The DataHand is an unconventional

computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or Push-button, keys to act as Mechanical keyboard, mechanical levers or Electronic switching system, electro ...

introduced in 1990 by DataHand Systems, Inc., designed to be operated without any wrist motion or finger extension.

History

DataHand Systems, Inc. was founded in 1985. It was invented by Dale J. Retter and produced as early as 1990. After the initial prototype was released in 1995, DataHand released the Professional and Professional II models with new bodies. The Professional II also has extended programming capabilities over the Professional, being able to record macros of keystrokes for convenient use. DataHand Systems, Inc. announced in early 2008 that it was ceasing to sell its keyboards. The company web site states that due to supplier issues, the company will not sell the DataHand keyboard "until a new manufacturer can be identified". In January 2009, the company's website started taking orders for a "limited number of new DataHand Pro II units". Circa 19 April 2010, DataHand were out of stock.

Revival

In 2019, a longtime DataHand user going by the pseudonym JesusFreke released an open source DataHand-style device called the lalboard, with plastic parts manufacturable on a home

3D printer 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

, hand- solderable

circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes and other features (similar to wires on a flat surface) ...

s, and off-the-shelf magnets. The mechanism is essentially the same as the DataHand, using magnets for key return and optointerrupters to sense the movements of the keys. In 2023, another longtime DataHand user released a small-run production device called Svalboard, evolving the lalboard design into a manufacturable product. In 2024, Svalboard launched the Lightly DataHand-style keyboard, which includes

trackpoint A pointing stick (or trackpoint, also referred to generically as a nub, nipple or clitmouse) is a small analog stick used as a pointing device typically mounted centrally in a computer keyboard. Like other pointing devices such as mice, touchp ...

and

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse (computing), mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball t ...

pointing device options, as well as a self-print kit for builders who want to make their own. There is also a Datahand Discord on which Datahand, lalboard and Svalboard users discuss layouts, builds, and other input-related topics. It is the only known gathering place specifically for users of Datahand-style keyboards.

Layout

It consists of two separate "keyboards", one for the left hand and one for the right. Each finger activates five buttons: the four compass directions as well as down. The thumbs also have five buttons: one inside, two outside, up and down. The layout is initially similar to a

QWERTY QWERTY ( ) is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: . The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sh ...

keyboard, but the middle two columns of keys (i.e. H,Y,G...) have been delegated to sideways finger movements, and all of the keys outside of the main three rows are accessed through two additional modes, including a mode for mousing. There are three primary modes all together: letters, number and symbols, and function / mouse mode. Some practice is required. However, eventual typing speedups are possible. Rather than being spring-loaded, the buttons are held in place with magnets and are activated using optical sensors. This was done in order to reduce the finger workload while still giving tactile feedback. The button modules in which the fingers rest are adjustable—each side can be independently moved vertically or forward and back.".

In popular culture

* The keyboard was seen in the 1997 sci-fi movie ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * C ...

'' as the controls for a spaceship. * It appears in the 2006 spy movie ''

Stormbreaker ''Stormbreaker'' is a young adult action-adventure book written by British author Anthony Horowitz and is the first novel in the ''Alex Rider'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2000, and in the United States ...

''. * The Industrial Innovations version was featured on the television series ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...

''. * A black model is used by Agent Grasso while searching for Amanda Givens' Jeep in '' Shadow Conspiracy'' (1997). * Several boxes of the keyboard are seen in Teddy KGB's office near the end of the film ''

Rounders (film) ''Rounders'' is a 1998 American drama film about the underground world of high-stakes poker, directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton. The story follows two friends who need to win at high-stakes poker to quickly pay ...

'' (1998).

References

{{reflist

External links

DataHand.com
(1996-11-02) web.archive.org
DataHand documentation

Bill Buxton William Arthur Stewart Buxton (born March 10, 1949) is a Canadian computer scientist and designer. He is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field of human–computer interaction and is currently active in research at the University of Toront ...

microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

DataHand
at ''Typing FAQ''
How-To disassemble and clean the DataHand

Review
by DataHand owner, with photos of older models
Review
by Jan Goyvaerts (August 6, 2007)
Review update
by Jan Goyvaerts (posted January 7, 2008)
Review
by Robyn Peterson in

ExtremeTech ExtremeTech is a technology weblog, launched in June 2001, which focuses on hardware, computer software, science, and other technologies. Between 2003 and 2005, ExtremeTech was also a print magazine and the publisher of a popular series of ho ...