Type on the smartphone using your head with these Gboard Caps

When Google Japan sets its mind to celebrating creativity, you can expect nothing less than the astonishing. Every October 1st, the tech wizards at Google Japan drop a keyboard surprise that leaves us all agog. This time, it’s a spectacular hat that redefines typing as we know it!

Introducing the Gboard Caps: a keyboard you wear as a cap. It’s a single-key keyboard hat shaped like a colossal keycap. This wearable is not your ordinary hat; it’s an invention that transforms the way we input characters on smartphones or computers. With Gboard Caps, you can type without lifting a finger – well, except you move your head!

Designer: Gboard

You can don this hat and type out characters by tilting your head in different directions. The hat houses a gyroscope that deciphers your head’s movements into characters, which are then sent to your computer or smartphone via Bluetooth with the tap of this large keycap on the head.

To that accord, Gboard CAPS is no one-trick pony. Its six-axis inertial sensor detects the angle at which you position it, and you can cycle through characters by swaying your head left or right. Confirming your selection – with a tap on the head – triggers a satisfying click sound, reminiscent of your trusty old keyboard.

When you’re not typing, this wearable keyboard serves as a stylish hat, ensuring that fashion meets function seamlessly. Google Japan has even thought about customization, including expansion modules such as a mesh module that keeps your cap in perfect shape over time, and a Caps Lock module with a chin strap to prevent any unplanned hat-drops. Gboard also plans a built-in display in the future for the hat.

The most exciting part is that you can create your own Gboard Caps at home. The firmware and hardware design for the Gboard Caps version – released on October 1, 2023 – is shared on Github. Even though it’s not an official Google product, it’s a DIY that provides a glimpse into the future of wearables and tech creativity to make typing less boring!

The post Type on the smartphone using your head with these Gboard Caps first appeared on Yanko Design.