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Show HN: I've built a tiny hand-held keyboard

411 points| mafik | 4 months ago |github.com

I bet you didn't knew you can use modelling clay (as opposed to 3d printing) to make nice devices by hand :)

107 comments

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Gys|4 months ago

Maybe record a short video with the hand typing in the foreground and a screen in the background. To give an idea of the typing effort and speed.

dylan604|4 months ago

I'm very confused now about it's use. Is it a keyboard for typing letters/numbers or a keyboard for making music? The fact TFA talks about chords and arpeggios made me think it was for music programming. I'm well confused on it's purpose now.

4b11b4|4 months ago

yes one video pls

0_____0|4 months ago

This is peak hacker. I love this. I love that it's COTS components, I love that the contoured bit is clay. An efficient build.

epiccoleman|4 months ago

Dude, this is so cool! I've had something like this floating around my cluttered headspace for ages, and it always sort of floats to the surface during the rare times when I do some light sysadmin work via Termux on my phone.

Another thing that jumps to mind is the minichord[1], a nominally open-source synth/instrument.

I just love seeing these little devices people can come up with given the proliferation of the necessary devboards and tools. Nice project.

FullyFunctional|4 months ago

As I hate tapping on glass, mistyping non-stop, I’m always evaluating options. This is an awesome project and a great write up, but we want more! :) Please consider published a video so we might see it in action (also showing the build process would be appreciated).

Fnoord|4 months ago

Very cool! Azeron makes these but not as hand-held (might be of interest for them?), and much more keys. Because they have so many keys, you can do some easy chording and what not, allowing you to completely replace a keyboard with one. Which is great for people who only have one arm/hand, including war veterans.

They have a 60 days return policy which I find very generous. They're based in Latvia. Some parts are 3D printed. Their website [1].

I mention them since I happen to own a Cyro, which is an outlier to their portfolio: a vertical _mouse_ with a lot of buttons. The only decent one I'm aware of, and the choice is very limited in that space. I'm happy, though I'd love to have it wireless. I tried modding it with USB2BT but ran into some issues, YMMV.

[1] https://www.azeron.eu

proee|4 months ago

Great to see someone trying to innovate. It's surprising humans haven't come up with a better input method than an old school keyboard. Who would have thought that a typewriter from 1874 would still be so visible on a modern Macbook!

Surely, there has to be a better way.

jerezzprime|4 months ago

I think it is a momentum problem. You learn to use a keyboard when you are young/inexperienced, because you need to learn something, and then learning something new is hard and slows you down, so you stick with what you know. It's doubly hard to both create a new layout and learn it.

jedbrooke|4 months ago

I would offer ‘swipe’ keyboards as one example of something new. “better” is subjective, they are certainly not faster than normal typing, but offer much more flexibility for typing with one hand. But even then they still rely on the old qwerty layout. Not sure how widely adopted they are but they come standard on IOS and Android keyboards

henrebotha|4 months ago

I would argue that the DataHand/Svalboard counts.

deafThornas|4 months ago

Haven't read comments yet but I just now excitedly `lightbulbed a MAFIK ][', that seems simple and completes the `other side': a tactile terminal, seems obvious, so I apologize if this is redundant. Billions of free recycled tiny motors tipped w/ eccentric cellphone vibrators at different freqs, if audible some other silent buzzer/solinoid/..piezo(flat form factor..input also?!), smaller earbud's speaker elements, per finger contact. Variable freq each buzzer may also equal entire space of chording combos. Serves deaf/blind equally well.

pnathan|4 months ago

its an interesting concept.

theodric|4 months ago

Nice work! I'm happy to see that some folks are still interested in wearable computing.

The Twiddler gives me hand cramps, so I might give this one a shot. (It's low on the pile, however.)

zh3|4 months ago

Having had a twiddler since they came out, seeing this topic the first ting I did was search the thread to see who mentioned it first :) Not sure of the timeline, probably a little after that the Playstation Glove looked like a great idea but the reality sucked.

Decades on now but still trying to find wearable computing stuff that can drag modern computing back to the early 90s (spending years trying to recreate the original Private Eye [0] display). Checking that out on wikipedia right now just fired a harmony of so many nostalgia neurons:-

>The Student Electronic Notebook consisted of the Private Eye, Toshiba diskless AIX notebook computers (prototypes), a stylus based input system and a virtual keyboard. It used direct-sequence spread spectrum radio links to provide all the usual TCP/IP based services, including NFS mounted file systems and X11, which all ran in the Andrew Project environment.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearable_computer#1980s

major505|4 months ago

I would love to see a video of this in action.

lairv|4 months ago

I had a similar idea when apple vision pro came out, to be able to code while laying on a couch or bed fully relaxed, but never got to doing it. Neat!

matheusmoreira|4 months ago

> code while laying on a couch or bed fully relaxed

I wanted this so much I started programming on my phone with Termux. Yes, on a touch screen.

skvmb|4 months ago

I code this way using the Rayneo Air 3S Pro. Feels like I accomplish more this way because the display is on my head and I can relax.

chrismorgan|4 months ago

I had vague ideas, a few years ago, of integrating a keyboard into the handlebar of a recumbent tricycle (it would need to not interfere with braking, but there’s a fair bit of leeway left for useful design). Modelling clay had indeed not occurred to me! Nor had I realised how chorded keyboards could hook directly to GPIO pins. If I’d seen this back then, I probably would have gone ahead and prototyped something right away. Alas for this vision (though not alas in general!), I got married instead and my long-distance cycling days are behind me. But I’m still rather tempted to play with this, it looks fun and surprisingly straightforward, even if I can’t immediately see a good practical purpose in my life. Just last week I happened to see a box of epoxy modelling clay and wondered what it would be like to use… though I suspect it might harden too quickly for this.

jacquesm|4 months ago

What an amazing project this. So many original and inspiring ideas. Thank you for doing this and posting it, I also really love the walkthrough for building the device in a number of days. If you don't mind, could you benchmark your input speed using the device assuming you are now used to it?

alias_neo|4 months ago

I've been on the lookout for a partial keyboard for my left hand for gaming;

Recently, I started trying to play Helldivers 2 online with some family members but find on my mechanical keyboard that I get hand cramp very quickly, most of the keys needed are in bottom-left of the keyboard and I have big hands, and my keys take a lot more pressure than is ideal for gaming.

I bought a Razer Tartarus Pro but found it was basically useless on Linux.

Does anyone here have any suggestions of something that I could use? I tried to use a controller to see if that would help, but no matter what I did I couldn't get any controller (PS5, XBox One S, Switch Pro) to actual provide input to the game under Proton despite working fine in other games.

I'm playing on Steam/Proton on CachyOS.

VTimofeenko|4 months ago

Try swapping the switches on your keyboard if it allows it? Or try a keyboard with a different layout?

My first mechanical keyboard had cherry mx brown which felt stiff, loud and not too comfortable to type on for long periods of time. I got a pad to try out all kinds of switches and ultimately moved to a split keyboard with kalih silent pink.

Theofrastus|4 months ago

I tried an ergonomic keyboard with just 3x10 keys (or rather since it was a split keybaord, 2x3x5). I found that I am unwilling to spend the time to learn how to use it, type special characters, numbers, etc. Especially since most of my training time would need to take place during work, where I didn't want to take that huge initial efficiency hit. In the end, I chose a ZSA Moonlander and I'm super happy with it, even though it might have too many keys for enthusiasts ;)

That being said, I do have a soft spot for handheld hacker keyboards like this. It reminds me of the cyber future we all dreamed of when we were younger, when tech was still cool and exciting. Very cool project!

mafik|4 months ago

Learning is actually quite fun once you juice it up. One minute in the tutor should make it clear what I mean: https://mafik.github.io/keyer/ (make sure the sound is on)

lazerwalker|4 months ago

For folks who are interested in the UX design of chorded layouts, Artsey and Ardux (https://ardux.io) might be of interest. Artsey is a specific 2x4 one-handed chorded layout (of which Ardux is now a more robust implementation, with optional variations for slightly larger numbers of keys) that borrows a lot from colemak. I'm a big fan.

I particularly appreciate the simplicity of a 2x4 layout — OP's device rocks, but I worry about the ergonomics of thumb movement.

lukevp|4 months ago

I’m not sure about drinking tea with an 18650 unprotected strapped to your hand like that. The battery should at least have a holder

z3t4|4 months ago

I want something like this so that I can get rid of the computer workstation and instead use a 8k+8k VR headset on battery

jml7c5|4 months ago

What sort of typing speed do you reach with it?

mafik|4 months ago

Hard to say because I'm still stumbling trying to remember a chord most of the time. I'd say 20 wpm when the stumbling is only moderate. I need to get that muscle memory trained!

whycome|4 months ago

I always wanted dual gloves like this so I could essentially tap on my legs while sitting down.

robthebrew|4 months ago

There was a product very similar to this in the late 1980s. My uncle invested in the company. But it flopped. I am sorry I cannot remember the name. I do remember skilled typists could use it at least as fast as 2 hand traditional typing.

theodric|4 months ago

That tracks. I just don't think there's the sales volume you'd need to manufacture and sell something like this at an adequate profit, and certainly in the 80s it would have been even more difficult to find enough compute and utility in one place without the benefit of Internet services.

villgax|4 months ago

I want a pen shaped gyroscopic mouse to use while watching/interacting with stuff through AR glasses, just needs to point click, right click & two buttons for custom keystrokes

dgently7|4 months ago

Agree pens are underrated as input over mice. Or for ar (fingers).

Maybe apple will make a pen input for a Vision Pro thing someday… though knowing them it’ll be some crazy vision based tracing system thing that requires special hardware in the headset that would require you to update your Vision Pro to the newest model to use it.

alanbernstein|4 months ago

Cool! Did you consider using more compact keys and caps?

mafik|4 months ago

No, but it's a great idea. For thumb I'm using a Ctrl-sized keycap - it has the perfect in width where I can avoid pressing the buttons on the sides. But for other fingers, the regular-sized switches and caps feel a little too widely spaced... Something 15% smaller than standard keycaps would be perfect.

jdiff|4 months ago

This is fantastic, I've been looking for something like this for over a year so I can type while going for a walk on the treadmill.

whycome|4 months ago

The most mind blowing part of this is using modelling clay (I’m assuming the stuff that hardens to like foam texture).

stevenicr|4 months ago

great job showing this, inspiring!

I want this not for typing all the letters and numbers, but just the keyboard shortcuts to play Empire Earth V4 VR

- until that fantasy materializes maybe enough typing for an Age of Empires type game without being stuck at a full keyboard,

something like this maybe the perfect in-between ps4 controller and full keyboard for many things.

yjftsjthsd-h|4 months ago

I mean, a nice thing about DIY-ing it, you can just program it with whatever keys you want:) You could even have a layer for whatever game and a layer for full typing.

igorpcosta|4 months ago

This is super cool, Specially for VRs and Augmented Ray-bans. I still prefer a mechanical keyboard to type stuff.

4b11b4|4 months ago

- cost function for layouts?! awesome

- play doh

- IMU would be incredible

- less key version is good idea

LinuxAmbulance|4 months ago

Very nice work. Might not hurt to throw in a few more pictures that illustrate the steps in the build process.

chaps|4 months ago

I've been wanting something like this for a super long time!! Very cool.

How's typing on it?

herval|4 months ago

That’s some true hacker device!

ctippett|4 months ago

I really want something like this to pair with my iPad Pro when working in design tools (Affinity, Procreate, whatever). Apple Pencil in one hand, accessible keyboard shortcuts in the other.

My solution was to stick a tiny cheap macro keyboard on the back of the iPad... but I don't love the ergonomics.

Awesome work, well done.

kelisisi|4 months ago

A prefect prototype for developers who use AI for coding, ctrl c + v.

goodpoint|4 months ago

Bending fingers so much during use is bad for your tendons and ligaments.

4b11b4|4 months ago

true, a version where you could keep your hand flatter would be nice, though not as compact

Eisenstein|4 months ago

You should look into thermoplastic like InstaMorph instead of clay.

rob_c|4 months ago

Yeah that brings new definition to pebkac...

jes5199|4 months ago

ohh so basically an ESP32 can be a keyboard… can _two_ ESP32s be two hands of a single keyboard?

modo_mario|4 months ago

Yep. That's how my keyboard halves work. There's a lot of varieties out there on the ergomechkeyboards subreddit and in other places.

cat-whisperer|4 months ago

love the design, it would be crazy if this becomes a thing!

blipvert|4 months ago

Just don’t go introducing yourself as a one handed typist.

TheJoeMan|4 months ago

Add this to the list of “18650 cells being incorrectly used as removable batteries”. At this point the sale of those battery holders should be banned…

dfc|4 months ago

I imagine that OP is referring to batteries with no protection circuit and the positive and negative terminals of the batteries being exposed[1]. The Samsungs in the keyboard do in fact lack a protection circuit. I don't know if banning the sale of battery holders is going to be a great fix.

[1]: Something like this: https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2021/CPSC-Issues...

rlue|4 months ago

Can you elaborate on or cite a source as to why this practice is incorrect? The Nitecore D4 battery charger supports recharging of this and other sizes of Li-ion batteries (in addition to NiMH), so I am skeptical that it is inherently dangerous.

etskinner|4 months ago

Why is that a problem? Potential for damage when exposed/changed? No battery protection?

numpad0|4 months ago

I've heard that there are tech savvy people using 14500 cells coupled with spacers to match voltage ranges as an upgrade from NiMHs. Made me realize there are still wonders in this world.

sparrish|4 months ago

Not a new thing. Twiddler is on version 4. https://www.mytwiddler.com/

briandw|4 months ago

Op was showing off a project. Not claiming novelty. The fact that there are similar items on the market does not diminish this work.

Y_Y|4 months ago

But the twiddler is $230