I'm very closely acquainted with a doctor whose business it is to understand human physiology. It occurred to her that holding one's hands supine is much more anatomically neutral than prone.
The idea is to create a keyboard that is transparent and rests 'upside-down', so that the excursion of depression of the keys is away from the floor and the user may rest palms up. The transparency is so that the user may still see their hands, with letters illuminated in the clear keys in reading orientation from the upward facing 'bottom' of the keyboard. The challenge is designing the appropriate forms to allow rest of the arms while maintaining stability to resist the upward use of the keyboard. Well, that, and the ghostly, floating letter figures in a clear mechanical sandwich.
I haven't yet imagined what to do about the mouse...-- absterge, Oct 29 2015 fabric keyboard http://www.bing.com...eyboard&FORM=HDRSC2 [beanangel, Oct 30 2015] Capacitive touch http://www.densitro...20specification.pdfmini tables uses clear touch screens Seems only natural to make a keyboard [travbm, Oct 31 2015] 250 dollar capacitive keyboard http://boingboing.n...creen-keyboard.htmlFlat keyboard that you can use like a touch screen. [travbm, Oct 31 2015] Not cheap http://www.amazon.c...keywords=capacitiveFlat star trek style keyboard with flat smooth glass surface. [travbm, Oct 31 2015] I think this is what you meant? http://ecx.images-a...s/I/51HDvPAAk4L.jpgIf you can make it cheaper then two thumbs up for you. [travbm, Oct 31 2015] back-panel input device [pashute, Oct 31 2015] Vertical Keyboards https://www.google....18.3215.jnD3DMDd6WgFor [Vernon]. These have been around for quite a while. [neutrinos_shadow, Nov 08 2015] Is that anything like the glass keyboard?-- travbm, Oct 29 2015 fabric keyboard or projector keyboard could be adapted then quantitatively measured as to comfiness-- beanangel, Oct 30 2015 I see problems.
First, the backs of the hands aren't designed to rest on a tabletop and slide around, so you'd be constantly holding your hands up off the tabletop, which would be tiring.
Second, the whole keyboard would have to be heavy enough not be lifted by the typing.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 30 2015 Is there a split keyboard folded so keys are on its left and right sides? The edges of the hands could rest on the table, with palms facing toward each other, and keyboard in- between. We might want a modest depression in the table surface, for the keyboard, to properly center hand in its particular portion of the keyboard. The numeric keypad would probably have to be separate, but it could include the cursor-arrow keys and the Home, End, Del, PgUp and PgDn keys, and maybe a couple more (like the Insert and Pause/Break keys).-- Vernon, Oct 31 2015 Transparent thin film conductive polymers and capacitive interfaces have been made to lay flat on a surface. As for the mouse just put a flat scroll pad on it or just make it a micro ball with internal laser tracking of movement?-- travbm, Oct 31 2015 You can Use my back-panel input device. See link
By the way absterge, I have a "fabric" (flexible plastic) keyboard and its made of transparent plastic (with a yellow tinge)-- pashute, Oct 31 2015 [MB], I did mention the stability to resist the upward use specifically because of the lift that the fingers would generate. The surrounding supports may need to be bolted to the desk, or of sufficient mass to weigh... enough.
With proper technique, I don't think you'd need to slide your hands around. The whole point of this is the supine rest position, likely with the weight on the fourth and fifth metacarpals. Try it, flip your hands over on your desk, and imagine typing upside down on the bottom of a surface through which you could see. I can't see how the sliding about would be a problem.
Thanks for that permission [pashute]. That's something quite like what I'm imagining.
Remember that this will be a TREWQPOIUY keyboard, vice our typical QWERTYUIOP. Or maybe I'll just get properly creative and eschew our antiquated roots for a sensible lettering scheme...-- absterge, Oct 31 2015 I'm a touch typist and it didn't take me long to memorize the outmoded qwerty positions. I'd really like gloves which cycle through the letters, one small series per finger, no matter how I choose to hold my hands.-- 4and20, Nov 01 2015 Just sitting here, I can't agree that the upside-down position is better for my hands. I can't get my palms to flat upward at all. Well, 'way outward just barely, but certainly not side-by-side on a desk top.
Do we care if an idea is totally unworkable?
I'd go for a two-part keyboard that has high-zoot hinges like modern computing devices. You could put half on each arm of your easy chair, or tent them on a desk top, as [Vernon] suggests, or rest them on your tummy, or go full Egyptian with half on each side of your upper chest and your wrists crossed.
I'm typing this on a Wave keyboard, which has the two halves of the keyboard arranged in a slight V shape. Two separate halves with little adjustable legs would work great.
I think making the keyboard transparent would be easy. Not completely transparent, but with a clear base, clear keys, and the letter on top of each contact dot, and little wires snaking along.-- baconbrain, Nov 05 2015 [Vernon]: yes. See <linky>.-- neutrinos_shadow, Nov 08 2015 random, halfbakery