Microsoft's research division has developed a prototype of a mechanical keyboard that can recognize hand gestures.
The device, dubbed the Type-Hover-Swipe keyboard, features infrared proximity sensors that are integrated with the keys of a standard keyboard. Each sensor can track users' hand movements while they touch or hover above the 16 x 4 gadget.
Users can swipe up, down, left and right to change applications; zoom in and out by pinching their fingers; and drive with an imaginary steering wheel for racing games.
The device operates in 300 hertz - just enough to capture rapid movements. It can also recall "motion signatures" or the typing patterns of the users, Gizmag reports.
The keyboard is still in its development phase, but is already showing positive results.
"Our technique achieves a mean per-frame classification accuracy of 75:6% in leave-one-subject-out and 89:9% in half-test/half-training cross-validation. We detail hardware and gesture recognition algorithm, provide accuracy results, and demonstrate a large set of gestures designed to be performed with the device," wrote the research team.
The Type-Hover-Swipe keyboard will simplify controls that are not only limited to desktop PCs, but also to entertainment system and game consoles - the Xbox Kinect in particular.
The prototype is made of keycaps from an Apple keyboard, according to an observation made by MacRumors.
Seeing an Apple component on a Microsoft project opens the idea of an unanswered question. In November 2013, Apple confirmed its acquisition of the 3D sensor company Primesense for $350 million. During that time, nobody knew what Apple planned to do with motion sensing technology, so this might be a clue. The idea is not impossible, for Microsoft has been developing products such as the Office for iPad, implying that the two companies are open for integration.
There is no word yet on the release date and pricing of the keyboard.
