Tired of the standard desktop or laptop keyboard? No problem. You can turn anything — a table, a chair, your body — into a keyboard.
Tap is a one-handed wearable device that lets you type by tapping your fingers on a surface. The device is quick and allows for an eye-free method of interfacing with any Bluetooth-enabled device, like a smartphone, tablet, or computer. You can even use Tap in the augmented reality and virtual reality experiences where keyboard surfaces aren’t practical or for wearables where the screens are too small to type on.
The entire Tap Strap device can be worn on either one hand or both hands for two-handed typing. Every time a user taps the strap, it sends a character or command to a device based on which fingers touched the surface.
The Tap Strap is comprised of embedded sensors that monitor the actions of the hand and fingers. This information is processed by an MCU in the strap, which decodes the raw data into finger tap combinations and transmits the resulting characters or commands via Bluetooth radio.
“Tap has the potential to become the communication mode of the future, providing fast, accurate interfacing in situations where no physical keyboard exists.” said David Schick, Tap’s inventor. “Tap is more discreet and accurate then voice input, and is faster and more precise than gesture-based systems.”
Just like we learned to type, we’ll need to learn to “Tap”, which usually takes about an hour or so using the accompanying TapGenius App, a mnemonic-based learning system which combines musical and visual tutorials with a game.
The device can also serve as a solution for blind and low-vision users, allowing them to communicate on mobile devices just as quickly as others.
“Tap brings an entirely new dimension to how we can interface with the digital world,” said Ran Poliakine, Tap’s co-founder. “Tap’s fundamental technology is applicable not only to language, but also to music, gaming and control. It is a new modality that opens up a world of creative possibilities. We are partnering with creative developers and select OEMs to help us unlock its full potential. Our goal is to create an ecosystem in which our partners utilize Tap to deliver new and exciting experiences for our users.
Tap will be available immediately to select beta users and is expected to ship commercially by the end of the year.
A Tap Development Kit will also be available to developers so that they can harness the capabilities of Tap into a broad range of applications including gaming, AR and VR using the platform.
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