England-Based Research Firm Develops World’s Thinnest Keyboard

CSR, an England-Based tech firm, revealed what it calls the world’s thinnest wireless touch surface at an IFA preview in Berlin this weekend. The Bluetooth® Smart innovator’s keyboard measures less than half a millimeter thick, making it the perfect accessory for a similarly thin tablet. 

The flexible device combines low-power wireless technology with the latest in printable, flexible electronics and touch screen sensing allowing it to be used to extend the touch interface to tablets and smartphones. Both lightweight and flexible, the device can be integrated into a protective cover or used to create large touch zones on a laptop. It is thin enough to slip behind the pages of a notebook, and can be used to pick up handwriting and sketches from the nib of a modified pen.

CSR partnered with Atmel and Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT) to develop the product, which uses Atmel touch silicon to sense multiple contact points on a surface and can offer a full touch surface or power optimized key protection. The use of an ultra-low power version of Bluetooth means a bulky battery isn’t needed. The product is truly svelt.

IFA in Berlin will run from September 6-11, 2013 and this product will be unveiled to customers for the first time. It will not be sold on the market, however, until 2014 and even then it will likely be open only to OEMs and manufacturers to integrate into their products.

Typing has never been cooler.

Source: CSR News