Clawtype v2.1 – a one-hand chorded USB keyboard and mouse [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2PSiOl-auM

#HackerNews #Clawtype #v2.1 #onehandkeyboard #chordedkeyboard #USBmouse #techinnovation

My recent build of a #chorded #keyboard, a clone of Chordite. Work-in-progress firmware in #rust and (still some) C at: https://github.com/akavel/chordite-rust

Planned next steps:
- practicing actually typing on it... (the hardest one);
- tweaking and "improving" the layout and functionalities (a neverending story?) - interested in anyone who might somehow help make some sensible one given the constraints of the device;
- hopefully adding mouse functionality based on a gyroscope module (some "MPU6050" board is on its way) - will it work fine enough?
- maybe one day wireless through BLE?

Once I have the mouse functionality built and added, my main goal is to try and be using it with #XReal One glasses I bought recently.

Thanks @rahix for avr-hal; thanks @PaulStoffregen for #teensy; thanks John W. McKown for creating #Chordite, thanks @rustembedded for helping make Rust on embedded possible; thanks my amazing friend for soldering it for me, and thanks many others for many other things.

#theWorkshop #chordedkeyboard #atmega32u4 #avr

Pico Chording Keyboard is Simultaneously Vintage and New

On paper, chording -- that's pressing multiple keys to create either a single character or a whole word -- looks like one of the best possible input methods. Maybe not the best for speed, at least for a while, but definitely good for conserving the total number of keys. Of course, fewer keys also makes for an easier time when it comes to building keyboards (as long as you don't have to code the chording software). In fact, we would venture to guess that the hardest part of building your own version of [CrazyRobMiles]'s Pico Chord Keyboard would be teaching your fingers how to work together to chord instead of typing one at a time.

[CrazyRobMiles] took inspiration from the Cykey chording design used for the Microwriter and later, the Microwriter Agenda that also featured a qwerty blister keyboard. Both featured small screens above the six keys -- one for each finger, and two for the thumb. While the original Microwriter ran on an 8-bit microprocessor, Pico Chord Keyboard uses -- you guessed it -- the Raspberry Pi Pico.

We love that [CrazyRobMiles] went with four 14-segment displays, which gives it a nice old school feel, but used transparent keycaps over Kailh switches. This is actually important, because not only do the LEDs show what mode you're in (alpha vs. numeric vs. symbols), they also teach you how to chord each letter in the special training game mode. Be sure to check it out in the video after the break.

Isn't it cool that we live in a world of relatively big keyboards with few keys and tiny keyboards with all the keys?

#peripheralshacks #raspberrypi #14segmentdisplay #alphanumericdisplay #chord #chordedkeyboard #chordingkeyboard #kailh #keyboard #rgbleds

The Charachorder Keyboard Is Too Fast for Competition

We interrupt the flow of Keebin' with Kristina to bring you this special bulletin. When three different people alert you to a keyboard within 48 hours or so, it calls for more than just a paragraph in the roundup column. So here are several paragraphs, an animated GIF, and some extended commentary about the Charachorder, a new kind of input that came up through Kickstarter in 2021.

Driving this hype train are some short viral videos that show the founder hitting 500+ WPM on this crazy thing. FYI, that is fast enough to get you banned from typing competitions, including the monkeytype leaderboard. Those apes forbid chorded input altogether, and automatically throw out entries above 300 WPM. It acheives these insane speeds through clever mechanical design and, of course, firmware.

Wiggle Room

The Charachorder resembles a pair of rock climbing holds connected with a length of extruded aluminum. Each hold has nine little golf tee-looking joysticks sprouting out of it, which take the place of keys. There are three golf tees for the thumb to wiggle, four for the fingers, and two extras beneath the middle and ring fingers for arrow keys and mouse control.

Instead of using up-down motion like a regular keyswitch, each little joystick has D-pad directionality for four-way input per digit. The founders claim that 300+ unique inputs and over 17 billion chord combinations are possible without lifting a finger.

One of the cool things about Charachorder is that it accepts standard-one-at-a-time typing as well as chorded input. The chording style isn't particular, either. According to the site, you just mash h, e, l, o at the same time, and you've got 'hello'. Doesn't matter if they hit the screen in the wrong order, because the processor rearranges them on the fly. So there's none of this 'learn a whole new language' business to type syllables by shorthand, but of course, you will have to learn a new layout.

Could Have Been an IO Project

Although none of the technical details seem to be listed anywhere on the site, there's a rather nice GIF that shows the internals.

Astute viewers will notice what appears to be an Arduino Pro Micro along with another board that looks like a wireless module of some kind, and a single AA cell. However, the site says that only wired versions are available, and the picture above shows that the halves are connected with a retractable 3.5 mm cable.

This thing totally reminds me of the DataHand keyboard and its open-source successor the lalboard, although I don't find it as aesthetically pleasing as either one. I think I prefer the individual switches of the DataHand, though I like the idea of slightly less finger movement from rocking those little joysticks around. Honestly, I'd have to try both to be sure. Y'all know where to send donations to the keeb fund, right?

Thanks to [D---], [The Commenter Formerly Known as Ren], and [RoganDawes] for the tip!

[Images via Charachorder]

#hackadaycolumns #peripheralshacks #chordedkeyboard #chording #chordingkeyboard #keyboard