Best input device innovation 2015

[webwit]

Please vote for your winner of the Best input device innovation 2015.

By voting in this category you can win ErgoDox PVC cases and keyboard carry cases from FalbaTech!

This is the final round. See the first round and second round for reference.

The final round ends on Monday 14 December, 20:00hrs UTC. You can change your vote until the end of the round. The winner and full results will be released soon after the vote closes. EDIT: The winner has been announced here.

The official nominees are:

E3E's hot-swappable LED complicated Alps
E3E created a switch and LED hotswappable, backlight-capable Alps 60%, and provided an extremely detailed build log as a template for others.


It took a lot of patience and diligence to get this build done.

Hypersphere rings
Hypersphere worked with companies that make custom parts from various polymers and foams with the goal of duplicating or even improving upon the silencing rings used in Topre RF and Type-S HHKBs. These are now known as the Hypersphere rings.


Hypersphere rings on NovaTouch switches.

Matt3o's Topre PBT spacebars
Although the Realforce and HHKB are excellent keyboards, one feature that has always been lacking is the prone-to-shine ABS Spacebar. Thanks to Matt3o we got the first ever standard 6-unit Topre spacebar in PBT material, in different colours.


Topre PBT spacebar by matt3o, on a HHKB.

Topre for their analog switch and actuation point control
Topre showed some really interesting technology in a demo: an actuation control, which is a dial to adjust the actuation point, and pressure sensitive switches, so you can control the walk speed of a game character, emulate a piano, etc.

MIDIキーボードのように音楽を弾く様子.

Zslane's SHIFT-legend fix
Finally, thanks to zslane's great work, Signature Plastic's SHIF T legends have now been fixed, and we can now all have proper SHIFT keys from Signature Plastics groupbuys.



Before and after.

[bhtooefr]

The Topre video isn't available in the US.

And I'm honestly not sure what to vote for.

[codemonkeymike]

Topre heavy poll here. Must be the year of the topre

[JanitorJoe]

I have to vote for Topre's analogue switches because that seems like a pretty huge innovation even if I can't see myself ever having a use for them. It would be great for movement in video games, except no game would ever implement it.

[Muirium]

My vote is for Matteo's PBT Topre spacebars. Why? They shipped in 2015. I've got mine in use, right here. Topre's stuff isn't out yet. I don't like voting for stuff before its time. (In fact I'd like to make announcements ineligible. Only shipping products!)

[andrewjoy]

I have several topre PBT spacebar ! And a round 4 spacebar and a crappy ABS spacebar.

But they only fit one one topre board , the novatouch

I vote for the rings, i don't have them yet , but they will let me have topre goodness with awesome MX caps! The filco has had a hard life , it can retire to my server rack.

[7bit]

I vote for zslane's SHIFT-legend fix!

[Stabilized]

My vote is for Matteo's PBT Topre spacebars. Why? They shipped in 2015. I've got mine in use, right here. Topre's stuff isn't out yet. I don't like voting for stuff before its time. (In fact I'd like to make announcements ineligible. Only shipping products!)

I am with you on this one; in my opinion Matt3o's PBT spacebar GB is the most accessible for the whole community out of all the options. I really like the sound of the Topre inventions, but they need to be out before people can tell whether they are good or bad.

[bhtooefr]

Conversely, I felt I had to vote for the Topre analog sensing.

While the PBT spacebars may well be nice... IBM was doing them for buckling spring boards, and longer than that (the original Model Fs had 12 U spacebars for crying out loud), literally 34 years ago.

And, the hotswap Alps... PCB socket pins like that have been around for ages.

While there's value in correcting bad ker ning, that's not really an innovation.

That leaves Hypersphere's rings, and the analog sensing, and only one of those is really innovating.

[Halvar]

This year, there should be a special award for "engineering effort per problem size"! All five nominations stand good chances.

[SL89]

So for the 'you can win x y or z' part, is it just submitting a vote, or is it commenting on it as well?

[7bit]

You have to vote and the jury decides if you will get a prize or not.

[SL89]

I voted on all the threads, I just didnt know if i had to comment to be eligible.

[Muirium]

You have to vote and the jury decides if you will get a prize or not.

I like this idea. As you and me are ineligible for the prizes, at least we should get the fun of picking who does win!

[Findecanor]

I never got a space bar.

[axtran]

I love the mod in the ALPS board. Totally something rare, and the addition of LEDs completes the fun.

[chiptea]

The alps board is out of this world. Props to E3E.

[LeandreN]

I vote for E3Es Alps build!

Fantastic

[Madhias]

Voted for the spacebar!

[webwit]

The vote closes on Monday 14 December at 20:00 UTC. Vote now!

The two nominees with currently the most votes are (in alphabetical order):

Spoiler:

E3E's hot-swappable LED complicated Alps
Topre for their analog switch and actuation point control

[trenzafeeds]

Go E3E!

[E3E]

The anxiousness is real. Good luck to everyone and thank you to everyone who voted for me!

Many thanks to you, Trenza, for nominating me in the first place! I had no idea I was even nominated over here until I was already in the finals, haha.

[trenzafeeds]

Huh, why did this end? Isn't it not supposed to until tomorrow?

[E3E]

Huh, why did this end? Isn't it not supposed to until tomorrow?

Some of the polls ended at 7 pm US central time, while others go on until tomorrow for some reason.

[webwit]

Fixed.

[LeandreN]

Looking forward to the results, this is definitily not an easy win.

[trenzafeeds]

Eyyyy it's down again.

[webwit]

Try again.

[E3E]

Try again.

It's working again! XD Oh man, this poll just doesn't stop getting me nervous.