A virtual keyboard which uses a 3D camera and a laser to project light onto a desktop has finally hit the shops.
Laser Keyboard
Just when we started to believe a virtual keyboard would remain science-fiction, Hutchison Harbour Ring (HHR) has begun manufacturing a commercial version of the keyboard. HHR is a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong-based company with the hands of its 170,000 employees in telecom technologies, real estate, retail and manufacturing and energy supply.
The product is not quite what we expected: Instead of being integrated into a PDA, HHR produces an external device that connects to a PDA, smartphone or notebook. With dimensions of 65mm by 33mm by 24mm, the "Virtual Laser Keyboard" is about half the size of a typical cellphone.
The device uses a red diode laser to illuminate the space, but infrared technology is used to track finger movements of the user and interpret which virtual key was intended to be activated. According to 2P, the company that markets and distributes the Virtual Laser Keyboard in the US, the device works on any surface "absolutely reliable" and as efficient as a regular keyboard. "There is no difference compared to a desktop keyboard," a representative of 2P said. The size of the virtual keyboard is 215mm by 90mm and is designed to "fit on a tray in an airplane," he added.
The virtual keyboard currently supports 17 different PDAs and cell phones in addition to any notebook. Supported operating systems are Pocket PC 2002 and 2003, Smartphone 2003, Palm OS versions 4.x and 5.x as well as Windows 98/NT/2000/XP. The projector connects to PDAs cellphones via Bluetooth or cables. Notebooks can be connected via serial cable or Bluetooth.
The Virtual Laser Keyboard can be purchased for $200 from 2P's website.
2P website:
virtual-laser-keyboard.com.
Comments