I am always interested in different means of interacting with a computer and with software applications.  These days we take for granted the touch, swipe and tap of using our smart phones.  Touch screens for PCs have been around for quite some time.  I remember configuring them and using them in demonstrations in the mid 1990’s.  Back then you needed to purchase the touch surface and then have it fitted over the top of the CRT screen.  It was an interesting task.

More recently I saw an article about a laser projected keyboard that could be used for data entry and controlling a PC.  I spend a bit of time these days writing software for medical laboratories so having a keyboard that doesn’t need to be kept sterile and be cleaned every day sounded like a good thing.  I purchased one for demonstration purposes.

As noted above the product is the Celluon Magic Cube.  A revisit to the site indicates that there is a newer version to the one I purchased which has some useful improvements – specifically multitouch gesture recognition.

The one I tried was easy to setup – simply a Bluetooth device that needed to be paired.  Once you got used to typing on your desk it was fairly easy to get up to speed.  In a bright room it was a bit harder to see the keyboard, and I quickly found out that you need to keep the device at the same level as the typing surface – you can’t lift it up to make the keyboard bigger.  However for standard typing or data entry where a normal keyboard might be too imposing or get too dirty this just might be an option.