Google builds wacky double-sided keyboard for teams, releasing the design for free

[Garth Gator]

 

Google Japan is taking keyboard innovation full circle—literally. Its latest creation, the Gboard Double-Sided Version offers twice the typing surface in one humorous but mind-bending design.

 

Inspired by the mathematical marvel known as the Möbius strip (or for the pastry-inclined, a cruller… Google’s analogy, not ours), this circular concept sports keys on both its front and back. With a whopping 208 keys at your fingertips, it more than doubles the key count of a standard keyboard.

 

 

Thanks to its dual-sided functionality, the keyboard allows multiple members of a time to type at once. The Gboard Double-Sided Version is made up of 26 modules, each containing eight key switches, twisted into a continuous form that breaks the traditional idea of front and back. With this Gboard, there’s no wrong side up. Plus, the keys light up, adding a visually attractive appeal to an already eccentric device.

 

 

 

Google Japan also made it a point to mention that the contraption is the weight of about 20.8 doughnuts.

 

While you won’t find the Gboard Double-Sided Version on store shelves anytime soon, the company has open-sourced the blueprints, allowing tech enthusiasts and makers to 3D print their own versions at home. For those who are less tech-savvy, there’s even a downloadable paper version you can use for crafts.

 

 

 

 

This project is just the latest in Google Japan’s series of experimental keyboards, which have included such whimsical creations as a stick-shaped keyboard, a keycap hat, and even a multifunctional teacup.

 

 

 

 

 

• https://www.androidauthority.com/google-japan-circular-gboard-keyboard-3488050/ 
• https://www.lowyat.net/2024/334280/google-japan-introduces-gboard-double/ 
• https://www.techradar.com/computing/keyboards/google-japans-new-mobius-strip-keyboard-weighs-20-8-donuts-and-of-course-it-has-rgb 

 

 

 

 

Images: Google Japan [1][2]