July 27, 2005 5:50PM  |
Because the Optimus keyboard provides visual feedback, it has the potential to tie into any software program on the market, said Artemy Lebedev, the studio’s founder and the keyboard’s designer.
 As computer technology has matured, user interfaces have made many advances, but the computer keyboard has remained largely the same, with its typewriter look augmented only by a few function keys.But that could change in 2006 when the Optimus keyboard is released. Already a hot topic in tech circles, the keyboard is being developed by Art.Lebedev Studio, the largest design company in Russia. If the firm gets its wish, the Optimus might just change the way keyboards operate. What makes the keyboard distinctive is not its shape, but its keys. On the top of each key is a tiny display that can change according to whatever program is running on the computer. For example, the keyboard can toggle between English characters, HTML code or even the Cyrillic alphabet, all at the click of a mouse or the touch of a button. Because the keyboard provides visual feedback, it has the potential to tie into any software program on the market, said Artemy Lebedev, the studio’s founder and the keyboard’s designer. “An application can tell you which keys are to be pressed,” he explained. “That means it is also useful for those who are not limited to the standard typewriter configuration, like musicians.” The idea behind the Optimus is to make computing easier for users. Because the keyboard can display visual cues about the purpose of each key, users will be able to take advantage of a wealth of shortcuts that are, literally, right at their fingertips. For example, if Adobe Photoshop is being used, certain keys might display common graphical symbols — like the magnify command or the paint bucket option — so the user has an easy point of reference. And if a user wants to return to typing text, the control keys on the left of the device can switch the mode back to a standard keyboard. “Possibilities with our invention are absolutely limitless, just like there are no constraints on using a monitor to display any image on it,” said Lebedev. The design studio has noted that news about the Optimus regularly garners hundreds of thousands of hits to the company’s Web site and several inquiries each day asking about a release date. The firm is not shy about what it sees as a coming revolution via the Optimus. “Our point of view is that the Optimus keyboard is the best thing since the keyboard,” said Lebedev. |
