I used to think being able to touch type on any surface would be really cool, but after some experience with the nightmare that is typing on a touch-screen mobile, I'm convinced it would just be frustrating. What makes typing satisfying (and accurate) is the feedback you get when a switch has actuated; otherwise you must be much more hesitant with your keystrokes.

FWIW I had the same objection to a fancy stationary keyboard as you, so I ended up designing and building my own tiny travel keyboard: https://github.com/technomancy/atreus

Kudos on creating your own keyboard! How long did the design process take and do you find it helps you maintain healthy typing habits?

As for the 'cool' aspects of the Soli, I really could care less. (I've never cared about 'cool'/'hip'/'meme' things.)

I simply think the Soli, or other projects like it, will actually open up many, very different avenues to resolve tactile input needs.

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One Concept

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For example, I can envision having something sort of like wrist splints that I could strap to the bottom of my forearms when I expect to be doing a lot of dedicated keyboarding. On the hand-end of the splint would be traditional tactile keys (e.g. Cherry keys). But the 'splints' and their keys wouldn't have any electronics or be functional in the way our current keyboards are. Since the 'splints' won't actually be functional, there won't be wires, which means users can move their arms freely (e.g. put them on a chair's armrests, or drop them to their sides when at a standing desk). Meanwhile, the user's input is tracked by something like the Soli. The 'splint' would be custom printed for each user, and the keys could be affixed in many different ways that would facilitate maximum ergonomic positioning for each individual user's keys and individual users would pick keys that had the tactile feedback the user desires.

Alternatively, for a graphic artist, a similar 'splint' like approach could be taken, but instead of dedicated keys, there may be small ridges, bumps, or indentations to mark important locations (e.g. a horizontal dash for the home keys and indications between keyboard keys) such that they could easily switch between typing and mousing. A setup like this would lack the tactile feedback of physical keys, but would be better suited to mouse or tablet-like drawing.

For those of us that want more functionality, there may be a keystroke or hand-motion that would move, or otherwise minimize, the input pad portion of the 'splint' so that we could pick up a drink or write on a white-board, without having to remove the splints.

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Other Concepts

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But something like the Soli would facilitate many more alternatives. For example, I could custom 3d-print a couple of pads for my thighs (something like a pilot's kneeboard, but not as bulky - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot's_kneeboard). When I'm sitting in a dark auditorium, I could be typing notes to my closed but still powered on device.

Since I expect something like the Soli can easily be packaged in a watch-type form, there are also lower hanging possibilities, such as interacting with public projectors, or having virtual buttons around the house (e.g. when I press the start button on my clothes washer, my Soli-watch automatically starts a timer for me, and alerts me when it's time to move the clothes to the dryer).

And just to be very illustrative, a person could easily 3d print (or mill wood into) DataHand-like blocks, or Atreus blocks ;-), and put Cherry keys in these blocks, then use the Soli to interpret the keystrokes. An option like this is likely to be much more customizable than anything the original article will do. It would be easier to actually construct (e.g. no wiring). And depending on the pricing of the Soli, may end up being cheaper to boot (specifically if the Soli is used in ways beyond just keyboarding input).

In other words, I think the Soli (or other projects like it) will open up input methods you haven't even considered, and optimize ideas which haven't been easy to implement with current technologies.