iKey's AK-39 wearable keyboard is about as weapon-like as it sounds
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 14th 2009 5:42PM
posted July 14th 2009 5:42PM
iKey's churned out plenty of rugged keyboards in its day, but it looks to have really stepped up its game with its new AK-39 wearable keyboard intended specifically for military use. Among other things, this one conforms to full MIL-461 standards, is able to be used in environments with harsh electromagnetic interference and, of particular importance, it's designed to be used with a glove, and in either left or right-hand configurations. As for the keyboard itself, you'll get a basic 39-key layout, an integrated pointing device that uses Force Sensing Resistor (or FSR) technology, and some adjustable green backlighting that is, naturally, also available with night vision compatibility. No word on pricing just yet, nor is there any indication that iKey will actually sell these to the general public.
[Via Test Freaks, thanks Nicholas R]
[Via Test Freaks, thanks Nicholas R]
ergonomic failure.
whats the extension over the hand for? Is that used for input? I can't think of any other reason. By the way this thing is awesome.
@redkamel It would appear to be what the keyboard is attached to, in order to keep it on your forearm, like a wrist guard would be.worn.
Does it have some sort of laser communications port that can be pointed at the object you want to 'hack'?
Although this isn't quite as robust, L3 Systems has a very similar keyboard that I've had bookmarked for years for a couple of projects that I was working on. http://www.l3sys.com/wristpc/wristpc.html
Instead of posting useless comments above - it would be interesting to see if something like this has some sort of wireless connectivity instead of wires dangling about.
That would be PERFECT for my cyberpunk halloween costume (idea).
i LOVE it!
WANT!!!!!
Hold on, I'll type our coordinates with my badass gloves...
AKiba-39
Now you're playing with power
Hm... I wonder if I can use this with my iPhone... problem solved!
Michael Jackson died of food poisoning.
He choked on a 5 year old wiener.
I love the power glove. It's so awesome
I can already see it:
"WHERE IN GODS NAME ARE THEY SHOOTING US FROM!?"
and a response comes back
"idk my bff jill"
Straight out of Chuck! Type in the coordinates to your wrist mounted PDA, and the Predator bombs the other Buy More. :-)
!!!!!IT'S SO BAD!!!!!
So tweeting on the field of battle will be "the next social".
Should be for some gruesome tweets.
CALL GUINESS...
Anyone? Yeah!!!
Reminds me of X-CaliBR8 from The Dungeonmaster
or
Vocaloid cosplay:
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/238/670153-vocaloid_box_super.jpg
(look at her sleeve)
There is no need for this for an average consumer. It’s most likely just a very expensive toy.
that is SO Resident Evil, but I wonder how it fares with the gloves on
I'm wondering how to hit CTRL+ALT+DEL on it.
@Eduba it's actually quite simple, the first three buttons of the last row are ins/del, ctr, alt, and fn. pressing fn trigger's the del portion of the ins/del button, so using your right hand: middle finger on ctr, ring finger on alt, pinky on fn, and then lastly pointing finger on del
Because sending a text message to your girlfriend by typing one handed on your other arm while being shot at is much easier than using both hands to grasp a smart phone.
How is a keyboard a weapon again? Sending misleading emails to the Taliban?
Maybe Stargate Universe can use these to type in their IDCs.
The AK-39 was originally designed for use in military applications. We've had many requests from attendees at military trade shows and from customers asking about a rugged wearable keyboard. Glad to hear some of you like the glove, although that was a photo prop only. It does come with the arm strap. This is iKey's first wearable keyboard design, and we are always interested in hearing from customers regarding design improvements. Thanks for the comments!
Sweet! Boba Fett would be proud to endorse this!
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Boba_Fett
Love the digital Camo
I hope it plugs into my xbox
Great, these news are very interestant.
Foxhard (news)
http://twitter.com/foxhard
How about one of these with the MW2 Prestige Edition?
Seems how tax payers are footing the bill, I'm sure this is going to be a $1,000 keyboard. Otherwise, I'd totally wear it to work.
$100... $110 max, please.
I thought the army would have mind reading computers by now. Aren't we in 2010 already?
U kJj dqefs piensq dsq./dfsqadf sfskl fklkjjj fdflk eop qdd qqz
(the text above was typed with the AK-39 wearable keyboard)