Optimus keyboard

The Optimus Maximus keyboard, previously just "Optimus keyboard", is a keyboard developed by the Art. Lebedev Studio, a Russian design studio headed by Artemy Lebedev. Each of its keys is a display which can dynamically change to adapt to the keyboard layout in use or to show the function of the key. Pre-orders began on 20 May 2007 for a limited production run from December 2007 to January 2008, with a second batch expected to arrive in February 2008. It first started shipping the week of February 21, 2008.


Overview

The design featured on the studio's website received attention on the web when it was featured on Slashdot on 14 July 2005, and afterwards for a few weeks on other technology websites. The original release date was "end of 2006", however production issues caused the Optimus mini three to be developed first, with the full keyboard delayed until the end of 2007. The keyboard was number 10 in the Wired Magazine 2006 Vaporware Awards and number 4 on the list in 2007 due to its numerous delays and feature reductions.

The Optimus allows for greater user interaction, by dynamically displaying the current function of the keys. For example, when the user presses the shift key, the pictures would change to upper-case versions. It would also make switching between different keyboard layouts (such as English and Cyrillic) rapid, and could make the switch to alternative layouts such as Dvorak easier for people who only have a QWERTY keyboard with no possibility of rearranging the keys. To demonstrate this concept, there are computer renderings showing example layouts for Quake III Arena and Adobe Photoshop.

A newly-revealed (as of January 3, 2008) patent application filed on March 13, 2007 suggests that Apple Inc. may be working on a similar dynamically changeable OLED keyboard


Optimus mini three

Art. Lebedev Studio has released a smaller three-key version of their keyboard, named Optimus mini three. Each of the keys is larger than a standard key. The mini three can be adjusted, through the configuration software, to either a horizontal or vertical orientation.

Initial reviews have been mixed. The keyboard functions as advertised, but it has been criticized for inordinately high CPU usage, slow response time, and buggy configuration software


Optimus Aux

On July 21, 2008, Engadget posted about a new version of the keyboard, named Optimus Pultius. It features 15 OLED keys in a three-by-five arrangement and a USB port. It is expected to be released in late 2008 or early 2009.[6][7] On September 19, 2008, Engadget also reported that the Pultius had been renamed to the Aux[8] and included a new rendering of the rear side showing that there would be two USB ports instead of one.


Variations

Variations with fewer OLED keys will also be available, each upgradeable by replacing static keys with OLED keys after purchase. For keyboards with less than a full complement of OLED "active keys", additional keys can be purchased and installed.

Special Features

Art. Lebedev Studio is expecting to manufacture the keyboard with these features:[3]

* A plastic body (width: 537 mm, depth: 173 mm, height: 38 mm)
* Extra-durable polymer plastic keys (20.2×20.2 mm, visible area 10.1×10.1 mm)
* 48×48 pixel screens, Highcolor mode (65 536 colors, 10 FPS)
* OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen for keys
* USB 2.0 (or 1.1) connectivity
* 4-5 year lifetime
* A key-saver mode
* Support for animation on keys at 10 FPS minimum
* Ability to form a mosaic using a combination of key images
* Compatibility with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.5.1 (and higher).
* An SDK for complete display customization
* Swappable keys and support for keys without displays
* 32 MB SD card for storing basic layouts
* Non-stop glow time at nominal brightness of 20,000 hours, after which display quality will diminish
* An ambient light sensor which can be used to automatically adjust display brightness
* A viewing angle of 160°

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Holographic Movie Storage

Introduction

Holograms allow permanent optical data storage and retrieval with far higher densities than CDs or DVDs, using the interference patterns of two lasers. Physical chemists are now developing the technology into products based on optics that could store the equivalent of a movie on a thumb-sized hologram.

LONGMONT, Calif. -- The way we watch movies, television, listen to music, and store all kinds of data is changing. Soon it'll be possible to get everything you need or want saved on a disc no bigger than your thumb.

"So instead of having your movie on something the size of a standard disk, now you can talk about putting a movie on something maybe the size of a postage stamp -- if not smaller," Bill Wilson, chief scientist at InPhase Technologies in Longmont, Calif., tells DBIS.

Just think ... Your favorite movie or collection of songs stored on a single disc. Physical chemists say holograms are the holy grail of data storage.

Wilson says, "In many ways you can think of our disk as -- it's basically a library."

Two intersecting lasers store millions of bits of information on a disc. It's that intersection of those two beams that actually allows you to record the holographic data and later recover it.

It's the same concept as the images on credit cards we're all familiar with. Unlike the way information is stored on a CD, holographic storage stores information below the surface. And holographic storage promises to solve the movie industry's current "memory nightmare," thanks to optics. Right now all movies are stored on film because of its long shelf life. Even an epic like "Gone With the Wind," would take up only a tiny bit of holographic space.

"You know, Blockbuster could send out a disc with the top 50 movies of the month," Wilson says. The technology is here, now it's a question of how it will be used. "Well, that's a question for Warner Brothers."

InPhase Technologies and the Maxell company, known for VHS tapes, will start offering holographic storage systems for professionals late next year. The movie and broadcast industries will likely follow, but consumer products may take a while before they reach the marketplace.

Background

Scientists have developed a holographic data storage system that promises to revolutionize the way we store data. Movie and broadcast companies will be among the first users because the technology is well suited for broadcasting and video editing: data is read and stored in parallel at a million bits at a time, and prototypes of holographic disk arrays have data transfer rates of 27 megabytes per second. Eventually consumers will be able to purchase high-definition videos, and have greater storage capacity in their cell phones and digital cameras.

How It Works ?

While CDs and DVDs store information in single bits over the surface of the disk, holographic storage can store much more information faster (one million bits at a time) throughout the entire thickness of the disk. Holographic data storage would offer better copyright protection. DVDs and CDs can easily be copied by making an imprint of the "bumps" on the surface of the disk, but it's harder to this with holographic data storage because information is stored throughout the disks.

The key technology that makes this possible is the development of a material to make the disk that can support the way holograms are made. Earlier materials – most notably lithium niobate -- could be both recorded and read back, but in the process of reading back the data, the holograms were erased. Companies have been searching for the perfect recording material for 50 years. They haven't found it yet, but the emphasis has switched to polymeric materials onto which data can be recorded once, instead of being erasable.

About Holograms

A hologram records the interference pattern made by two beams of light that interact with each other. One beam comes directly from the laser, while the other comes from the same laser but bounces off the object being imaged. Light waves behave just like water waves when they meet. Wherever a crest of one coincides with a crest of the other, an extra high crest will form, and where two troughs coincide, they will form an extra low trough. If a crest meets a trough, the two will cancel each other out. With light, the waves will form light (crests) and dark (troughs) fringes -- the telltale wave pattern that can be recorded on photographic film. After it is developed, the hologram is lit by a beam of light to recreate the 3D object in space.

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Virtual Laser Keyboards Work

Introduction:

People with bigger fingers may find the keyboards on smartphones and PDAs too small. To make up for this, some manufactures have developed special virtual laser keyboards to accompany handheld devices. Instead of having to poke lightly around your phone's keyboard, a virtual laser keyboard connects to the phone and projects a full-sized virtual keyboard onto any flat surface. So how do they work?

Mechanics of Virtual Laser Keyboards:

A traditional keyboard, one that hooks up to a desktop computer or is part of a laptop, is very much like another smaller computer. If you take it apart, it has a processor and circuitry similar to the insides of your computer. Underneath each key is a grid of circuits, and once you press a key, the switch closes. This sends a small electrical current through the grid, which the processor recognizes and analyzes. The processor, in turn, sends the information regarding your keystrokes to your computer, and it can do this several ways. Most desktop users connect their keyboard using cables, although common wireless technologies like Bluetooth let you type from a distance, as long as the computer has the necessary receiver. Laptop keyboards, on the other hand, connect directly to the computer's hardware.

When you type on a virtual laser keyboard, there aren't any switches involved. In fact, there aren't any mechanical moving parts at all. The device projects the image of a QWERTY keyboard onto a flat, non-reflective surface using a red diode laser. The laser, similar to the kind you see on those cheap laser pointers people wave at rock concerts, shines through a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE), which is simply a tiny image of the keyboard. The DOE, along with special optical lenses, expands the image to a usable size and projects it onto a surface.
But a simple image of a keyboard won't get you anywhere -- something needs to analyze the information you type in. Situated near the bottom of the device is an infrared (IR) laser diode, which shoots out a thin plane of infrared light. The plane, which is invisible and runs parallel to the surface, rests only millimeters above the image of the keyboard. When you start typing, you pass your fingers through certain areas of the infrared light. A CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) images your finger's position within the area of the keyboard, and a special sensor chip called a Virtual Interface Processing Core analyzes the location of the intended keystroke. The device then sends this information to the computer receiving the commands.

Physical characteristics of laser keyboards:

If it sounds like a gadget from the future, a virtual laser keyboard sort of looks like one, too, especially when it's on full working display. They're small and sleek, weigh about two ounces (56.7 grams) and comparable in size to a pack of gum, so they can fit easily into pockets or carrying bags.

Using Virtual Laser Keyboards:

Most devices either stand up straight on a rectangular base or prop up with the help of a stand that flips out from the back. Once powered up, the keyboard can connect to a smartphone, PDA or laptop via USB cable or, more commonly, Bluetooth wireless technology. These two connection options allow the virtual laser keyboard to send keystroke information to a word processing document, e-mail or any other program in question.
Although they're small and convenient to carry around, you can't simply pull out the virtual laser keyboard and start typing away in any location. If you were sitting on the bus, for instance, and wanted to write a quick e-mail on your BlackBerry, you couldn't shine the device's red laser onto your lap and expect it to work properly. Virtual laser keyboards require flat, opaque and non-reflective surfaces for working projection and typing. Once you have the keyboard set up on the right type of surface, the device displays a full-size QWERTY keyboard, which typically contains 60 or more keys. Then you simply type just like you would on a normal keyboard, although the sensation you normally get when typing on a laptop or desktop -- the pops and clicks associated with the keystrokes punching up and down -- won't be there. In fact, it takes a little bit of practice for many users to become accustomed to pressing their fingers on a smooth surface.



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