Keyboard related studies

[Dext]

Hello everyone,

I'm a french student in scientific Higher school preparatory classes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classe_pr%C3%A9paratoire_aux_grandes_%C3%A9coles) and i have to do what we call a "TIPE". Basically, it's a project on whatever you want where you have to do some studies about a topic, and after that answer a problem about it and with that you have to constitute a file with your "research" in it. As a keyboard lover, I would like to do it about... keyboards.

Any idea of something i could study and do some cool stuff with it about keyboards? If it could include some maths, cool engineering stuff or things like this, it would be awesome.

Thanks for your help,

Your Leopold lover,
Dext

[merlin64]

Ooooh that sounds exciting!!

Off the top of my head, the following comes to ind

1. Comparison of spring weights between Cherry MX and Korean springs. People have talked about what they feel like, but I don't think anyone has done a scientific comparison yet

2. The Keyboard Matrix! Discuss how people have tried to solve the NKRO issue, etc etc

3. Talk about the different switch designs, Cherry MX, Topre, ALPS, Hall Effect, and more!

[azhdar]

to add to merlin64 idea, layouts comparaisons ?

[hwood34]

1. Comparison of spring weights between Cherry MX and Korean springs. People have talked about what they feel like, but I don't think anyone has done a scientific comparison yet

The only real difference is that one is measure at actuation and the other is measured at bottom-out

[Dext]

1. Comparison of spring weights between Cherry MX and Korean springs. People have talked about what they feel like, but I don't think anyone has done a scientific comparison yet

Mmmh, true that springs could be a good idea... On the top of that we studied them in physics a bit.

3. Talk about the different switch designs, Cherry MX, Topre, ALPS, Hall Effect, and more!

Yeah, for the engineer science, studying the different switches could be really great and some gif and image of them could (i think) be interesting.
Graphs about the key or things like this, it would probably be the main thing to talk about.

About the layout, i think it is out of the subjet and it's not AS scientific as it should be.

I will try to talk with my teachers to see if keyboards could be a good subject. There are probably many small parts inside the switches that could be interesting to study.
Thanks for you help Of course if you have more ideas, i would always read them.

[Dext]

2. The Keyboard Matrix! Discuss how people have tried to solve the NKRO issue, etc etc

I just did some research about it and i have to admit that it could totally fit! That and differents switches could totally do the trick! My class starts soon so i will have a talk with my engineer science teacher about it ^^

[Dext]

Hello everyone,
I spoke with my engineer science teacher and draw some cherry MX switches on the board so that he could see a little bit what MX switches are about (i also draw a topre but i didn't exactly remember how it's done so... It wasn't exactly a topre keyboard).

I told him about the spring that is in and that there are differents versions about it and his answer was that it could work to talk about switches and spring in particular if i could find some measures to do.

Any idea of something i would measure and how? I could measure things that are already measured such as the force to activate it or a response time but i would need your ideas and solutions to find how i could measure them.
Otherwise, I have a question about topre lovers, is there measures about the rubber dome? I saw the force required but is there measures JUST for the spring or JUST for the rubber dome or do they only give the 2 togethers? Rubber dome could be something i explore in my "research" and my experiments (which i absolutely have to do, you need an experimentation)

Thanks you all for reading and answering if you got some ideas

[Darkshado]

I've seen graphs with travel distance, force required throughout actuation and return, plus actuation and deactivation points floating on other threads here for various types of switches.

Lots of statistics involved in designing modern layouts, trying to sample what's necessary in a given language and use case then making a sensible layout out of this data.

Isn't AFNOR going to revise the AZERTY layout soon-ish? Might be interesting to follow up on that.

[ander]

Imagine—a Ph.D program in Keyboardology! You could grow a professorial-looking van dyke beard, like this guy:





(who conveniently, looks like he's getting ready to type something). You could give lectures, appear on phone-in radio talk shows, produce officially endorsed products (T-shirts, KB covers, wrist rests, etc.), fend off KB groupies... The possibilities are endless.

Of course to do it right—to be sure you had an authoritative grasp of the many subtleties of KB design throughout computing history—you'd need to have one of ever KB ever made. And collecting them would be tax deductible! Woo, I'd better stop; I'm starting to shiver.

[tp4tissue]

Is this for Highschool or University.. ?

[Dext]

This is for university.

[GL1TCH3D]

I wrote a 20 page paper about the possible business benefits of using specialized mechanical keyboards instead of cheap rubber domes.

[iLLucionist]

I wrote a 20 page paper about the possible business benefits of using specialized mechanical keyboards instead of cheap rubber domes.

Cool! Could I read it? PLLEEAAASSSEEE. Won't share it with anybody else, but I would be curious about your reasoning. Perhaps I can convert my colleagues who just think I'm a "nerd", while they are complaining about RSI etc themselves... Ironic.

[tp4tissue]

I wrote a 20 page paper about the possible business benefits of using specialized mechanical keyboards instead of cheap rubber domes.

Cool! Could I read it? PLLEEAAASSSEEE. Won't share it with anybody else, but I would be curious about your reasoning. Perhaps I can convert my colleagues who just think I'm a "nerd", while they are complaining about RSI etc themselves... Ironic.

Tp4 would also like to read this paper..

[xondat]

I wrote a 20 page paper about the possible business benefits of using specialized mechanical keyboards instead of cheap rubber domes.

Cool! Could I read it? PLLEEAAASSSEEE. Won't share it with anybody else, but I would be curious about your reasoning. Perhaps I can convert my colleagues who just think I'm a "nerd", while they are complaining about RSI etc themselves... Ironic.

Tp4 would also like to read this paper..

Show Image

Hey can I get in on this too? Need some reading material and what else is better than ****ting on rubber domes :))

[sinusoid]

OP, did you check this thread? --> https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=55099.msg1236269#msg1236269

Also, research into switch/spring mechanics FTW. You should get a lot of info on what contact mechanisms are used to get the switches to send a non-ambiguous signal. This is well researched and documented.
IMVHO living hinges are a nice subject that is totally overlooked, they have a huge lot of cycles and are near absolutely stiff in desired axes.

You can focus on reducing size, too. Get some small microswitches with different actuation forces (ride local auction site or sth), see if you can give them mechanics that make them comfy for typing. There is a thread here in "making stuff together" forums archive where people discuss using mouse switches for keyboards... and in the Conchi build thread intrio is actually using similar switches to build a VERY custom keyboard.

Look at timon37's datahand build in the archives, he's using these also.

As for layouts/working principles, I like this one a lot: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74463.0


And you might want to raid sites like google patents or freepatentsonline for some wicked stuff.

Anyway, good luck! Especially if you get to make original research.

[Dext]

OP, did you check this thread? --> https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=55099.msg1236269#msg1236269

Also, research into switch/spring mechanics FTW. You should get a lot of info on what contact mechanisms are used to get the switches to send a non-ambiguous signal. This is well researched and documented.
IMVHO living hinges are a nice subject that is totally overlooked, they have a huge lot of cycles and are near absolutely stiff in desired axes.

You can focus on reducing size, too. Get some small microswitches with different actuation forces (ride local auction site or sth), see if you can give them mechanics that make them comfy for typing. There is a thread here in "making stuff together" forums archive where people discuss using mouse switches for keyboards... and in the Conchi build thread intrio is actually using similar switches to build a VERY custom keyboard.

Look at timon37's datahand build in the archives, he's using these also.

As for layouts/working principles, I like this one a lot: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74463.0


And you might want to raid sites like google patents or freepatentsonline for some wicked stuff.

Anyway, good luck! Especially if you get to make original research.

Thanks man, it's getting late here so i will check all of that tomorrow

My brother also told me about key chattering which could be great to study, if i can compare the key chattering between switches or things like this and find/expose/build solutions to reduce them, it could be interesting

[SamirD]

I wrote a 20 page paper about the possible business benefits of using specialized mechanical keyboards instead of cheap rubber domes.

Cool! Could I read it? PLLEEAAASSSEEE. Won't share it with anybody else, but I would be curious about your reasoning. Perhaps I can convert my colleagues who just think I'm a "nerd", while they are complaining about RSI etc themselves... Ironic.

Tp4 would also like to read this paper..

Show Image

Hey can I get in on this too? Need some reading material and what else is better than ****ting on rubber domes :))

Make that four of us.  Sounds like an awesome read.  I think you should just post the whole paper in a thread.  :thumb:

[GL1TCH3D]

Psh like I'm going to post it haha


(there was quite a lot of BS  )

[Dext]

Just to announce that keyboard studies is real and happening My topic will be key chattering

[trillobite]

I did not read all of the responses, and if someone mentioned the same thing as me, then I second it. 

Mainly on the topic of typing efficiency:

1. Key switch tactility, affecting typing efficiency.
2. Keyboard ergonomics: 10 key-less, slanted keys etc... affecting typing efficiency.
3. Typing fatigue due to spring weight.
4. Key-cap shape SA, DSA, etc... affecting typing efficiency.

Basically, is there one keyboard to rule them all, for the most efficient typing? That would be something to research, in my opinion.

[jcoffin1981]

Just to announce that keyboard studies is real and happening My topic will be key chattering

I find this a fascinating topic.  Another would be force curves for various springs.  A lot of manufacturers just list 1 number for the resistance at actuation and unfortunately this give you very little info about how the keystroke feels.

[iLLucionist]

Just to announce that keyboard studies is real and happening My topic will be key chattering

I find this a fascinating topic.  Another would be force curves for various springs.  A lot of manufacturers just list 1 number for the resistance at actuation and unfortunately this give you very little info about how the keystroke feels.

Force curves would be interesting indeed.

I would also be interested in activation point variation. Sometimes I feel that the weight I have to put on keys before it registers to vary.

I guess all these studies have to do with the margins of variation that are allowed in the production of caps and switches. But it would still be interesting to find out how much variation there actually is in the end product.

[iLLucionist]

I was also thinking about building something like typespeed myself but then implementing a whole lot of different statistics that would help improve typing speed for real.

For instance, are there particular COMBINATIONS of keystroke that you consistently type wrong? There are particular words that I keep misspelling on typespeed.

Also, what about the success rate of different fingers? Is my pinky more ACCURATE than my index finger?

If I would know, for instance, that I mistype and 'e' after a 'd' I could start looking into how I type these two characters and try to fix it or retrain my muscle memory. I would expect that this would increasing my typing speed and my accuracy.

Then there is the subjective, cognitive processes going on with producing keystrokes after perceiving words. Sometimes I swap words, for instance when I have to type 'mood' I type 'moon' etc. This could be issues with perceiving words, or that some words are close together in my mental cognitive schema. Or sometimes there are particular words together on typespeed that could form a logical sentence. So when there are 3 words together that could form a sentence, I sometimes mistype the 4th word because I expect a meaningful sentence to follow while it does not because typespeed is just a random collection of words for you to type. And linguistic research shows that we are better at perceiving words in context than mere words alone.

So aside from mechanical aspects like the switch and the caps itself and travel and our physical accuracy, there are also a lot of mental aspects to typing accurately and fast.