Post by thread:[EE] Fabric keyboard material

Fabric keyboard material. Rollable./crushable/washable. In production. 10 million key presses. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1895215,00.asp Extract: Eleksen Introduces Electro Fabric Wearable technology is not a new idea. eVest has been producing wired jackets for years, but we have yet to see technology integrated inside the fabric that makes up the jacket-until now. Eleksen, a small UK-based firm is introducing electronic fabric, essentially carbon-embedded nylon sandwiched between layers of nylon mesh that, when a milliamps charge is passed through it, can recognize touch (and it's location), pressure and even the direction and path of a stroke. This thin, flexible, durable and washable fabric connects to a small 8-bit processor, which then can be connected to a standard electronic device like an iPod. The iPod, or whatever device you're using, delivers power to processor and fabric. This is not just a technology demonstration; Eleksen has already integrated the electronic fabric with commercial products including ski-jackets from Spyder and Kenpo. The latter is available in CompUSA and Macy's for around $250. In the jackets, the fiber is embedded in the jacket arm and an electronic fabric tether runs up the sleeve into a breast pocket where the iPod is stored. The iPod is plugged into the microcontroller, ____________ Ref: Matthew McMahon

Russell, On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:48:35 +1300, Russell McMahon wrote: > Fabric keyboard material. Rollable./crushable/washable. In production. > 10 million key presses. > > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1895215,00.asp Fascinating stuff! But this comment at the end: "...if the technology is coupled with a flexible display, the first rollable laptop" ...in which case I can't wait to see the first rollable fabric disk-drive! :-) I've seen adverts for jackets with controls built into the sleeve - fine until someone nudges you on the train, accidentally causing max volume from your iPod... =:-O Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England