Free hands input device

From Noisebridge
Revision as of 21:06, 13 April 2009 by Elgreengeeto (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

So this idea is still in the rough exploratory phase. What I'd like to have is a way to input text that:

  • can be used anywhere and doesn't require a surface to work with.
  • doesn't require radical rearrangement to engage in normal activities (picking things up, etc.)
  • isn't particularly difficult to learn how to use.

Ideas

  • it sounds like a pair of gloves would would make the best armature
  • I'd like a full qwerty keyboard, but finding that many finger positions would be difficult.
  • with 4 fingers on each hand, it conveniently translates into some nice binary mappings.

Switches will probably be the limiting factor for functionality. I've been looking at a couple of different types:

  • reed switches
    • Pro: clear activation, relatively easy to actuate
    • Con: made of glass, kind of long and large for a fingertip, not terribly cheap
  • tactile switches
    • Pro: Really cheap, small and discrete, clear activation
    • Con: hard to actuate, hard to connect up
  • roller ball switches
    • Pro: clear activation, unique operation
    • Con: much too large for fingertips but may be used in back of hand.
  • Conductive fabric (homemade) switches
    • Pro: very discrete, entirely appropriate for gloves
    • Con: no activation feedback, potentially questionable/finicky contact.
  • Electrodes (to measure muscle activity)
    • Pro: small, discrete, cheap
    • Con: Probably needs conductive gel, very noisy signals/activation

If we can connection controls in, we can repurpose a keyboard USB adapter to connect up with the outside world. If we decide to go with a chord-style keyboard, we'd have to come up with a translation mapping to the keyboard-usb inputs. Maybe some reverse charlieplexing or something?