orbiTouch

The most publicized typing overuse injury is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a progressively disabling and painful condition of the hand that occurs when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist. Studies show that the orbiTouch® design may reduce the repetitive finger and wrist motions that contribute to CTS. The orbiTouch® requires no finger motion or wrist motion for use.

It is very easy to use. The basic concepts are mastered in minutes. Most typists are able to type proficiently after using the orbiTouch® keyless keyboard about 3 1/2 hours or 45 minutes a day for 5 days.

 You can try the product by simply emailing a request to support@orbitouch.com. You may also find the orbiTouch® at your local community technology center or assistive technology center.

Average throughput is 36 words per minute -- which, incidentally, is about the average for a regular keyboard. 

Yes, and then some. The orbiTouch® actually has a 128 position capability (8 motions on the left dome x 8 movements on the right dome). There is also a built in mouse in the right dome. Simply move the left dome to its south position twice to change from typing to mouse mode and vice versa.

The orbiTouch® is designed to generate all of the letters, numbers, special characters, and control keys found on a traditional US-English keyboard. The slide guide illustrates the characters generated by specific dome movements when the orbiTouch® is used with Windows in US-English mode. In some cases, use with Windows set for other language implementations is possible with only a change in the dome-movement-character correspondence. For some languages, additional characters will need to be defined. Prior to announcing general availability in any country, we will have tested the requirements of the predominant languages used in the country. In general, if you can produce the characters used by your language with a US-English traditional keyboard, then you will be able to do so with the current orbiTouch® by re-labeling your slide guide. 

The domes are very easy to move. The force required is approximately 7 N (1.6 pounds). This is 68% lower than the requirements set by the US Federal Government's Section 508 accessibility regulations. 

Domes can be moved in either order (right hand first or left hand first) or simultaneously. It's the position of the domes in their respective 8 positions that types the character. The domes do not have to be re-centered to type subsequent characters. Holding the left dome in one of its positions allows the typist to type 8 characters using the right dome. If one or more of the characters you wish to type are in that left hand position, you can hold the dome there to type the characters 

The orbiTouch® is approximately the same size as a traditional keyboard but the domes make it about 1.5 inches taller than a standard keyboard. 

We have no way of really knowing, but -- the fastest we've seen so far is 42 words per minute... 

Voice input has come a long way in its development. There are several research efforts under way to help determine how effective speech technology is in providing a solution to repetitive strain injury. Vocal cord stress as well as many other physical aspects of voice input are being investigated. Generally speaking (no pun intended), voice input is good at getting information into a word processing program or for general menu commands. Where voice input falls short is in the area of editing, programming, and accuracy. 

While we are still collecting data on whether the orbiTouch® completely eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), our research data does indicate that it can help prevent or reduce the repetitive motions that are suspect in causing CTS. The unique design of the orbiTouch® keyless keyboard eliminates the finger and wrist motions that most often contribute to and aggravate CTS symptoms. 

Extensive research has lead to the design of the orbiTouch® Keyless Keyboard. Each orbiTouch® dome moves 7 millimeters from their center position. This distance is about the same that most typists move their hands in typing on a regular keyboard. As such, the biomechanical requirements in the upper arm in using a regular QWERTY keyboard are similar to those when typing with the orbiTouch® 

Mouse functions are performed very easily. First, sliding the left dome down twice puts the orbiTouch® into "Mouse Mode." Then the right dome controls cursor movement, and the left dome perfoms the mouse "clicks." The "clicks" are actually performed by simply sliding the left dome to the left for "left click," right for "right click," and straight up for "middle click" or window scrolling. 

Yes. While you're in mouse mode, sliding the left dome once in the left direction produces a "single click." Sliding this dome twice in the left direction produces a "double click." 

This would require development of a customized unit. If you would like to discuss this further, please complete the Special Request Form or send an e-mail to info@blueorb.com. 

We are assuming that you are accessing MS-DOS through the Windows "Run CMD" capability. Since the normal Windows keyboard and mouse drivers are still running, the orbiTouch® will work fine. As for the optical mouse, that should work also. If the optical mouse is occupying one of the PS/2 ports, we suggest that you plug the orbiTouch® in via the included USB adapter 

You can do this in one of two ways. You could type the character sequence CTRL-ALT-DEL-ALT-CTRL. This turns on CTRL and ALT modes, puts in the DEL character, and then turns off CTRL and ALT modes. Or..., you can type the orbiTouch®'s special "CTRL ALT DEL" character--this single character is shown on the Character Guide 

The orbiTouch® has been tested extensively in all versions of Microsoft Windows. While it has not been tested by us with computers running Linux, the orbiTouch® should work in any environment that supports a standard PC keyboard and mouse 

Yes. The orbiTouch® is in use across the United States and in 14 other countries. We have a growing list of Resellers around the world, or you can buy directly from our online store.

 Section 508