to be connected to a computer via USB, just like any other keyboard. But since it comes with a Raspberry Pi inside, it can also be connected directly to a monitor via an HDMI cable to provide an all-in-one experience. That could be useful for some on the go hacking.

A downside to the AutoKeybo is that it is quite large — those sliding trays have to go somewhere, after all. The large case could make it difficult to fit the keyboard on your usual keyboard tray, and may also mess with your typing posture. And speaking of posture, you will need to use near-perfect form for the tray sliding mechanism to work well. Early reports suggest that if you don’t do everything just right, the trays will open or close unexpectedly at times.

Given these issues, and the quite large $699 price tag that is expected when the AutoKeybo is released later this year, these keyboards probably will not find their way onto too many desks. But perhaps with some additional work, a future version may significantly change the way we interact with computers.

Nick Bild
R&D, creativity, and building the next big thing you never knew you wanted are my specialties.
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