Welcome to the Future: Virtual Keyboards

Do you recall the scene fromwhere Tom Cruise is pressing laser buttons that appear to be floating in thin air? Well, the future is here! Now you can do it yourself! Laser keyboards are sure to quench your sci-fi thirst.
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Do you recall the scene from Minority Report where Tom Cruise is pressing laser buttons that appear to be floating in thin air? Well, the future is here! Now you can do it yourself! Laser keyboards are sure to quench your sci-fi thirst.

With virtual keyboards, there are no mechanical parts involved. The keyboard device projects a QWERTY image onto a flat surface using red diode laser. To process the strokes you make on the projected image, the device shoots out an infrared laser diode that, although invisible, rests on top of the image. When you type, a sensory chip in the device processes the location of your finger strokes, and passes the information to the computer.

2014-03-13-Vlog_VirtualKeyboards_01.jpg

Doesn't sound too complicated, right? If you are curious as to how they work, check out this video!

Photo Courtesy of Mariana Hellmund

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