At CES 2020, Samsung gave young companies the opportunity to showcase their technologies. A start-up linked to Samsung’s C-Lab programme presents virtual keyboard technology that could change the way we work.
CES 2020 in Las Vegas is an inexhaustible source of innovative ideas and inventions. In the beautiful city of Las Vegas, big companies have visibility together with small businesses. One of these is Samsung, which presented a Korean start-up linked to the C-Lab incubation program. The product of the Korean group is SelfieType.
SelfieType promises to expand the typing area of keyboards on our smartphones, tablets and other laptops. The simulation of a physical keyboard is possible thanks to the artificial intelligence combined with the mobile phone camera for image recognition. AI interprets finger movements on a surface through the camera and converts them into QWERTY keyboard input. Any flat surface, such as a table, airplane seat tray or kitchen top, among many other options, will suffice.
Samsung has released a short video presentation of SelfieType, in which things are certainly embellished compared to reality. However, technological development is advancing at a dizzying pace, so it is not known when the reality imagined by Samsung actually becomes accessible.
The SelfieType does not project the image of the keys onto surfaces, so it may be difficult to locate the position of the keys when typing. The advantage of the technology, however, remains in its software-only appearance, which removes the problem of purchasing an additional device. Few may find a good ally in SelfieType for their occasional trips.
Currently, Samsung SelfieType is still under development and testing in the company’s C-Lab. The final intention of the company however is not the total removal of physical keyboards or touchscreens but to provide an additional means to facilitate the work done by mobile workstations.