Gareth HalfacreeFollow

21 hours ago • Wearables / HW101

Pseudonymous augmented reality developer "egradman" has taken wearable computing to the next level, combining a split ergonomic keyboard cleverly positioned by his pockets and using them as an input to a computer displaying on off-the-shelf augmented reality glasses — for a cyberdeck that needs no desk.

"I'm writing this post on the train. I'm wearing XReal Air glasses, and typing on my wireless five column Corne [keyboard]," egradman explains of his setup. "The brightness is way up so I can't really appreciate the weird looks I'm getting, but I know they're happening. I spent most of my workday like this — I was able to stand all day at work, with my arms relaxed at my sides. I found this extremely comfortable."

No desk, no problem: a split keyboard and AR glasses mean you can work while standing wherever you like. (????: egradman)

There's a surprisingly small amount of engineering effort in egradman's take on the ultimate in ergonomic computing: the keyboard, a split ergonomic layout, is mounted on folded pieces of cardboard: one half of the cardboard slips into the user's pocket, leaving the keyboard dangling outside the pocket at the perfect height for typing with relaxed arms. The XReal Air augmented reality glasses, meanwhile, are entirely off-the-shelf, acting as a portable display for the system: an Apple Mac laptop.

"I don't have a great solution for using the mouse,' egradman admits. "Right now I'm using mouse keys through Karabiner. I don't rely on the mouse a lot anyway so this is slowing me down a lot less than I thought it would. Apple's 'full keyboard access' is… weirdly unhelpful." Lap- or desk-based use, meanwhile, is as easy as ripping the keyboard halves from the hook-and-loop fasteners on the cardboard and applying them to the same on the back of the laptop.

If you're using the setup sat down, the keyboard quickly attaches to the rear of the laptop. (????: egradman)

The project is both a personal effort and a professional one. "I work in the field of augmented reality, and this is my way of 'dogfooding' the promise of AR," egradman explains. "I hoped this way of working would prove viable, and this was my main motivation for learning to use an ergo keyboard."

Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.