Finger-aware keyboard shortcuts could speed up typing

Researchers have created a finger-aware keyboard shortcut system that could help people type significantly faster.

As a species, we are constantly looking for ways to be faster and more efficient. We have already seen tools that enable people to train themselves to read and even listen quicker. Now, researchers at the University of Waterloo have created a patent-pending keyboard shortcut system that could help people type significantly faster.

The system enables typers to trigger different shortcut commands by pressing the same keyboard key using different fingers, hands or postures. It was created by MA student Jingjie Zheng and Professor Daniel Vogel, who have tailored it to suit the general preferences of computer users. For example, users generally type with their index finger and thumb and have their other fingers closed; people rarely use their ring finger and middle finger while closing the rest of their hand. These insights and more were used to create a system that people will be able to adopt, in order to type more efficiently, without altering their natural typing patterns.

How else could physical behavior and actions be used to improve human interaction with computers?