Google Japan has once again unveiled an experimental keyboard project that combines nostalgia with modern technology. The latest Gboard creation replaces classic keys with dials, as seen on old telephones. Users enter letters and commands not by pressing keys, but by turning the dials.
At the center of the device is a three-stage letter dial. To type a character, the user rotates their finger into the appropriate hole until the dial stops at a mechanical stop. This principle is also applied to control and function keys. Only the Enter key remains as a single component, but it must also be rotated to be activated. In total, the keyboard has 101 input points, fulfilling the function of a full-fledged keyboard.
Technically, the project is based on a Raspberry Pi Pico, which processes the signals from the individual dials. Sensors and motors detect the rotational movements and return the dials to their starting position after each keystroke. Unlike old telephone mechanisms, no original parts are used, but completely redesigned components. The undersides of the dials contain coding patterns that are read by optical sensors.
Google Japan has published the entire project on GitHub. This includes building instructions, circuit diagrams, software, and STL files for 3D printing the housing parts and dials. This allows the device to be completely replicated. There are two versions to choose from: a compact version with one dial and an extended version with eight dials plus an enter key.
The project is part of an annual series of Gboard experiments in which Google Japan creatively draws attention to its own input software. Previous projects have included a 1.65-meter-long keyboard, a Möbius strip keyboard, and a portable keyboard hat.
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