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Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

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Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#141

Post by perilunar »

anthomtb wrote: post #102
lta wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I figure it's quite common for non native speaker, no ?

I am a native English speaker and never heard the word "semaphore" until taking CS classes in college. I cannot think of a common use for the term, unlike flag (see them all the time), register (do that with cars and schools) or stack (lots of those in my kitchen).

> register (do that with cars and schools)

I would think computer register comes from the noun, not the verb — think cash register, not to register a car.

Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#142

Post by elijahbenizzy »

fheisler wrote: post #47

Author here! Pleasant surprise to find my project at the top of HN this morning with such positive feedback :) I'm happy to answer any questions or hear suggestions for future tweaks. Planning to make this into a customizable full-body game controller as well.

Thank you for this! Watching this brought me quite a bit of joy.

Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#144

Post by kqr »

waltbosz wrote: post #136

Cool project. I've always wanted to learn the semaphore alphabet, and I'm interested in alternative keyboards. The lifeguards at the beach I visit use it to communicate to each other from between lifeguard stands, and I'm always curious what they saying. Plus, I thought it would be fun to be able to communicate with them in their own secret(ish) language.

It's highly likely they are communicating in a shorthand that isn't meaningful to you even if you could read the individual letters!

Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#145

Post by mncharity »

jimmySixDOF wrote: post #64

This is straight up awesome and must watch video just for the lolz. But there is a thread to pull on here in terms of tangible user interfaces and the replacement of keyboards as a traditional input system. Meta's CTRL-Labs (ex Myo Armband) are working on EMG where just signaling to your muscles can trigger keyboard strokes and the bandwidth is faster than fingers or so they say. There are several other R&D efforts i…

> replacement of keyboards

Or augmentation of keyboards: wand/stylus; 3D finger tracking; multitouch tablet. Extending rather than dumpstering existing refined comfortable power. My laptop used to have three extra fold-out cameras for TFA-like mediapipe games. Though tech resets are an opportunity to escape trap deadends, to "do better this time" - that thinkpad keyboard was a crippled and crippling 2-key rollover. And sensor fusion with diverse latencies (keypress vs pose-tracked video) is nontrivial - complex event processing with backtrackable app state. LLMs with UI/HID "languages" will be such fun!

Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#146

Post by mncharity »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #117
jimmySixDOF wrote: post #64

This is straight up awesome and must watch video just for the lolz. But there is a thread to pull on here in terms of tangible user interfaces and the replacement of keyboards as a traditional input system. Meta's CTRL-Labs (ex Myo Armband) are working on EMG where just signaling to your muscles can trigger keyboard strokes and the bandwidth is faster than fingers or so they say. There are several other R&D efforts i…

How's that research going? It would be interesting to be able to "type" on any surface, just by pretending there's a keyboard in front of me.

> "type" on any surface

There's Tap Strap, and not-yet-released TapXR, though they are more chording keyboards than "keyboard in front of me".

Re: Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

#150

Post by fheisler »

whiplash451 wrote: post #135
fheisler wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It honestly takes all my focus and concentration to remember the signals quickly. That's the look of 100% dedication to a silly task!

I am curious to know how far you take this in terms of it becoming second nature. As in, maybe after days and weeks of practice, you can type stuff effortlessly ? How far away from effortless mastery are you?

It's always going to be plenty of physical effort! In terms of the mental overhead: there are some letters/motions like R, F, D that just feel second-nature already from lots of practice and more 'obvious' positions, but I still have to think about most of them. A few letters still trip me up, like remembering M versus S (mirror images). I'd love to find a seasoned signalman to get their take.
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