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I have been trying to find this for years.

Does anyone know of a completely flat keyboard without any physical keys? Just the letters typed on the flat keyboard.

Like this Lenovo Yoga Book has.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Note

  • I find it easy to type on flat keyboards (lenovo yogabook), feedback doesn't affect me (always turn off haptics) and I hate mechanical keyboard with their huge deep keys.
Nickotine
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6 Answers6

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Your image brings to mind a product which appeared a few years ago, a laser projection keyboard, which displays an image of the keyboard on any surface and uses sensors to determine "keypresses" for accepting input.

There's a "best product" return from my search providing for five of these products and a review of each. Other search returns are similar and have some duplication. Photo below from linked site:

laser projection keyboard

fred_dot_u
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  • see I really like the idea of these laser keyboards but wonder how the background brightness would affect it. I just had an Idea though that what if I got some kind of glass rectangle which amplifies the letters, now that would be really cool, I'll have to research. – Nickotine Oct 10 '22 at 16:23
  • actually maybe a better idea would be to project this on to a mirror, thanks a lot. – Nickotine Oct 10 '22 at 16:31
  • These appeared a 'bit' more than a few years ago. I remember them from the beginning of my university studies, almost 18 years ago – Jeppe Oct 11 '22 at 05:08
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    @Nickotine probably not - in one position it would be dazzling, move a little and it would almost disappear. White paper is probably best, and not too much ambient light – Chris H Oct 11 '22 at 12:24
  • @ChrisH Not to mention - it's a laser, now reflecting directly into your eyes. That's probably not healthy. I'd avoid any glossy material for this reason, not just a mirror. – Darrel Hoffman Oct 11 '22 at 16:18
  • what about some kind of glass that does internal reflection? – Nickotine Oct 11 '22 at 16:52
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    @DarrelHoffman it might get a tiny bit uncomfortable, but wouldn't be hazardous. I've spent my career avoiding lasers and have some laser safety responsibility, so it certainly feels wrong, but it wouldn't have the power to do any harm. Consider a user wearing a polished silver ring as they type – Chris H Oct 11 '22 at 18:23
  • @Nickotine internal reflection in glass would have the same problem as a mirror only (probably) less intense. You need a diffuse reflection. The ideal might be a silvery diffuse screen, but like with a mirror you'd need to get the angles right – Chris H Oct 11 '22 at 18:38
  • thanks a lot 'diffuse reflection' I'll look into that. – Nickotine Oct 12 '22 at 13:41
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    @DarrelHoffman it's a consumer laser product, it's built to be essentially impossible to hurt yourself (or anyone) with. – hobbs Oct 12 '22 at 17:47
  • @hobbs Even the weakest cat-annoying laser-pointer devices still come with a warning label not to point it at anyone's face. It's not like it's going to blind you instantly, but prolonged exposure, such as you might get with a keyboard reflecting directly into your eyes all day, might still be a problem. – Darrel Hoffman Oct 12 '22 at 18:11
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    @Nickotine - funny you should mention projection onto a mirror - several decades ago I read a Bell Labs Research Report that described a system for phone operators (the people who used to be at the central office who'd direct long distance calls, reverse charges, etc. etc.) They were using keyboard with lots of very special purpose keys. This TR described a system where they hung a CRT above and behind the operator, projecting onto a half-silvered mirror between their hands, above the blank keys, and their eyes. The keyboard projected (in reverse) changed as needed to match their need... – davidbak Oct 13 '22 at 02:38
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    ... Major advantage claimed, in addition to be more flexible over time as the application changed, and in addition to using keyboards with fewer keys, was that as the projected keyboard appeared between their hands and their eyes the operator's fingers no longer obstructed their view of the different projected keyboards! Simplified usage and training! – davidbak Oct 13 '22 at 02:40
  • whoa @davidbak that seems pretty amazing I'll have to look that up. – Nickotine Oct 13 '22 at 07:28
  • @davidbak any search terms or links where I can fond out about this? – Nickotine Oct 14 '22 at 12:51
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    @Nickotine - I tried a search myself and found nothing. But I do have it somewhere in a box. I'll tag you when I find it. But don't hold your breath ... might take some time ... quite some time ... – davidbak Oct 14 '22 at 16:04
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Here is a type of keyboard that might fit your description.

Take a look at the waterproof Purekeys Medical Keyboard.

enter image description here

Because of the flat top surface and the lack of edges and seams the keyboards are easy to clean with disintectant solutions. The high quality silicone cover protects the keyboard against fluids and dust while the user can type like they would on a regular keyboard. Purekeys medical keyboards are resistant to most medical grade cleaning solutions like alcohol, peroxides and chlorine.

It can be bought at Amazon among other places.

Snostorp
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    damn your keyboard suggestion was ideal, unfortunately it's £210! – Nickotine Oct 10 '22 at 16:21
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    I found one for £25 the design is nice but I'd like something a bit more sci-fi looking, many thanks think I might go with this. – Nickotine Oct 10 '22 at 16:29
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    @Nickotine: Waterproof adds price, and the word "medical" in the target market probably multiplies it by a factor :/ – Peter Cordes Oct 12 '22 at 02:47
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    Look for the term "industrial" too! I've seen these kind of keyboards used before in dirty industrial settings, like next to conveyor belts and such. – MMM Oct 12 '22 at 11:20
  • I'm not 100% but I think the PureKeys keyboard might actually be a squishy cover over a normal keyboard--I found a video of someone using one and it looked like it pressed in similar to a normal keyboard. – user3067860 Oct 13 '22 at 12:32
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    I ended up going with this, some guy on ebay was selling a 'purekeys compact keyboard' for £30. In his description he said it's worth $199, so I asked him why he's selling so low, that does it even work? He said yes. It looks really legit but even if it's fake it looks cool and is the only type which I like and comes close to what I'm looking for. Not keen on the glass ones, too big. Thanks @Snostorp :) – Nickotine Oct 17 '22 at 01:30
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Some companies sell touchpads with built in keyboard screens. Things like Wireless Keyboard Touchpad Combo. That particular product sets off a lot of red flags (unknown brand, keyword stuffing), but it's the first thing I thought of when you asked for a flat keyboard.

Brian
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Check out a Membrane Keyboard. They are flat without an key movement.

A membrane keyboard is a computer keyboard whose "keys" are not separate, moving parts, as with the majority of other keyboards, but rather are pressure pads that have only outlines and symbols printed on a flat, flexible surface. Very little, if any, tactile feedback is felt when using such a keyboard.

Wikipedia - Membrane keyboard

enter image description here

Hannover Fist
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    It is significantly different from touch-keyboard though: membrane keys do not move much, but they still require an actuation force. That can be an issue with some medical conditions affecting the fingers. – jpa Oct 12 '22 at 06:32
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While I haven't tested any personally in quite this application, there are various full-screen keyboard apps that run on Android tablets connected either via Bluetooth, WiFi, or USB to a PC.

You may even have what you need to do this at no cost, at least as a test to see if it works out for you.

I found typing on a completely flat surface to be better than I feared but still not something I'd want to do for long periods.

BTW "Glass keyboard" looks like a productive search, but I can't find pricing on the nicest looking ones ("Bastron" and "Fucktron" - yes, really, and it could be configured to match your "scifi" comment); most of the rather expensive ones I can find are meant for medical/industrial use, but there's a Q-Gadget KB02 available in some markets that might do the job.

Chris H
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  • the fucktron keyboard is the nicest, I don't think that company is selling it yet for some reason, the one you suggested is really nice just so expensive :( – Nickotine Oct 11 '22 at 16:51
  • If only I had time I'd be tempted to try the Android approach for you, but many of the solutions aren't designed for Linux – Chris H Oct 13 '22 at 08:08
  • Seems like you might know some things, what if i got the lenovo yogabook in my post picture disassembled the keyboard from the screen could I somehow use it to connect to devices, seems like to much hassle, and a ruined yogabook though. There are some yogabook spare keyboard parts you can even buy but they are half the value of the whole thing. – Nickotine Oct 14 '22 at 07:16
  • It's quite possible the yoga book keyboard is USB with a non-standard connector. In Linux lsusb would tell you; in Windows, try device manager and view devices by connection (everything has moved since I last dug into Windows settings). Then you'd need to make a custom cable. – Chris H Oct 14 '22 at 16:17
  • thanks a lot @chrisH problem is the yogabook is android I might be able to boot it where you can see the linux stuff but I think the physical part is out of my expertise (windows blerghh), I used to ssh into my pi through it as you can't install linux on it – Nickotine Oct 15 '22 at 02:11
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Fingerworks Touchstream. The printed design looks a little bit 3D but actually the keyboard surfaces are completely flat. It just relies on touch, no force or impact is necessary. It also has some cool features like multi-touch gestures. I never had one but I knew someone who had one who highly recommended it for anyone suffering from repetitive stress typing injuries.

Difficulties: It has been discontinued since around 2005. Used ones turn up on eBay, etc., but not necessarily in working condition and the software would be very out of date by this point. It was expensive to begin with and price has only increased. Also, it looks like something from the dot-com era.

user3067860
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