Ask HN: Can iPhone camera be used to give you a full size keyboard?

[amichail]

The idea is that you would type on the table and the iPhone would watch your fingers and infer which (imaginary) keys you are pushing.

[asimjalis]

Here is another thought. Could you use the sound the fingers make as they tap on the table to figure out what key was pressed? This might be hard on a normal table. So a workaround could be a simple keyboard hardware device that emits a different inaudible frequency for each key. Now if two people are using this device near each other that wouldn't work. Wait. What about just using a keyboard with bluetooth. The iPhone can pick that up. That should solve all the issues. I am sure someone could make some money on a device like this.

[kierank]

You'd need some form of delineator.

[amichail → kierank]

Wouldn't relative finger position be sufficient?

[sundeep → amichail]

you'd need to know where 'Q' was , absolutely , for you to know where "W" , "E" , "R" , "T" and "Y" were relative to that.

But pretty cool idea though ...

[amichail → sundeep]

Why do you need absolute positions? Just see if the finger tapping the table is extended up/forward relative to other finger(s).

[sundeep → amichail]

how would the computer know which key your finger was on to figure out what keys are relative to that finger?

[amichail → sundeep]

You could assume that the non-thumb fingers of a hand span at most two rows and that one of these is the "home" row.

When you detect a tap visually, you could then infer which row that finger tapped by looking at where the other non-thumb fingers are.

[sundeep → amichail]

i dont understand , are we still talking about a qwerty keyboard? or a special kind with just two rows, one of which is a "home" row that is placed wherever certain fingers are?

[amichail → sundeep]

This would work with three rows, with the home row being the middle one.

[yan]

How would something like that work? The iPhone would have to be between you and the keyboard which would make for awkward computing. I do like the ideas of using the iPhone's input devices for creative purposes though.

[jacquesm]

neat idea! that would apply to any smartphone I would think...

have you seen these ?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/8193/

[amichail → jacquesm]

What I propose wouldn't require a laser. It might work with the iPhone as is.

[jacquesm → amichail]

Yes, I got that, I was just wondering if you had seen that device.

[amichail → jacquesm]

Yes, I have.

[jacquesm → amichail]

here is a good starting point:

http://wwwx.cs.unc.edu/~gb/wp/blog/2007/11/18/camkeys-is-a-s...

[dzlobin]

Which way are you imagining this? The way I see it, your arms would get in the way

[amichail → dzlobin]

I just found out that the iPhone camera is on the back. (I have an iPod touch, which has no camera.)

You could type behind the iPhone while viewing the screen.

Or you could turn the device around to point the camera towards you and type while listening to a speech synthesizer read your typing.