By Andrew Liszewski
Let’s face it, the Qwerty keyboard isn’t exactly a marvel of ergonomic design. And those who spend all day mashing away on one could find themselves with something like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome one day. But what are the alternatives? Voice recognition? Not in its current state, that’s for sure. Teaching a monkey to do the typing for you? It seemed like a good idea at the time, until he got access to my email account… So many swears…
Enter the orbiTouch, which is a very unique looking device that uses a couple of sliding domes to replace both your keyboard and mouse. Now the domes don’t twist, but can be moved in any direction kind of like the small trackpoint nubs that laptops use. Moving the domes at the same time in varied directions allows you to recreate keystrokes and actually type letters. While I can’t see this ever being as fast as typing away on a traditional keyboard, for those with limited mobility or hand injuries it actually seems like a viable solution.
Of course the orbiTouch probably won’t appeal to everyone, and I’m sure that’s part of the reason it currently sells for $399 on the company’s website. But it does make me wonder if something like this would be covered by a health plan or insurance.
[ orbiTouch Keyboard ] VIA [ DVICE ]
When I’ve had users try this out, they immediately contort their wrists into positions almost guaranteed to cause injury. The one I have also had an orb snap off after very little use. Avoid!!
while that might not have great peripheral execution in its device… for game console keystroke needs, which should be more and more accessible, perhaps this is a way to go in the future…
this is very possible on the playstation or 360 controller.