Tech start up Air Type develops ‘keyboardless keyboard’

It might soon be possible to type on any surface to take the pain out of mobile phone typing, thanks to The AirType project, which holds considerable promise relieving users from the tedious, frustrating task.

Texas-based hardware and machine learning startup, AirType is developing a ''keyboardless keyboard'' accessory that allows users to type on any surface for their phone.

Unlike the conventional keyboards, the AirType project has no visual component and uses a pair of cuff-like sensor units that can be worn on the hands and over the knuckles. The units track user's finger moments to detect the keys needing to be struck or would be struck, on users' 'invisible' mobile tablet keyboard.

The developers said, the small AirType cuffs could be clipped onto one's tablet like a pair of friendly wrist bands.

According to the developers, accessories would also come with an app incorporating dynamic text correction and prediction.

The Air Type website said the system would learn to adjust to users' typing habits. The project is currently in the prototype stage.

However, not everybody is comfortable with the concept. Some commentators find the concept of working on an invisible keyboard as wiggling one's fingers in mid-air in order to hit text on the tablet or PC to which it is hooked up.

They say the alternative, the currently available speech-to-text technology, made more sense.

They also seem to have reservations about how the alternate keyboard could analyse the way users typed and work based on that. They point out that a lot of people hit on keys erratically and not many bothered to master the skill of typing.

Also they point out there was so little information in the Vimeo video, on the site, and it was difficult to fully comprehend the idea.