LiquidKeyboard prototype could revolutionize iPad typing with fully adaptive layout (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4lIAxt-4eI&feature=player_embedded]

It’s no secret typing on an iPad isn’t nearly as efficient as the traditional hardware keyboards we’re used to. However, over time frustrations with Apple’s onscreen keyboard have settled as users acclimate to a new method of typing. The problem? If you were to use the iPad’s keyboard like a hardware keyboard, you would inevitably experience accidental key presses. This greatly slows down typing speed as users are forced to not rest their fingers on the keyboard. LiquidKeyboard aims to fix that.

A report from The Economist  profiles Christian Sax and Hannes Lau of the University of Technology in Sydney and their LiquidKeyboard prototype which hopes to provide a truly adaptive typing experience on tablets in the near future.

The video above starts off by showing the limitations of the iPad’s system wide keyboard in comparison to the LiquidKeyboard’s ability to adapt to a user’s natural finger position. It does this by allowing you to place all fingers on the screen at once, opposed to one or two fingers, and appears and aligns ergonomically in relation to your fingers and wrist position.

The goal is to essentially bridge the gap between the efficiency of conventional hardware keyboards and the limitations posed by current touch screen implementations. In other words avoiding accidental key presses and increasing typing speed by allowing the user to place all fingers on a display. That’s of course in addition to the benefits of the adaptive layout options. It also supports a unique one-handed keyboard layout.

This tech may not be replacing the iOS system wide keyboard anytime soon, but certainly shows a world of possibility in terms of where innovation in tablet keyboards may be headed. Until then, you might have to opt for one of those new Logitech fold-up keyboards coming in September.