These keyboards rely on magnets and springs and activate by sensing changes in the magnetic field. Popularized by Dutch keyboard startup Wooting, these switches rely on the Hall Effect and have actually been around since the 1960s.
You can change how far you need to press down to register the keystroke, as well as for the release point.
The one thing you can’t change, though, is the switch’s resistance. Despite all the talk of magnets, that’s still handled by the spring inside the switch, after all (for the moment, until the xyz is released).
But interestingly, this also means with temperature differences, you may also have to “calibrate” your keyboard. The price point for the Akko MOD007B PC Santorini keyboard at around US$110 to $150 is certainly not more expensive than many mechanical keyboards.
See https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/07/magnets-are-switching-up-the-keyboard-game/
#technology #keyboards
This probably has a use in gaming. Being able to run faster or slower depending on how deep or hard you press would be nice.
Anti Commercial AI thingy
It’s great for racing games where you have gradual steering but also quicker response times than with a controller
I feel like you could totally change the switch resistance with magnets. Electromagnetism goes both ways… apply a variable current to a coil in each key that repels it from or pulls it towards the base?
So, like… Pressure sensitive keys? Inputs on varying levels of depression of the key? Or would it still be binary, you can just adjust how far you press before it goes from 0 to 1?
Wooting has options for emulating controller inputs, like joystick axis and triggers. The default is a binary toggle for which the actuation can be changed, though. Makes sense in regard to typing and such.
