Found an intriguing #JapaneseKeyboard project, a DIY #ChordingKeyboard for hiragana and katakana: #KanaChord https://github.com/maccody/KanaChord

Right hand gets vowels あいうえお (and ん), which can be pressed together with the left hand to select the other #Gojūon dimension (かさたなはまやらわ). Thus い(i) plus か(ka) gives き(ki). Ingenious - and it lights up for bad combinations!

The author later extended it with a touchscreen for kanji selection, clever but a bit slow? https://hackaday.com/2024/10/05/introducing-the-kanachord-plus-keyboard-カナコード・プラス・キーボード/?preview_id=725437 https://github.com/maccody/KanaChordPlus

A #BATKeyboard is a one-handed #chordingKeyboard consisting of a base, on which the hand rests, and seven #keys. Through pressing combinations of keys, one can attain the same functions as a regular keyboard. The keyboard can be useful for those with a disability and also as a complement to the mouse, on which the other hand can remain. The BAT keyboard exists in left-handed and right-handed versions.

Speaking of using Morse a an input device: It's not as whacky as it sounds. Some people with physical #Disabilities such a severe cases of #CerebralPalsy cannot simply use a regular input device and Morse is indeed a real #Accessibility thing.

In my case I'm still able to cope, but I'm really considering building me a proper one-handed #ChordingKeyboard as my left hand (better said: My beautiful broken brain) is only of partial use.

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

Chordie Chording Keyboard Speaks No Qwerty

What is the fastest way to get thoughts out of your brain and into relative permanence? Well, yeah, probably a voice recorder. But after voice recorders comes typing in a distant second. Typing, especially QWERTY-style, has its limitations. The holy grail method it comes to typing quickly has got to be a chording keyboard, hands down. How can court reporters possibly keep up with everything that's uttered during a trial? When you can press a few keys at the same time and type entire words, it's not that difficult. It just takes a whole lot of memorization and muscle memory to get to that point.

So if you're going to go for the glory, check out Chordie, a snazzy little chording keyboard that does it all with just 14 keys. [kbjunky] based Chordie on the Ginny, a cute little bare-bones bat-wing chording keyboard that uses the ASETNIOP chording engine originally built for soft keyboards.[kbjunky] added open-face trackball support via printed cradle, but it's not necessary to use a trackball since there's a pair of rotary encoders and a mouse layer.

This keyboard looks fantastic with its rocket ship MCU holder and its flush-mounted I/O expander breakout boards. Apparently [kbjunky] used polyimide tape to keep the solder from making blobs. It's all there in the nice build guide.

We would probably argue that chording is not totally ergonomic. Sure, you barely move your hands or wrists, but chording itself can be hard on the digits, especially the pinkies. To that end, [kbjunky] used low-profile switches with light springs. Totally ergonomic or not, we have to admit that we love the idea of clacking along at 300 WPM someday far, far down the learning curve of ASETNIOP. Take a look at the key map, and check out [kbjunky]'s follow-up post if you want to see a demo.

Maybe you prefer a completely different typing experience. Well, ASETNIOP works with digital pianos, too.

Via r/ErgoMechKeyboards

#peripheralshacks #asetniop #chording #chordingkeyboard #kailhchocs

The Keyboard You Really Don’t Need Or Want

The Keyboard You Really Don’t Need Or Want

Most people think of a keyboard as a flat, vaguely rectangular thing with around 100ish different keys. A mechanical keyboard enthusiast would heartily disagree and point out various tenkeyless, 75%, 60%, or 40% keyboards that strip down the idea of what a keyboard is by taking keys out. [Stavros Korokithakis] takes that notion and turns it on its side by creating the five-button vertical keyboard known as Keyyyyyyyys.

This keyboard, or keystick, is designed to be onehanded and to be eye-contact-free. With just five keys, it makes heavy use of chording to output all the characters needed. It has a maximum of 32 possible states and taking out pressing nothing as a no-op leaves 31 possible key combinations. So [Stavros] had to get creative and laid out the letters according to their frequency in the English language. The brains of Keyyyyyyyys is the ubiquitous ESP32, emulating a Bluetooth keyboard while being wrapped in a simple 3d printed box. The code is hosted on GitLab.

If you don't know how hard it is to learn a five-key chording keyboard from scratch, definitely check out [Stavros]' video embedded below. "C'mon h." We have heard reports that you can learn these things, though.

While this five-button keyboard may seem small, this two-button keyboard still has it beat by three keys. A one-button keyboard is just a morse code keyboard, and we are looking forward to a wireless Bluetooth version.

#microcontrollers #wirelesshacks #chording #chordingkeyboard #esp32 #keyboard