KMI Launches Computer Keypad - For
Your Feet
By Mark Hachman
On Tuesday, KMI announced what the company claims is the
first PC keyboard controller for the feet, providing benefits to the
disabled, RSI sufferers, and even gamers.
Users can now buy the SoftStep KeyWorx multitouch foot controller for
$289.95 from Amazon, Enablemart, and Disabled Online, Keith McMillen
Instruments, the creator of the keypad, said.
Although the idea behind the keypad seems whimsical (could tap dancers
or Irish dancers have an advantage?) the keypad was designed as an
adjunct for the traditional PC keyboard, facilitating the use of the PC
by the disabled.
In fact, the technology behind KeyWorx was originally designed for
musicians, McMillen said. John Paul Jones, the bass player for Led
Zeppelin, uses it for performances, he said.
"It's not going to replace the keyboard, assuming you can use one, but
it augments it to a very high degree," McMillen said in an interview.
"We've been controlling things with our feet for a very long time,
whether it be church organs or driving cars, and there never has been a
great way to take advantage of it until now."
"Human beings will invest the time to learn a new interface device, if
the payback is substantial enough," added Bill Buxton, a principal
researcher at Microsoft Research, who has specialized in multitouch
systems, in a prepared statement. "It is not that different from
operating a car. A driver must work the gas and brake without looking
down at their feet."
The keypad, which measures about 17 inches by 4 inches by a half inch
thick, doesn't try and replicate the QWERTY keyboard that users are used
to typing with. Instead, it offers ten keys (listed 0-9) in two rows,
with the 1-5 keys listed closest to the user. Four arrow keys to the
right can be programmed to move the mouse cursor.
The keypad doesn't any tactile positioning feedback, such as the small
nubs that are often placed on the "F" and "J" keys on the keyboard for
help with positioning. But the keys are backlit, a spokeswoman for the
company confirmed, allowing users to at least see the keys in low-light
conditions.
And, moreover, each key is pressure sensitive along the X and Y axis,
allowing a user to slide his foot forward to increase the rate in which
a window zooms, for example (assuming that's the function the key is
programmed for). The keys can also sense rotation.
"Because there's only two rows of five keys, you can't get too far off,"
McMillen said. The associated software can also place a small window on
the screen to indicate which key is being pressed. But, he added, users
get used to the layout over time.
Each key is essentially a macro, and can be programmed to enter text or
keystrokes, plus perform tasks such as open and close software
applications, launch email, scroll through folders, and zoom in and out.
The keypad will remember up to 100 sets of commands, according to KMI.
KMI added a video to demonstrate the keypad below:
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