New Virtual iPhone Keyboard Works on Any Surface
Meet George Jetson. A University of London student has developed software that advances mobile technology into futuristic realms. The app, designed by Florian Krautli of Switzerland for his one-year cognitive computing master’s degree, allows the iPhone to transform any table into an invisible full-sized keyboard by analyzing surface vibrations caused by tapping fingers. Dubbed Vibrative, the software uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to measure each tap’s strength and vibration frequency.
The app’s user creates “training data” by typing on a paper keyboard design laid on the surface to be used. The software then converts the data into a virtual keyboard. The user can remove the paper and type on the surface, which will be saved to the iPhone’s memory, over and again without needing to recalibrate said surface. Currently, the system recognizes the correct key about 80 percent of the time, but Krautli also programmed an auto correct dictionary to help ensure words are spelled correctly. The accuracy can also be increased by using the paper keyboard to calibrate each individual key or by using a smaller surface where the vibration of each tap is stronger.
“The signals I’m collecting are very weak,” Kraetli said. “At this moment it’s more of a proof of concept but if you made the accelerometer more sensitive you could improve the accuracy quite easily.”
Krautli developed the software using a jailbroken iPhone since Apple does not presently allow apps that change the way its iOS keyboard works. He believes, however, the app could work with any mobile device that has an accelerometer, and if the accuracy can be improved and the training minimized, it could certainly become an official app picked up by Apple, Google or Microsoft as a standard feature in the future.
