article_snippet: From tiny keyboards that learn your intentions to ones that fold in half to save space, the race is on to modify the humble computer keyboard, which has remained largely unchanged since the race was invented.
article_snippet: a patent that hints that the clunky piece of hardware could one day be replaced with not much at all suggests that using audio sensors that plug into a smartphone or tablet, any flat surface could be transformed into a virtual keyboard.
article_snippet: Just like magic: Google has been granted a patent (image shown) that suggests that using audio sensors that plug into a smartphone or tablet, any flat surface could be transformed into a virtual keyboard .
article_snippet: The design would make The design far easier to type on devices with smaller touchscreens, which are currently dominated by pop-up keyboards.
article_snippet: a patent that hints that the clunky piece of hardware could one day be replaced with not much at all suggests that a user would tap on a surface just as if they were typing on a regular keyboard.
article_snippet: A Samsung patent (pictured) shows a system that could turn a user’s hand into The Emoji Keyboard .
article_snippet: The design may have a few drawbacks however, as The design could make typing tricky for people who can’t touch type and no cushioning when pressing ‘keys’ would mean that the process could become uncomfortable or even painful after a while.
article_snippet: A patent filed by Samsung last March showed a wearable system that could turn a user’s hand into a keyboard.
article_snippet: In a wearable system that could turn a user’s hand into a keyboard, people wearing a camera - on a Google Glass-style device dubbed Galaxy Glass - would be able to look down at their hands, which would be mapped using a virtual keyboard, and use their thumbs to select the keys, negating the need for a physical keyboard.
article_snippet: ‘Such wearable computers are even more limited in space for mounting an input means such as button type keypad and touchscreen.' a wearable system that could turn a user’s hand into a keyboard involves a camera for capturing an image, a storage unit that stores the ‘key to hand mapping table,’ a display and a control unit.
highlights_snippet: System would transform any flat surface into a full size keyboard .
  