The 4th generation steel plates are ready

2014-09-28

András has just became ready with the stainless steel plates of our 4th generation prototype. The purpose of these plates is threefold:

being the super-strong, 1.5 thick endoskeleton of the keyboard,
being a solid platform onto which the steel guides which hold together the two keyboard halves are fixated,
supporting the force that is put on the MX switches.

Unlike the previous versions, this version of the plate contains the two half holes that enable the permament interconnection of the two keyboards halves.

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The lettered keycaps of the 4th generation prototype

2014-09-07

Labelling the keycaps of our 4th generation prototype was like many other: it's critical to know about the right technology for the job. After talking to a super-knowledgable guy it was a matter of sending over some files to a company, spending some hard-earned cash and waiting a little while. Then András had to precisely position the labels and transfer them to the blank keycaps which he did marvelously.

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Just to avoid any misunderstanding, a blank version is planned so fear not!

Designing the 4th generation prototype

2014-08-31

We're nearly finished with the 4th generation prototype that will feature more powerful microprocessors and probably most importantly will be able to drive our new, snazzy LED display! Yay!

Laci working on the 4th generation PCB with the 3rd generation prototype. So meta!

Final LED display prototype

2014-08-25

As written before despite its small size designing the LED display was a vast undertaking. As it turned out we started out the wrong way. After designing and fabricating all the layers meticulously we ended up with a display of uneven light distribution and a complex assembly process. The solution?

Lately, we've realized that there are companies dedicated to fabricating custom LED displays. You may find displays like this in you washing machine or microwave oven. They're really everywhere! After talking to about two dozen of such companies we've found the one and they were able to create a prototype for us that we cannot wait to reveal so here it is!

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This display already looks promising but the final, mass produced one will be significantly better, offering more even light distribution and smaller dead space between the individual segments. We're so excited about this stuff!

Being able to rebind Alt+Tab is a big deal

2014-07-16

Alt+Tab is one of the most often used keyboard shortcuts. It's used hundreds of times per day to switch between windows quickly. There's just one problem with it. Have you ever wondered how you hold your hand when invoking it?

Hand posture when invoking Alt+Tab

I have to bend my left thumb under my hand to reach left Alt. This is not a natural posture and possibly even more awkward than the Vulcan salute.

How about invoking Alt+Tab via a convenience shortcut like Mod+D?

Hand posture when invoking Alt+Tab via Mod+D

Now we're talking! No bending fingers or leaving the home row anymore.

We don't even second think about how clumsy the first posture is because we're so used to it, and there aren't alternative shortcuts on regular keyboards. Having used our third generation prototype for about half a year, going back to a regular keyboard that is not configurable this way makes me feel really uncomfortable. This is exactly the kind of thing that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is.

People invoke Alt+Tab hundreds of times per day which translates to hundred(s) of thousands of times per year. We are here to provide you a more comfortable way to do this and many other things.

Should you have any ideas about (possibly application-specific) custom shortcuts, you'd like to use, please let us know!

UHK controlling a smartphone and a tablet

2014-06-14

We expect the UHK to be mainly used by desktop users but given that it's not only a keyboard but a mouse too we thought that using it with a smartphone or a tablet would make sense. The vast majority of these devices support USB OTG and hence work with the UHK. Time to see some action!

LED display progress

2014-03-03

The LED display is coming along great! It's not only supposed to be the crown jewel of the keyboard but also highly functional displaying the 3 letters that identify the actual application-specific keymap along with 3 status indicator icons.

With its numerous layers this could be a project of its own. We've gone through a number of iterations to get everything right which sometimes was outright frustrating but it was worth all the trouble. The most challenging part of it is making everything fit together because there's not much space left between the inidividual LEDs.

Currently a LED matrix column that should drive 6 LEDs is miswired. The alignment of the LEDs will also be changed from diagonal to vertical to maximize space usage.

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Which feet should we choose?

2014-02-21

During the design process we've been pondering about every alternative of every single detail. One could say that this is a waste of time but we're true believers that revolutionary products born when designers embrace this mindset.

Now we're about to decide the shape of the feet of the keyboard. The choices are circle, square and triangle. You're welcome to participate in the voting process by letting your voice heard in the comments especially if you happen to have a foot fetish. Vote for the best foot shape! Or simply vote for Pedro!

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Mouse navigation demo

2014-02-08

Mouse navigation is one of the uber features that we aim to implement. Lately we've managed to get it working and so here's the obligatory demo.

The guts revealed

2014-01-31

A lot of care goes into designing not only the outside but the inside of this keyboard. Everything has to fit together perfectly. Here are a couple of CAD photos to give you a peek into the keyboard case.

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prototype

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