Paper Keyboards - Innovation Essay

Innovation in the field – Paper Keyboards

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

With the advancements in technology you don’t need to look very far to find innovation. The market is filled with all these different applications more and more being added more or less every day – some are profound and useful, for example bringing news updates right to your phone or tablet as they happen and then some are the pointless ramblings of the over eccentric. That said, one stood out to me and this was the Paper Keyboard.

The University of London hosted a student who was able to create a virtual keyboard for his iPhone, made out of paper. The student, Florian Kräutli, developed an application which uses the iPhone’s accelerometer, which basically senses and measures movements and pressure, to pick up vibrations caused by tapping on the surface where the paper keyboard is placed.

The world has been introduced to virtual keyboards, magnetic keyboards and laser keyboards but this one is nothing like the others – this one is paper. It starts with an application uploaded exclusively on to the Apple store and it’s called ‘Paper Keyboard – Fast typing and playing with a printed keyboard’. If typing on your phone doesn’t quite cut it for you then you are the target audience. Despite seeming incredibly taxing to use and baffling to wrap your head around, it is surprisingly simple; yet elegant. To get started you have to follow these steps: first, you need an I-phone with the application installed. Second, the application works by printing off a PDF file template on to some paper which will have a keyboard on it, with the application on you just place your phone on the designated spot and the phone’s front camera will then detect your finger movements thanks to an incredibly intelligent algorithm and through the levels of vibration being picked up on the surface you’re using. You will now be up and running to use it, say you wanted to make a note on your phone, open up a memo and just start typing away and what you type will appear on your phone as if you were typing on the normal phone keyboard. Put simply, it makes any surface you place the keyboard on interactive and in a world where technology is progressing in leaps and bounds, where ease and simplicity always override complexities, this application would appear to be right at home.

For a Journalist you will be drawn to how easily portable it is, yes your phone is already fantastic enough for you to make notes on but it’s essentially like having a laptop with you, a laptop only in the form of its keyboard and we all know that typing on a full keyboard is a lot faster and easier then typing on your phone, especially your fingers are too big for the ‘normal’ sized phone keyboard or if you’re trying to be quick about it. For example, I imagine if you’re now allowed to tweet from court galleries then it doesn't seem absurd to bring in your phone and a sheet of paper and just start tapping away. This level of ease and portability make it an admirable addition to the world of Journalism insofar as I believe it can, to some small extent, replace shorthand – making it somewhat redundant. If speed is the name of the game then this application should take first place; you’re no longer at the whims of a pen being low on ink or running out of paper, no, you are only dependent to how much battery your phone has or maybe how well your camera works.

This application brings a whole system to how a Journalist takes notes, so long as you have a surface to operate on. For example when it comes to note taking, be it during an interview for a magazine or your newspaper, or sitting in a board room bouncing ideas off of each other you will be so much more prepared if you have this application, by all means you will want to have a reporter’s notebook but handwriting just doesn’t make the cut sometimes, especially if you want word for word accuracy, your chances of being able to keep up to speed with spoken speech is increased greatly as writing is always slower, shorthand or not.

Despite the innovation and strengths the application does have its drawbacks. The first and foremost being the obvious – it is just a piece of paper and we all know how prone to being creased or ripped due to how brittle it is. This means you’re pinning all your hopes on placing the paper into your bag is going to keep it safe. One would imagine that creasing on the keyboard itself would most likely place limitations how well the keyboard works, for example it might not pick up correctly which key you are pressing. Of course to combat this you would download many copies of the keyboard but this isn't entirely practical.

Albeit a fantastic addition to the world of technology and slightly more importantly to the world of Journalism, another drawback is that you have to balance your I-phone on this sheet of paper. Now I have an I-phone and I must say it is not particularly made to be used as a balancing act; it could lead to a lot of toppling over which damage the phone if it happens time after time then you would be looking at some long term damage. This makes it highly impractical for most use, especially if you’re rushing around and typing fast. Along with this you will always need a surface to place it on, no matter what. This means that if you were to take it on to a train for example, which can at times be rocky rides; it might make your phone fall off the paper, making the whole thing more trouble than it needs to be. This limits its portability which is a big aspect with the paper keyboard but if you remove the surface to place it on, it renders it unusable as it functions through vibration and movement.  But this can be combated – just so long as you place a hefty notebook or a diary on your lap if there is no surface.

One further drawback to this is slightly more trivial but it is still an issue – with prolonged use you will come to realise that it takes its toll on your fingers. This is just a sheet of paper placed on a surface, you are just thumping away at keys on a table and obviously the paper boasts no sort of comfort or padding to you. This will eventually start to hurt and make it an uncomfortable experience as it is not going to be the same as using an actual keyboard on a desktop or a laptop and it somewhat cheapens the better features of the application which is a shame. Of course, you can place it on a padded surface no problem and it would work as wonderfully as intended.

To conclude, after trying the keyboard myself I have come to the conclusion that yes it is highly impressive and wonderfully innovative, more in general terms than it is innovative to a Journalist but that being said it is a significant addition to any Journalist as it brings about a whole new way to record information, it’s portability gives it a certain allure and the simplicity of it will speak to many. It might not be as profound and intricate as Google Glass but it is just an application and it has been received with welcome arms to the addition of technology and it brings about a unique look into where the future is leading us in terms of technology. I came across this on the Apple store and it is a perfect place to find innovation, but then again you can find some applications which play with the line between genius and pure insanity as if it were a skipping rope.