Conveyor-Belt Keyboard Design
Google Japan just showed off a quirky keyboard that has keys rolling on a conveyor belt to make typing easier. According to the company blog, it built the Gboard Conveyor Belt Version so that the keys flow to your hand instead. That means you do not have to move your fingers or arms as much, especially when you are typing using a single hand. The keyboard comes with four belts, each containing 29 keys, making it intuitive to operate. The team behind it is also considering releasing various color variations, high-speed models, and even a shorter version for mobile devices.
Annual October Keyboard Tradition
This keyboard is the latest addition to the Google regional office annual tradition of releasing a new model every first day of October. The local subsidiary has previously released quirky designs as an April Fool joke starting in 2012. However, in 2021, it switched the release to the first day of October, or 10.1, in reference to the 101-key layout popularized by the IBM Model M. These include the Gboard Dial Edition, reminiscent of rotary phones, the Double-Sided Gboard, and the Gboard bar version, which places all keys on a single row.
Availability and Open Source Files
The plans for the Gboard Conveyor Belt Version are available directly from GitHub, including 3D-printable STL files, KiCad schematics, PCB layouts, and the firmware source code needed to build a working copy of the keyboard. The schematics for previous Google Japan keyboard designs are also available in the main directory, allowing enthusiasts to build these eccentric pieces.
