Summary of CAN’T SPILL COFFEE ON YOUR KEYBOARD IF IT’S ALREADY INSIDE
Google Japan released the Gboard, a cylindrical keyboard wrapping around a removable cup to prevent spills. Open-sourced as an April Fool's joke, it features 60 keys with fish-themed kanji in Japanese phonetic order, switchable to Hiragana. The build uses low-profile Kailh switches and an ATMega32u4 microcontroller.
Parts used in the Gboard:
- Cylindrical keyboard frame
- Removable cup
- Fish-themed kanji keycaps (60 keys)
- Hiragana input switch
- Low-profile Kailh chocs
- ATMega32u4 microcontroller
No matter where you live in the world or what beverage you enjoy, it’s too easy to spill it on the keyboard. Obviously, the solution is to combine the two. That’s exactly what Google Japan did this past April Fool’s Day when they released the Gboard — a cylindrical keyboard wrapped around a removable cup. But is it still a joke once you’ve open-sourced it and made a build guide, more or less?
Here’s where it gets weird: each kanji on the keyboard represents a different kind of fish, and they’re laid out in Japanese phonetic order. You’re not stuck with the fish, though — one of the 60 keys switches between fish input and regular Hiragana (the basic Japanese phonetic alphabet). Underneath all those fish are low-profile Kailh chocs hooked up to an ATMega32u4. We only wish it were wireless.
We love that they open-sourced this keyboard, and it even makes sense in a way. In order to produce a good April Fool’s video, you actually have to make the fake product. The better it is (i.e. weird but plausible), the more people will like it and probably want one. So if you’re going to go to all that trouble, why not set it free on GitHub? Note that the second line of the readme is “this is not an officially-supported Google product”, which we suppose goes without saying.
Be sure to check out the short video after the break. If you don’t understand Japanese, you’ll want to turn on the closed captions.
You know, now that Raspberry Pi have made their answer to the Arduino, it’s about time that Apple made their answer to the Raspberry Pi.
Source: CAN’T SPILL COFFEE ON YOUR KEYBOARD IF IT’S ALREADY INSIDE
- What is the Gboard?
It is a cylindrical keyboard wrapped around a removable cup designed to prevent beverage spills. - How are the keys arranged on the Gboard?
Each of the 60 keys represents a different kind of fish laid out in Japanese phonetic order. - Can you switch between fish input and regular text?
Yes, one of the 60 keys switches between fish input and regular Hiragana. - What components are used under the keycaps?
The keyboard uses low-profile Kailh chocks hooked up to an ATMega32u4 microcontroller. - Is the Gboard wireless?
No, the article states the creators only wish it were wireless, implying it is not currently wireless. - Who open-sourced this project?
Google Japan open-sourced the project on GitHub after releasing it for April Fool's Day. - Does Google officially support this product?
No, the readme file states that this is not an officially-supported Google product. - Why did Google release a build guide for a joke?
Because making a high-quality fake product for a video often leads people to want one, so they set it free.
