An ergonomic keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain, fatigue, and other problems. [1]
An ergonomic keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain, fatigue, and other problems. [1]
The common QWERTY keyboard layout is credited to the mechanical typewriter designed by C. Latham Sholes and patented in 1878; [2] research indicates the layout may have been influenced by telegraph operators. [3] The offset in the columns between rows was designed to accommodate the physical links between each key and the internal mechanisms of the typewriter; as typing duties transitioned to electric (motorized) typewriters and then computers, the layout was retained to ease the transition for users that had already been trained to type. However, the legacy mechanical layout has numerous idiosyncrasies, including the staggered column layout, which can force the user into uncomfortable, repetitive movements and postures. Several potential solutions have been proposed since at least 1926.
Ergonomic keyboards, in essence, are created with the aim of minimizing discomfort in users' wrists and reducing unnecessary finger movements by rearranging or repositioning the keys. For instance, typing on a conventional keyboard layout can force the user into shoulder elevation, wrist ulnar deviation, and head rotation. [4] : 385 Consideration of physical ergonomics suggests the most relaxed typing position is one in which the keyboard user's forearms are parallel to the ground, with wrists held straight. To facilitate this posture, Klockenberg published a study in 1926 that suggested the primary key clusters for two-handed typists should be split into left and right halves which are set at an angle to each other, allowing the wrists to remain straight. [4] : 385 [5] A more detailed study was published in 1972 by Kroemer, suggesting that an adjustable split keyboard may reduce user pain. [4] : 386 [6] During the 1970s, several studies were published suggesting that data entry operators were at risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries. [4] : 387
Split keyboards group keys into two or more sections. By separating the keyboard, split keyboards typically change the angles and the distance between each section to ensure the user's wrists remain straight. There are three relevant angles: [4] : Fig.2
The distance between the sections usually is selected to reduce or eliminate the shoulder adduction that brings the user's hands toward the center of the keyboard, which on conventional keyboards with no opening angle can also result in an awkward wrist angle.
Ergonomic split keyboards can be fixed, where the user cannot change the relative angles and distance between the sections, or adjustable, which usually has two independent modules that allow these to be tailored exactly to the user. Fixed split keyboards are necessarily designed to accommodate a wide range of users, and can be set up rapidly to replicate a similar interface in different settings, but may not fit a specific user exactly. For example, people with broad shoulders may benefit from an adjustable split keyboard's ability to customize the distance between the two halves of the keyboard. This ensures the elbows are not too close together when typing. [7] On the other hand, adjustable split keyboards sometimes intimidate potential users, who may fear they may exacerbate or become more susceptible to repetitive strain injuries; fixed split keyboards like the Microsoft Natural have sold well in comparison. [8]
The angled split keyboard (sometimes referred to as a Klockenburg keyboard) is similar to a split keyboard, but the middle is tented up so that the index fingers are higher than the little fingers while typing. Key Ovation makes the Goldtouch ergonomic keyboard which is an adjustable angled split keyboard. On some ergonomic keyboards, the tenting angle is increased to 90° so the user types with their hands perpendicular to the ground, thumbs-up, [9] similar to the hand position adopted by accordion players.
Because electric typewriters and computer keyboards no longer need to accommodate a mechanical linkage, the keys can be set in vertical columns without staggering, minimizing lateral finger movements when moving between rows. This vertical layout rearranges the keys into linear columns. If the rows remain aligned horizontally, the resulting ortholinear layout puts the keys on an orthogonal grid. [10] Other designs use vertical columns with staggered rows to compensate for the difference in finger lengths. A keyboard with vertical columns can require an adjustment period as the user retrains their finger movements. [10]
Some keyboards combine a split design with vertical or semi-vertical columns. Examples include the Truly Ergonomic keyboard (fixed split, staggered rows), [11] ErgoDox (adjustable split, staggered rows), [12] ZSA Moonlander, [13] and Zergotech Freedom (adjustable split, semi-staggered rows) keyboards. [14]
The preceding split and vertical column keyboards arranged each key cluster onto a single flat plane. Contoured- or dished-surface keyboards like the Maltron (1977) or the newer Kinesis Advantage line (1992+) are fixed split keyboards with tenting that place the keys into two curved depressions set approximately at shoulder width. [15] The function keys, navigation keys, and modifiers such as ⇧ Shift, PgUp, etc. are set between the key groups for use with the thumbs. For these keyboards, the resulting bowl-like key surfaces are intended to minimize and make consistent the finger extension required to strike keys away from the home row. [16] In general, contoured keyboards also incorporate a vertical column layout with staggered rows for each hand. In this configuration, minimal movement of arms and wrists is required. [17]
Some keyboards combine vertical key columns and contoured surfaces with fully-adjustable (independent) split key clusters. Examples include the Kinesis Advantage 360, [18] Dactyl Manuform, [19] and MoErgo Glove80. [20] With a relatively small market, many are custom-built or sold as kits to be assembled by the user, with extensive customization options.
Handheld ergonomic keyboards are designed to be held like a game controller, and can be used as such, instead of laid out flat on top of a table surface. They allow the user the ability to move around a room or to lean back on a chair while also being able to type in front or away from the computer. [21] Some variations of handheld ergonomic keyboards also include a trackball mouse that allow mouse movement and typing included in one handheld device. [22]
A few ergonomic keyboards do not have the typical one key per letter, such as a keyer or a keyless ergonomic keyboard. [23] For example, DataHand eliminates the need for any wrist motion or finger extension; each finger has five separate switches triggered by buttons or paddles. [24]
Advances in speech recognition have made it possible to eliminate the use of a keyboard altogether, particularly on smaller devices that lack traditional keyboard interfaces. [25] [26]
It is widely claimed that an ergonomic keyboard may reduce muscle strain and reduce risk of carpal tunnel syndrome or other kinds of repetitive strain injury. [4] [27] [28] [29] With respect to "split" keyboards, quality studies that demonstrate injury reductions are lacking, with the exception of physically split keyboards which have "sharply angled keyboard faces". There is evidence, however, that such keyboards are not well tolerated. [30]
Narrow studies examining hand position at rest neglect many other possible factors. For example, one should be aware that the effect of “ergonomic” keyboards is to change the musculoskeletal region exposed to risk, instead of eliminating hazardous postures. [31]
QWERTY is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: QWERTY. The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sholes and Glidden typewriter sold via E. Remington and Sons from 1874. QWERTY became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878 and remains in ubiquitous use.
A pointing stick is a small analog stick used as a pointing device typically mounted centrally in a computer keyboard. Like other pointing devices such as mice, touchpads or trackballs, operating system software translates manipulation of the device into movements of the pointer on the computer screen. Unlike other pointing devices, it reacts to sustained force or strain rather than to gross movement, so it is called an "isometric" pointing device. IBM introduced it commercially in 1992 on its laptops under the name "TrackPoint", and patented an improved version of it in 1997. It has been used for business laptops, such as Acer's TravelMate, Dell's Latitude, HP's EliteBook and Lenovo's ThinkPad.
AZERTY is a specific layout for the characters of the Latin alphabet on typewriter keys and computer keyboards. The layout takes its name from the first six letters to appear on the first row of alphabetical keys; that is,. Similar to the QWERTZ layout, it is modelled on the English QWERTY layout. It is used in France and Belgium, although each of these countries has its own national variation on the layout. Luxembourg and Switzerland use the Swiss QWERTZ keyboard. Most residents of Quebec, the mainly French-speaking province of Canada, use a QWERTY keyboard that has been adapted to the French language such as the Multilingual Standard keyboard CAN/CSA Z243.200-92 which is stipulated by the government of Quebec and the Government of Canada.
Touch typing is a style of typing. Although the phrase refers to typing without using the sense of sight to find the keys—specifically, a touch typist will know their location on the keyboard through muscle memory—the term is often used to refer to a specific form of touch typing that involves placing the eight fingers in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard and having them reach for specific other keys. Both two-handed touch typing and one-handed touch typing are possible.
Microsoft has designed and sold a variety of ergonomic keyboards for computers. The oldest is the Microsoft Natural Keyboard, released in 1994, the company's first computer keyboard. The newest models are the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard (2013), the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard (2016), and the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard (2019).
Caps Lock⇪ Caps Lock is a button on a computer keyboard that causes all letters of bicameral scripts to be generated in capital letters. It is a toggle key: each press reverses the previous action. Some keyboards also implement a light to give visual feedback about whether it is on or off. Exactly what Caps Lock does depends on the keyboard hardware, the operating system, the device driver, and the keyboard layout. Usually, the effect is limited to letter keys. Letters of non-bicameral scripts and non-letter characters are generated normally.
Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are keys on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor in a specified direction.
The PLUM keyboard is a keyboard layout which differs from the traditional QWERTY keyboard in both physical key layout and letter arrangement. Unlike most keyboards, the PLUM keyboard organizes keys in a square grid, as opposed to the staggered rows of a typewriter. Though the Plum Keyboard is currently off-line, it is still being promoted.
Kinesis is a company based near Seattle that offers computer keyboards with ergonomic designs as alternatives to the traditional keyboard design. Most widely known among these are the contoured Advantage line, which features recessed keys in two bucket-like hollows to allow the user's fingers to reach keys with less effort. Moreover, the keys are laid out in perfect vertical rows to avoid the need for lateral movements during typing. In addition, the modifiers such as enter, alt, backspace, control, etc. are moved to a central location so they can be pressed with the stronger thumbs rather than the pinky fingers.
PCD Maltron Ltd, trading as Maltron, is a manufacturer of ergonomic special-needs keyboards. It was founded by South African-born inventor Lillian Malt and manufacturer Stephen Hobday. Maltron specialises in making keyboards for the prevention and etiological treatment of repetitive strain injury.
The Apple Adjustable Keyboard is an ergonomic keyboard introduced by Apple Computer, Inc. in 1993 for the Macintosh family of personal computers. The keyboard attaches to the computer via the Apple Desktop Bus port. The last Apple computer released compatible with this keyboard without using a USB to ADB adapter was the Power Macintosh G3, as it was the last one with the Apple Desktop Bus.
The DataHand is an unconventional computer keyboard introduced in 1990 by DataHand Systems, Inc., designed to be operated without any wrist motion or finger extension.
FITALY is a keyboard layout specifically optimized for stylus or touch-based input. The design places the most common letters closest to the centre to minimize distance travelled while entering a word. The name, FITALY, is derived from the letters occupying the second row in the layout.
A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.
Dvorak is a keyboard layout for English patented in 1936 by August Dvorak and his brother-in-law, William Dealey, as a faster and more ergonomic alternative to the QWERTY layout. Dvorak proponents claim that it requires less finger motion and as a result reduces errors, increases typing speed, reduces repetitive strain injuries, or is simply more comfortable than QWERTY.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.
The Neo layout is an optimized German keyboard layout developed in 2004 by the Neo Users Group, supporting nearly all Latin-based alphabets, including the International Phonetic Alphabet, the Vietnamese language, and some Cyrillic alphabets.
Colemak is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, designed to make typing more efficient and comfortable than QWERTY by placing the most frequently used letters of the English language on the home row while keeping many common keyboard shortcuts the same as in QWERTY. Created on 1 January 2006, it is named after its inventor, Shai Coleman.
EurKEY is a multilingual keyboard layout which is intended for Europeans, programmers and translators and was developed by Steffen Brüntjen and published under the GPL free software license. It is available for common desktop operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
The aspect of the hand that they worked from is the curvature traced around the periphery of the fingers that can be observed when you look at the back of your hand with your fingers together. The thought was that if they built the surface of the keyboard in the form of two concave bowls – one for each hand – the result would fit the hand much better than the traditional more-or-less flat traditional keyboard surface.
This keyboard works by having each of your ten fingers choosing the character you want by selecting from a radial menu. You can push down, or move north, south, east or west, and get a different character for each.
