A New Force-Displacement Metrology for Keyboards

Abstract

The ergonomic design of computer keyboards has been a popular topic of research during the past decade. Much work has focused on assessing design attributes of keyboards that affect their subjective “feel” during typing tasks. One common measure used for this purpose has been the force-displacement function, which characterizes the force required to displace a key to various positions within its travel range. Unfortunately, keyboard manufacturers and researchers have used stepped force-displacement techniques that quantify the holding force needed to maintain a key in a selected displacement position, but it does not assess the dynamic forces experienced at a user's fingertips while typing. This paper introduces a continuous force-displacement technique that measures dynamic force components.