Technology to deliver 'virtual' computer keyboard

A Taiwanese firm says it has developed technology to allow a user's hand to control a computer with a virtual computer screen floating in the air. The Industrial Technology Research Institute's i-Air Touch technology provides see-through display and air-touch input technologies for computers that allow a user's hand to be free of any physical device, the company said in a release Wednesday. A user wearing a pair of special glasses can navigate virtual keys to control them just like pressing or touching physical keys while still being able to see and interact with the real world around them, the firm said. The glasses, in conjunction with a special camera that senses the position of a user's fingers, can present them with a "floating" keypad, keyboard, mouse or touch panel, company executive Golden Tiao said. "i-Air Touch creates new possibilities for wearable and mobile computing by freeing users from the distraction of locating and touching keys on a physical input device for hands-free computing and improving security over voice commands," he said.