Virtual Laser Keyboard !

What is it?

The Virtual Laser Keyboard (VKB) is a revolutionary accessory (The only keyboard that operates in total darkness - see the picture below) for Blackberry, Smartphone, PDA, MAC & Tablet PC. The VKB comes with an elegant leather jacket, making it the perfect business / Christmas gift (and just what you want to take out of your inner suit pocket in front of your amazed business colleagues...:-)

In the size of a Zipo lighter and in an outer spaced "enterprise" style, it uses a laser beam to generate a full-size perfectly OPERATING laser keyboard that smoothly connects to MAC's, Smart Phones, the new Blackberry (8100,8300,8800),Nokia N95 (Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition) and Any kind of PC and Most of the handheld devices (PDA's, tablet PC's).

The I-Tech laser keyboard acts exactly like any other "ordinary" keyboard: A direction technology based on an optical recognition mechanism enables the user to tap on the projected key images, while producing real tapping sounds (we call it the WOW effect..).

How it works:

Step 1: Template creation (Projection Module)
A template of the desired interface is projected onto the adjacent interface surface. The template is produced by illuminating a specially designed, highly efficient holographic optical element with a red diode laser.
Note: the template serves only as a reference for the user and is not involved in the detection process. In a fixed environment, the template can just as easily be printed onto the interface surface.

Step 2: Reference plane illumination (Micro-illumination ModuleTM)
An infra-red plane of light is generated just above, and parallel to, the interface surface. This light is invisible to the user and hovers a few millimeters above the surface.
When the user touches a key position on the interface surface light is reflected from this plane in the vicinity of the key and directed towards the sensor module.

Step 3: Map reflection coordinates (Sensor Module)
Reflected light from user interactions with the interface surface is passed through an infra-red filter and imaged on to a CMOS image sensor in the sensor module.
Custom hardware embedded in the sensor chip (the Virtual Interface Processing CoreTM) then makes a real-time determination of the location of the reflected light.
The processing core can track multiple reflection events simultaneously and can thus support both multiple keystrokes and overlapping cursor control inputs.

Source:

Virtual-keyboard