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Glove80: The End Result of 500+ A/B Testing Experiments

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OddField:

--- Quote from: vvp on Sat, 09 October 2021, 01:09:59 ---So 500+ A/B tests includes software changes. It is not only about comparing different physical keyboard shapes.

Well, I considered the 500 number a marketing stunt anyway. My contoured split keyboard (K84CS) was developed in about 9 iterations as for as the keyboard shape goes. So 500+ obviously looked like pulled out of a marketing department.

Anyway, I like the push for contoured split keyboards with thumb clusters. You are going in the right direction. Though you are still far from the' superior shape of K84CS :)

--- End quote ---

You have misunderstood my message. It was more than 500 ergonomics changes, not including any software or layout changes.

What we did is create a series of modular hardware functional and non functional test rigs, that we could update parts of, without a complete rebuild. The thumb cluster for example gone through more than 100 iterations alone.

We borrowed the concept of modular hardware from the software engineering discipline of modular architecture.

This is a passion project, started around the same time as K80CS. There is no marketing department, but me and my friends, who do everything. Ergonomics experiments, 3d printing, pcb design, plastic design, even "marketing" XD

OddField:
I have attached a photo of an example of one of the simpler non functional test rigs. This particular test rig is used to optimise one particular factor in the thumb cluster design. You can see a whole bunch of replaceable thumb cluster blocks; each of them is different. I have many more thumb cluster blocks just for this particular jig, which are not shown in the photo. If you look carefully, you can see the labels inside some of the blocks, identifying which experiment it is for.

This is one of the simplest rig we have. Some rigs have many replaceable blocks and are fully functional as working keyboards and even look like normal keyboards from outside. We may perhaps share more information in the future.

OddField:
Why is the thumb cluster shaped this way?
Of all the thumb joint motions, I think you will find the flexion-extension motion (sweeping along roughly the palm plane) of the CMC joint the most comfortable and with the greatest reach. The carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb is the joint located at the very base of the thumb. With a well designed contoured key well, the palm hardly ever has to move, so effectively the CMC thumb joint stay at one place. Glove80 is designed to take advantage of that, so that you can reach every thumb key simply by drawing an arc with the CMC joint as the centre, without stretching your thumb or moving your palm much if at all.

OddField:
One of our testers made a Glove80 typing test video.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/qddfqg/glove80_wireless_contoured_keyboard_typing_test/

This video shows how typing on Glove80 can be like:

* Very small finger motions, which is expected for a well-designed contoured key well. The palm doesn’t need to move to press the finger keys.
* There are no/little palm motions required for the thumbs to easily reach all 6 thumb keys in each thumb cluster. The thumb motions are primarily the flexion-extension motion (sweeping along roughly the palm plane) of the CMC joint.
* With Glove80, because no/little palm movements are needed to comfortably reach both thumb and finger keys, Kevin in the video also likes to rest the soles of his palms on the palm rests while typing. The arms too can rest as there is no longer a need to hold the arms tense.

OddField:

--- Quote from: OddField on Sat, 09 October 2021, 02:51:02 ---Some rigs have many replaceable blocks and are fully functional as working keyboards and even look like normal keyboards from outside. We may perhaps share more information in the future.

--- End quote ---


The key to Glove80's comfort and ergonomics is our belief in A/B testing. To achieve 500+ A/B testing experiments, we need to have an efficient way to produce the prototypes. Our solution is to create highly modular test rigs that we can change the ergonomic setup without re-printing the whole prototype, which cuts down the 3D-printing time from 6 days to as short as 15 minutes.

The keyboard in the photo looks and functions like a normal keyboard. This is one of the keyboards we do long term testing on. However opened up, it shows its true purpose: a modular ergonomic test rig. This particular test rig has 18 replaceable components, which allows us to test most aspects of the key well and thumb cluster.

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