Eyeball an extremely rugged mouse alternative

Incorporated for the first time on the KB 5000P keyboard is Baran's unique optical pointing device, the Eyeball, an extremely rugged alternative to a conventional mouse

Diamond Electronics' latest addition to its range of sealed and rugged keyboards, built by Baran Advanced Technologies, is the KB 5000P.

Incorporated for the first time on the KB 5000P is Baran's unique optical pointing device, the "Eyeball".

An extremely rugged alternative to a conventional mouse, mouse pad or trackball, the Eyeball takes the form of a transparent panel set into the surface of the keyboard.

The user operates the device in a similar manner to a mouse pad, by moving his or her finger - which may be gloved - over the surface of the panel.

Finger movement is tracked through the glass panel by an optical detector.

The device converts finger position and direction of movement into X/Y co-ordinates, which are made available to a computer through a conventional mouse driver interface.

This construction allows the device to be completely sealed and very robust, much more so than the relatively fragile surface of a resistive touch sensitive "mouse-pad" detector.

This level of ruggedness matches the performance of the rest of the keyboard, which is built using Baran's patented piezo switch technology.

In place of standard key switches, the keyboard uses switches based on a ceramic element with no moving parts, resulting in extremely high reliability and long life.

The piezo-electric switches detect finger pressure alone as a keystroke, allowing the sealed unit to be designed without provision for mechanical key travel.

The result is a keyboard that combines sensitivity to finger pressure with the ability to withstand significant pressure and impact.

Use of the Eyeball pointing device and the piezo-electric switches allows the unit to be completely environmentally sealed to IP68, barring the ingress of water, oil, salt, dust, grit or any other contaminants.

The keyboard is also rated for use across a wide temperature range.

The KB 5000P is therefore ideally suited to data entry and machine control applications in the most demanding of industrial environments, and it can be rigorously cleaned for use in situations that demand a high level of hygiene.

The KB 5000P follows a standard 103-key standard layout (the suffix "P" indicates the inclusion of the pointing device), and can easily be customised by assignment of function keys.

In addition, it can optionally be supplied in stand-alone format, or as a panel for incorporation into OEM equipment designs.

The unique "Eyeball" pointing device can also be supplied as a stand-alone product for control applications in industrial equipment designs.

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