Tuesday, July 16th 2019

The Keystone- a Magnetic Analog Mechanical Keyboard with AI-enabled Adaptive Typing

The Input Club Keystone Mechanical Keyboard is an unparalleled leap forward in typing and gaming technology. It will launch on Kickstarter on July 16th, 2019 at 8 AM PST, at this link - kty.pe/keystone. The Keystone combines two new keyboard features - High Definition Analog Control and per-key fast Hall Effect (magnetic) sensing - for supreme performance. Our magnetic switch technology enables near-infinite customization, billion-press (Source: Honeywell Testing Article) durability (20x the industry standard), and analog control benefits for everyone. Full firmware programmability and RGB lighting round out its features.

This project is the future of mechanical keyboards. We believe that there is more to the main tool everyone uses for work, playing games, and connecting with others. Input Club is a group of engineers and designers who drive innovation in the field of input devices. The team formed in 2014 because there was very little innovation in the keyboard space. Our team has developed special mechanical keyswitches, open source keyboard firmware, and some of the more iconic keyboard designs to hit the marketplace. The Keystone is the next technological lead forward for keyboards - it is our flagship keyboard showcasing the best and most sought after features in a keyboard.
The Keystone brings novel features together to continue pushing keyboard invention further- with its SILO Hall Effect and High Definition Analog Switches. These are both keyboard switch technologies that have been produced in the past, separately, but this implementation takes them to the next level. With Hall Effect switches, instead of relying on a bending piece of metal for actuation, your keyboard tracks the movement of a magnet. This allows you to change when and where the keyboard receives the signal, while also providing a billion press switch lifespan that simply cannot be competed with.

We designed much of the functionality for Keystone around the high performance needs of the people toughest on their keyboards - eSports players. Modern gaming is dominated by the desktop, and the keyboard is the most important variable in the perfect gear setup. With Analog functionality, every key can do multiple actions with a single press on a hardware level. A half press can be a lowercase letter and a full press can be an uppercase letter - allowing for intuitive typing that is much faster than the current style.

The prime feature we are able to achieve with Analog sensing is Adaptive Typing - a way to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to let your keyboard change to learn the "intent" of your individual typing style. If you don't press as hard with your pinky fingers as you do with your index fingers, your keyboard will automatically make those keys take less force to actuate, resulting in a more comfortable typing experience.

The Keystone is the beginning of a platform for keyboards that if successful, will completely replace every typing instrument everywhere. By combining modern software with the most advanced switch mechanism ever released - the Keystone is able to earn its spot as a keyboard worth writing about.
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10 Comments on The Keystone- a Magnetic Analog Mechanical Keyboard with AI-enabled Adaptive Typing

#1
TheLostSwede
News Editor
ANSI layout only :(

Already funded though.
Posted on Reply
#2
bug
I get the analog part (it's going to be less than useless without software support), but why AI? I really don't see that working as intended.
Posted on Reply
#3
Steevo
bugI get the analog part (it's going to be less than useless without software support), but why AI? I really don't see that working as intended.
AI is the new thing to add. Even though this "AI" will have the IQ of a head of iceberg.

I wonder who your data will be sent to, for user experience improvement of course.
Posted on Reply
#4
Camm
Pity it isn't flat.
Posted on Reply
#5
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
bugI get the analog part (it's going to be less than useless without software support), but why AI? I really don't see that working as intended.
SteevoAI is the new thing to add. Even though this "AI" will have the IQ of a head of iceberg.

I wonder who your data will be sent to, for user experience improvement of course.
AI =! Human IQ. Also this seems to be like a trumped up predictive typing all phones has, and honestly if it actually works I can see it being useful if different pressures can have different effects in different contexts.

Looking forward to reviews!
Posted on Reply
#6
nemesis.ie
It might be nice to have your WASD keys changing movement speed based on how much you press the key.

Does it do that? I would think that should be the #1 non-office use function to implement. Not enough coffee/vision to go and check yet. ;)
Posted on Reply
#7
bug
SteevoAI is the new thing to add. Even though this "AI" will have the IQ of a head of iceberg.

I wonder who your data will be sent to, for user experience improvement of course.
Yeah, this kind of reminds me of the "Y2k compliant" craze. You could get "Y2k ready" printers and mice back then. Though it's probably not the biggest tech fad by a long shot.
Posted on Reply
#8
bonehead123
This is 1978 calling, and we want all our AI-powered mechanized keyboards back, 'cause surely you realize.... they all are belong to US :)
Posted on Reply
#9
Steevo
FrickAI =! Human IQ. Also this seems to be like a trumped up predictive typing all phones has, and honestly if it actually works I can see it being useful if different pressures can have different effects in different contexts.

Looking forward to reviews!
AI is like cloud, it's just someone else's stuff.

Years ago we had a brain wave interface device, that was futuristic and advanced, this is just another ducking autocorrect that will be hard to use correctly. OCZ Nia, maybe I should get one and try it out.
Posted on Reply
#10
nemesis.ie
Elon's brain interface company is supposed to have an announcement soon ...
Posted on Reply
Dec 23rd, 2024 22:37 EST change timezone

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