The Input Device of the Future
Description:
Computer keyboards as we have them today were designed about 130 years ago. It is an interesting fact that earlier models permitted to type faster, but would also cause the “hammers” to jam if the typist was too fast. A clever engineer solved the problem by spreading out commonly used keys and thereby slowing down every typist. For 130 years we have been stuck with that slow keyboard even if jamming is no longer a issue. But the real problem of current keyboards is that they are useless for devices that are smaller than a laptop, that they commit two hands, and that they need to be laid on a somewhat flat support.
Objective:
We already have a working implementation of the keyboard. The goal is now to develop applications that make efficient use of it. Examples may range from simple (fast) text editors, to a “typing tutorial” program. There should be no limits to your creativity. Alternatively, a student interested in hardware design could develop an integrated circuit version.
Prerequisites:
Those of a good software designer (programming most likely in Java, but depending on your preferences another language may be OK as well).
Contact:
Marius Kleiner, LCM, tel: 35674, office: INR 036, marius.kleiner@epfl.ch
Stéphane Brunner, LCM, tel: 37552, office: INR 138, stephane.brunner@epfl.ch