Check out this awesome project:

Using an IR led array and some reflective tape, you can track fingers in thin air using the Wii Remote by Johnny Lee, Carnegie Mellon University

Filed under: multitouch, tronix, video, wii · 1 Comment

Check out this impossibly-cute fake laptop keyboard. Someone call TikiRobot HR.. We need to hire this kid, stat!

Apparently the pet keys are shortcuts for webkinz. Via Shifted Librarian

Filed under: cuuuuute, design, doodles, multitouch, tronix · 1 Comment

TwoStick is a interesting text entry method for game controllers. The learning curve seems a bit high for the slight speed gain over a standard video game selection keyboard.

Filed under: multitouch, video · 0 Comments

Linky, via MeFi:

Filed under: multitouch, video · 0 Comments

Check out this awesome Google Tech Talk on Dasher:

Keyboards are inefficient for two reasons: they do not exploit the redundancy in normal language; and they waste the fine analogue capabilities of the user’s motor system (fingers and eyes, for example). I describe a system intended to rectify both these inefficiencies. Dasher is a text-entry system in which a language model plays an integral role, and it’s driven by continuous gestures. Users can achieve single-finger writing speeds of 35 words per minute and hands-free writing speeds of 25 words per minute. Dasher is free software, and it works in all languages, and on many platforms. Dasher is part of Debian, and there’s even a little java version for your web-browser.

Give it a try! It takes a minute to get used to it (“We don’t know of a writing system with a learning curve steaper than this”).

In the middle of the video they show hands-free typing using gaze-tracker.

Filed under: multitouch, typography, video · 1 Comment

I keep giving the same advice to people who ask me about RSI, so I’m writing up some ideas here. Remember, I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice.

• If you are in serious pain, stop typing. Really. Completely stop using a computer, at least for a while. See a medical professional and talk to your friends who are going through the same thing. Here are some things your doctor might recommend if you are diagnosed wtih tendonitis:
  
  • Ice packs to reduce swelling of your tendons. Bags of frozen peas work. Use a towel so they aren’t too cold. Do not exceed ten minutes. Do *not* type while your arms are cold. Use as needed.
  • Wrist guards, the kind that peliom recommends. Wear them while typing. Wear them while sleeping. Yes, really. It helps a lot.
  • Ibuprofen also reduces swelling. Use as prescribed.
  • Tendon stretches and exercises, several times a day.
  • Lots of breaks, early and often.
  • Squeezy stress ball.
  • Stop typing.
    
• OK, so you decided to ignore my advice and keep using a computer. No one ever stops. At least set up your computer to be as ergonomic as possible, and reduce use.
  
  • STOP WEB BROWSING. Also stop non-work related emails. Most people I know keep hurting their wrists doing stupid shit like surfing the web several hours a day. If you must surf, do it on a blackberry, sidekick, or a tablet pc.
  • Stop using your laptop keyboard and trackbad. Don’t use a laptop at the coffee shop, on the couch, or in bed. Use an external keyboard and pointing device.
  • You need to work at a properly adjusted desk with a properly adjusted chair. You want someone who knows what they are doing to make some measurements so that your workstation fits your body. Actually, you want at least three people to make the same measurements, because at least one of them will give you bad advice.
  • You will most likely need a keyboard tray, but really this depends a lot on your body proportions. A fully adjustable one will cost at least $200. We’ve been using the $220 one from Anthro.
  • You will most likely have to raise your monitor up to be at eye level.
  • You will most likely have to rip the armrests off your chair. Armrests are horrible if you have RSI. Same goes for wristrests. Your arms and wrists should float.
  • Learn how to roll up on your sit bones, so your back and neck are held straight without effort. Learning how to sit correctly helps a lot. You shouldn’t be slouching, but you don’t need to use muscle to correct bad posture. You shouldn’t be leaning on the back of the chair while you type.
    
• General keyboard advice:
  
  • Do *not* use a laptop keyboard. A laptop is not ergonomic. Here is a test: Try using an external keyboard on a well-adjusted keyboard tray. Did your wrists hurt less than when using the laptop? If so, your laptop keyboard is hurting you. Stop using it.
  • Ergonomic split keyboards are good.
  • Zero force multitouch keyboards like the TouchStream are great, but no longer on the market. They use gestures to reduce pinky-reaches and other kinds of hand stretching, which is a huge win. They cost a lot on eBay.
    
• General pointing device advice:
  
  • Stop using your laptop touchpad. At the very least, carry a bluetooth mouse with you.
  • Move your mouse to the to other side. If most your RSI is in your right hand, and you mouse with your right hand, move the mouse to the left side.
  • Try replacing the mouse with a trackball or a vertical mouse.
  • Replace the mouse with a Wacom tablet. Holding a stylus or pen is much more ergonomic than a mouse.
  • Try keeping a Wacom tablet on one side and a mouse on the other. Lots of different input methods = good.
    
• General handwriting recognition advice
  
  • It helps supplement typing.
  • It’s hard to write code using handwriting reconition, but not so hard to write emails.
  • Easy to get started: built into OS X and tablet PCs. Wacom 4×5 tables are $80 or less.
    
• General voice recognition advice
  
  • Not for programmers
  • It moves RSI from your wrists to your throat.
  • It is hard to problem-solve and speak at the same time.
  • Give it a try if everything else fails.
    
• Update: Advice on choosing a keyboard
  
  • Overuse of your pinky fingers can aggravate your RSI. Keyboards such as the Kinesis Contoured move modifier keys to your thumbs, which helps reduce pinky usage.
  • Gesture keyboards like the Touchstream are even better at reducing pinky reaches, but difficult to find and have a longer learning curve.
    
    • Backspace, Delete, Enter, Space relocated to thumb keys.
    • Modifier Key gestures for Shift, Command, Control, Option/Alt.
    • Editing and Navigation gestures reduce stretching your hand to hit modifier+letter combos.
    • Programmers’ keypad (simlar to numlock keypad) reduces pinky reaches for symbols.
      
  • At the very least, re-map your primary modifier key to be a thumb modifier, instead of a pinky modifier. The command key on a standard macintosh keyboard is a thumb modifier; the control key on a standard pc keyboard is a pinky modifier. Pinky reaches = bad for RSI.
    

OK, who has more advice?

Filed under: medicine, multitouch, support · 3 Comments

Today my AVR USBKey dev board finally came and I’m on my way to making an open source clone of my beloved TouchStream keyboard. I’m using the Cypress CapSense parts for the multitouch sensing and AVR parts for doing the processing and communication. The first prototypes will have most the processing done in software, actually, and then I’ll decide between AVR and ARM7 later.

Here is the roadmap:

1. Write OSX userspace app to communicate with AVR over USB and emulate mouse/scroll wheel
2. Prototype (onetouch) CapSense slider using Cypress PSoC chip
3. Have PSoC chip communicate with AVR using SPI or CAN bus
4. Implement slider that emulates scroll wheel that I can attach to the side of a Cinema Display (using userspace app for processing).
5. Prototype small 2D multitouch touchpad using one PSoC chip communicating with AVR
6. Make larger 2D multitouch surface with multiple PSoC drivers, all talking to the AVR
7. Work on gesture recognition code in the userspace app
8. Port gesture code to the AVR or ARM7
9. Get keyboard to work as a HID device without drivers or the userspace control app.
10. Done with version one!

Filed under: all talk, multitouch, no code, tronix · 5 Comments

You guys have probably noticed this already but I added a little twitter status thingy to our sidebar! so you can uh, keep track of my twittering (not sure why you’d want to, but let’s just pretend you do :-) I’ve been playing with it for a couple months and I really like it! It’s sort of like IRC via SMS, the benefit being that I don’t have to be at my computer to send messages (cause I can’t carry my laptop with me everywhere…and important things could be happening…like that time I couldn’t decide between Cherry Garcia or Chunky Monkey, where were you people????) Anyways, you can decide whether you want to get updates or not – just turn them on or off anytime from your phone. No need to go to the web to manage all your options – check out all the commands you can issue via SMS on the fly! (I sent you guys invites so you can add your twittering to our sidebar too :-)

Filed under: inspiration, multitouch, neat · 2 Comments

Shag helped me add reverse-menu-complete to my bash setup. It’s really easy, but undocumented. To get shift-TAB to menu-complete backwards, add the following line to your .inputrc:
\C-y:"\M--\C-i"

The \M-- is actually a -1 argument to menu-complete (aka TAB, aka Ctrl-I). The info for Readline arguments describes how to pass numeric args to readline commands.

Reverse-menu-complete is useful to me since I have a FingerWorks keyboard with gestures for tab and shift-tab. The gesture stuff saves a ton of typing, which is good if you have RSI.

Here is my full .inputrc:
\C-y:"\M--\C-i"
TAB: menu-complete
set completion-ignore-case On

Filed under: commandline, multitouch, no code · 6 Comments

Is the AlphaGrip actually ergonomic? Could it possibly replace my FingerWorks? Will it reduce RSI? Why is does the pink one on their homepage have a different key layout? Why is the image named “frontbigdummmy.jpg”? Is it mac-friendly?

I don’t know!! But I’m going to buy one for $100 and let you know how it works!

Filed under: gadgets, multitouch · 1 Comment