geekhack Community > Ergonomics
semi-chorded minimilist ergonomic 3d design
J-HAX:
Hi, I am currently perfecting an idea for a new 3d Dvorak keyboard, streamlined for typing and programming, which I plan to start making soon (currently sourcing cherry mx blues). Its going to have thirty keys in two halves (3rows*5columns*2halves). Each row will be on a sixty (maybe less) degree angle from the one above or below, this will lessen the distance the fingers travel and mean that instead of moving back and then down for a bottom row key, you just slide your finger back, in a later version I may add an extra key for each little finger angled laterally. Heres a badly drawn side on view, that was then scaled down to make it even worse! Remember that the home row may be sloped towards the user later on, and the angle of the top row may need changing to avoid hitting the top keys with the wrong muscles (I.E. raising instead of extending).
The letters and important punctuation all have their own keys, numbers are typed by modifying the home row (Func-A=1, Func-O=2),programing symbols are modified from the top keys, and barely used keys like Esc, Tab and Home are modified from the bottom row.
It will look somthing like this:
--- Code: ---
[COLOR=Red]Remember this is Dvorak![/COLOR]
[COLOR=#00ff00]' , . p y f g c r l (Unmodified)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff8c00]" < > (Shifted)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff00ff]` [ ] \ = - / (Functioned)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#483d8b]~ { } | + _ ? (Shift-Functioned)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]------------------------------------------------------[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#00ff00]a o e u i d h t n s[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff00ff]1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#483d8b]! @ # $ % ^ & * ( )[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]------------------------------------------------------[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#00ff00]; g j k x b m w v z[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff8c00]:[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff00ff] CAPS Home Prnt NUM End Insrt[/COLOR]
--- End code ---
The important part that will make this so fast to type with (hopefully) are five and six buttons bunched together under the left and right thumb respectively (this is because I find my left thumb to be much less usable), the ones on the left are modifiers, and the ones on the right are 'constants' such as Space and Enter. They will look something like this:
--- Code: ---
[COLOR=#00ff00]Ctrl Shift Esc Space Enter[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff00ff] PgUp Left Up[/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]-----------------------------------------------[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#00ff00]Meta Func Super Tab Back Del[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff00ff] PgDw Down Right[/COLOR]
--- End code ---
Thanks for the suggestions you have already given me, most of what is here was influenced by you!
Any more feedback would be very welcome!
Cheers, Jack Allison
P.S. after trawling through geekhack, I realized that some of the ideas here are similar to ideas expressed in other posts! I would just like to say that this post is my own work and I didn't use any of the ideas from these other threads as of 21-1-11. If I do use any other ideas, they will not appear in this first post and I will accredit the person.
APPENDIX: This was the original thumb modifier section and doesn't need to be read.
But the important part that will hopefully make it fast to type with is three digital (momentary on) thumbsticks (1 left, 2 right) that will eliminate "reaching" for shift, enter, etc. The left one will be modifiers (shift, ctrl, meta (alt), function) and the main right one will be "constants" (space, backspace, tab, enter) and backspace and enter will modify as delete and escape. the last one will be directions and these will double as unimportant commands that have to be included, so this stick will be less comfortably placed. In each thumb stick all four directions would have a separate tactile switch. The ones i have are ~1mm (by eye) travel and 160gf, so if i pivoted it so that it moved 4mm while the plunger moved 1mm the force would be 40gf which is about right.
A problem may be when the user attempts to do a Shift-Function which would mean that the stick has to touch two buttons at the same time.
msiegel:
very interesting! :D
i'm looking forward to seeing the other parts you're writing up as well :)
J-HAX:
key-angle and thumb-stick pictures, as well as italics, are new.
Findecanor:
Hmm.. Very interesting. Almost like a Datahand, but I think that this could be better.
You don't have any keys on the left and right side of each trough.
I am not sold on the thumb-stick idea. How do you avoid unintentional diagonal actuations?
Lanx:
thumb modifiers are so 2011!
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