Beyond the Button

Keys on a keyboard?: Courtesy Bonnie ShulmanWhen I was in London recently a friend of mine showed me a rather interesting product that was developed in France with medical laboratories in mind but could find a comfortable home in the museum field as well. Sensitive Object's Virtual B Keyboard(VBK) turns any surface, flat or three dimensional, into a keyboard like input device.

VBK is a revolutionary ultra thin acoustic keyboard that can be used to create a fully functional 108 key computer keyboard on any surface. Two sensors mounted underneath the surface enable the entire keyboard face to be made tactile sensitive.

It works surprisingly well after some calibration and could allow designers in exhibits to get quite a bit more creative with their use of keyboards for visitor feedback.

After thinking it through my example of a banana might not be the best medium for this acoustic keyboard but you can surely see how it might work on a uniquely shaped desk, the wall next to a piece of art, or even on a large scale globe.