Goodbye QWERTY, hello faster typing with KALQ

Advertisement
By Press Trust of India | Updated: 19 April 2013 17:04 IST
Goodbye QWERTY, hello faster typing with KALQ
Texting just got a lot easier! Researchers claim to have developed a new keyboard for touchscreens that allows superfast thumb-typing, enabling you to type 34 percent faster than on a QWERTY layout.

The research team used computational optimisation techniques in conjunction with a model of thumb movement to search among millions of potential layouts before identifying one that yields superior performance.

Typing on today's mobile phones and tablets is needlessly slow. One limitation is that the QWERTY layout is ill-suited for tablets and other touchscreen devices when typing with the thumbs, researchers said.

Thumb typing is also ergonomically very different from typing on a physical keyboard.

Researchers said it has been established that normal users using a QWERTY on a touchscreen device are limited to typing at a rate of around 20 words per minute, which is slow compared to the rates achieved on physical keyboards.

Advertisement

The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and colleagues from the University of St Andrews and Montana Tech initiated the process to develop a layout for two-thumb text entry with the goal of improving typing performance and minimising the strain for the thumbs.

"The key to optimising a keyboard for two thumbs is to minimise long sequences with a single thumb," lead researcher Antti Oulasvirta said.

Advertisement

"We also want to place frequently used letters centrally close to each other. Experienced typists move their thumbs simultaneously: While one is typing, the other is approaching its next target. We derived a predictive model of this behaviour for the optimisation method," said Oulasvirta.

The computational optimisation process had two goals: To minimise the moving time of the thumbs and to approximate alternating sides as well as possible.

Advertisement

In the new keyboard KALQ, all vowels, with the exception of the letter "y" are placed in the area for the right thumb, whereas the left thumb gets assigned more keys.

To fully benefit from this layout, the users were trained to move their thumbs simultaneously. While one thumb is typing, the other one can move to its next target.

Finally, researchers developed probabilistic error correction methods that took into account how thumbs move and also statistical knowledge about the texts users type.

With these improvements, users were able to reach 37 words per minute, which is the best ever reported for two-thumb typing on touchscreen devices, significantly more than the approximate 20 words on a split QWERTY for regular users.

Researchers said KALQ will be made available as a free app for Android-based smartphones at the beginning of May.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Android, Android app, KALQ, KALQ app, QWERTY, apps
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Amazon Prime Day Sale: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Discount Revealed
  2. Realme 15 Pro 5G Leaked Render Shows Design Ahead of India Launch
  3. Honor X9c 5G With 6,600mAh Battery Launched in India: Price, Features
  4. Xiaomi Compact Power Bank 20,000mAh Launched in India: Price, Features
  5. Amazon Prime Day 2025 Sale: iPhone 15 Discounted Price Revealed
  6. Here's How Much the Vivo X Fold 5 and Vivo X200 FE Might Cost in India
  7. Nothing Headphone 1 Review: Retro Cool, Balanced Sound
  1. Realme 15 Pro 5G Leaked Render Shows Design Ahead of India Launch
  2. Samsung Smart Monitor M9 With QD-OLED Display Launched in India Alongside Refreshed M8, M7 Models
  3. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Said to Get 16GB RAM, Improved Telephoto Lens, More
  4. Xiaomi Compact Power Bank 20,000mAh Launched in India With Built-In Cable: Price, Features
  5. Forza Motorsport Team 'No More', Romero Games 'Completely Closed' Following Microsoft Cuts
  6. Honor X70 Tipped to Launch With an 8,300mAh Battery, Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 SoC
  7. iPhone 15 to Get a Discount During Amazon Prime Day 2025 Sale: Price Revealed
  8. Realme 15 Series to Feature AI Edit Genie, a Voice-Enabled Photo Editing Tool
  9. Amazon India Is Bringing Rufus AI Assistant to Desktop, to Help Users During Prime Day Sale 2025
  10. Amazon Prime Day Sale 2025: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to Be Available Under Rs. 80,000
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.