NOTHING TO SEE HERE
Samsung unveils ‘invisible’ smartphone keyboard that lets you type on a table rather than your screen
SAMSUNG has invented an 'invisible' keyboard that let's you type directly onto a table if you want to write something on your phone or tablet.
The tech relies on AI and the selfie camera of your device to recognise joint movements and turns them into onscreen typing.
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SelfieType has been created through Samsung's C-Lab's initiative and was just unveiled at CES 2020.
Virtual keyboards have been seen before but they are usual laser projections that still show letters than people can tap on.
SelfieType is different because it's analysing your joints not whether you're physically pressing something.
However, this may make the tech harder to use for someone who isn't the best at touch typing.
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Luckily, the SelfieType app comes with a tutorial, which shows users how their fingers are mapped when they press different keys.
If you use a traditional keyboard regularly then your fingers should get used to the movements once you get over the fact that there is no physical keyboard to look at.
Samsung released a video showing how the invisible keyboard could be used on iPads and smartphones.
However, the project is still very much in the early development stage.
This means its unlikely we'll be seeing a smartphone or tablet with this capability anytime soon.
The C-Lab researchers will now be gathering more data about how different hand sizes and typing styles could affect the invisible keyboard experience.
Samsung – a brief history
Here's what you need to know...
- Samsung is a major South Korean company made up of many businesses that operate globally
- It's known locally as a "chaebol", which means "business conglomerate"
- It was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company
- But over several decades, it branched out into food processing, insurance, textiles and retail
- It wasn't until the late 1960s when Samsung entered the electronics industry – for which it's best known in the west today
- It also launched businesses in construction and shipbuilding in the 1970s
- Today, Samsung's most important sources of income are its smartphones and computer chips
- The firm accounts for around a fifth of South Korea's total exports, and roughly 17% of the country's GDP
- More than 320,000 staff are employed by Samsung globally
- And in 2017, Samsung turned over the equivalent of £174billion today in revenue
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