We've seen plenty of keyboards in our time, but TransluSense's Luminae Keyboard + with Touchpad+ is currently the coolest. Made from a large curved piece of glass mounted on an brushed aluminum base, the Keyboard+ is sexy and modern. But this keyboard is more than a pretty paperweight. The Luminae uses a trio of infrared sensors to deliver keystrokes.
The prototype of the innovative keyboard we saw had a large, spacious keyboard that emitted a gentle, colorful glow. However the keyboard actually starts off as a blank glass slate, with no way to input data. A keyboard overlay must be placed on top of the glass to begin typing words or activating shortcuts. Using TransluSense's site, people can create and program their own custom keyboard app.
During our visit to the booth, TransluSense CEO and inventor, Jason Giddings, showed off different overlays including on for the game "ArmA" that featured specific macros and a cool background image. There was also a glossy overlay with slightly inflated keys to create the feeling of keyboard when typing.
Although the Luminae is still a prototype, we couldn't resist typing on it. The feel was fairly similar to tapping out messages on a smartphone or tablet. However we missed the feedback from a traditional keyboard. Still we'll be eagerly waiting for a working model to arrive so we can do an actual hands-on.
