Clawing Back Control in VR
Clawtype is a 3D-printed, wrist-mounted hand keyboard and mouse for applications like VR, where a traditional keyboard is impractical.
It is certainly not for a lack of trying, but no one has been successful in building an input device that can match the keyboard in terms of data entry speed and accuracy. So even when we are in virtual reality (VR) environments or on the move, we will often find that we are longing for the clickety-clackety goodness of a plain old keyboard. However, what we actually find ourselves using in these cases are awkward VR hand controllers, touchscreens, and other devices of these sorts. Traditional keyboards just do not work when we step away from our desks or laptops.
Mateusz Czapliński (AKA czapkofan) built a DIY chorded hand keyboard and mouse that may not be a dream to use, but that does successfully bring a keyboard-like experience to applications where it was previously unavailable. Called Clawtype, this keyboard is strapped to the wrist such that it puts two rows of four keys under the fingers of the user. Eight keys is obviously not enough to type every letter, let alone special characters, so combinations of key presses are used to extend the character set. Mousing is accomplished with the use of a gyroscope, which senses hand movements and translates them into cursor movements.
The keycaps, palm plate, and switch holders that make up the structure of the device are all 3D printed. A SparkFun Pro Micro RP2040 development board captures inputs from the buttons and gyroscope and poses as a USB human interface device that a computer sees as a standard keyboard and mouse. As currently designed, the Clawtype uses Alps keyboard switches. A velcro strap around the wrist keeps everything in place.
A demonstration video of the keyboard in action shows that it is not exactly easy to use. Typing appears to be a bit tedious, and the mousing looks awkward. You definitely would not want to use Clawtype for your daily driver computer. But that is not really what it was designed for, anyway. For VR and mobile applications, Clawtype really shines. It appears to be better than a lot of the traditional options that are out there.
If you have the right use case for this hand keyboard, you can download the 3D design files and code from GitHub. Everything has been released under a permissive license.
