Differences in typing forces, muscle activity, comfort, and typing performance among virtual, notebook, and desktop keyboards

The present study investigated whether there were physical exposure and typing productivity differences between a virtual keyboard with no tactile feedback and two conventional keyboards where key travel and tactile feedback are provided by mechanical switches under the keys. The key size and layout...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied ergonomics 2014-11, Vol.45 (6), p.1406-1413
Main Authors: Kim, Jeong Ho, Aulck, Lovenoor, Bartha, Michael C., Harper, Christy A., Johnson, Peter W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Computer Peripherals
Electromyography
Equipment Design
Ergonomics
Ergonomics. Work place. Occupational physiology
Female
Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology
Humans
Interactive computer systems
Keyboards
Male
Medical sciences
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Muscular system
Posture - physiology
Touch
Touchscreen
Typing
Typing biomechanics
Upper Extremity - physiology
User-Computer Interface
Young Adult
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Summary:The present study investigated whether there were physical exposure and typing productivity differences between a virtual keyboard with no tactile feedback and two conventional keyboards where key travel and tactile feedback are provided by mechanical switches under the keys. The key size and layout were same across all the keyboards. Typing forces; finger and shoulder muscle activity; self-reported comfort; and typing productivity were measured from 19 subjects while typing on a virtual (0 mm key travel), notebook (1.8 mm key travel), and desktop keyboard (4 mm key travel). When typing on the virtual keyboard, subjects typed with less force (p's 
ISSN:0003-6870
1872-9126
DOI:10.1016/j.apergo.2014.04.001