A full size keyboard capable of connecting to a portable mobile device like a cell phone or PDA that is capable of folding into nothing-sounds too good to be true, right? Wrong, with Canesta’s new fully integrated projection keyboard for mobile devices.
The keyboard is possible through Canesta Keyboard Perception Chipset, the first commercial product to come from the company’s electronic perception technology that was patented in March of 2002. The chipset projects beams of light onto a flat surface in front of a user’s mobile phone or PDA in the shape of a full size keyboard. The electronic perception technology then allows the device to track and understand nearby objects, in this case human hand movements, in real time.
With Canesta’s projection keyboard, users can type away on a virtual keyboard that exactly replicates the keyboard on their own PC-making it simple to perform any function normally performed on a PC, but often avoided on a mobile device because of inconveniences including miniature-sized keyboards and small handheld styluses.
Canesta is attempting to make the chipset, which it said is easy and low cost for OEMs to implement, even smaller in size and lower in power. The company believes it can go beyond wireless devices in using its technology to “sight-enable” everyday devices and machines, furthering the realm of wireless technology.
“We mold our lives around machines and the way they work,” explained James Spare, vice president of product marketing for Canesta, emphasizing that by sight-enabling machines, consumers can experience higher levels of functionality and convenience.
For example, Canesta envisions a car being able to warn drivers of an obstacle in their blind spot; video games that recognize human movement rather than controller commands; and a keyless entry system that opens the door to homeowners by recognizing a familiar face.
Spare said Canesta is currently working with several large OEMs who are building the keyboard chipset into various wireless devices and expects to see the first devices with its perception technology to market in the first half of 2003.
