Keyboard Builders' Digest / Tips & Tricks
Gboard CAPS: A head-turning innovation
The Gboard team is back with another weird input device: the portable and fashionable Gboard CAPS – which is a hat keyboard!
Published October 1, 2023
You may remember the keyboard cup and the Gboard bar, two previous projects of the Google Japan team – with our friend Ikeji on board.
It's Oct 1 again (101), and as a tribute to the commonly used 101-key keyboards, this is the time when the team has been publishing their projects for the past few years. Today they are proud to announce the new Gboard CAPS!
With this hat keyboard the Gboard team has undoubtedly arrived at the top of the keyboard world.
Aiming for the top we're always brainstorming for better text input. As I was racking my barins for a way to make keyboards more portable and fashionable, I had an aha moment. (…) That's when we developed this wearable keyboard.
As always with keyboards in this series, the Gboard CAPS is particularly handy and efficient: a single key that is activated by rotating and pressing the hat. The rotation is detected by an internal gyroscope, which is then converted into a character code. The keypress is then sent to a computer, smartphone, or other host device via Bluetooth.
At the heart of this wearable keyboard there's a M5StickC Plus development kit, and also an INC-100 bump cap insert. Other than that, you can find the STLs for the 3D printed parts in the repo, along with a detailed build guide.
Specs
- 1-key layout
- SS-10GL13 micro switch
- travel distance: 2 cm
- M5StickC Plus development kit
- INC-100 bump cap insert
- optional: chin strap aka CAPS LOCK
Some screws, MDF board, rubber band, hot glue, and you can build one for yourself too.
Testimonials
I have been trying to find a way to wear a keyboard on my head for a long time.
When I first saw it, I had to take my hat off.
The fact that it's wearable makes it head and shoulders above the rest.
With Gboard CAPS you can type one step higher!
Resources
- Gboard CAPS landing page with AR function that allows you to try out the hat keyboard.
- blog entry
- Github: https://github.com/google/mozc-devices/tree/master/mozc-caps
Published on Sun 1st Oct 2023. Featured in KBD #138.
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