Google Glass Gets A Keyboard Thanks To Minuum’s Minimal Tap-And-Turn Typing

Google Glass can do a lot of things, but until now it was mostly limited to single tap, scroll or voice-based input. Now, there’s a keyboard for Glass, courtesy of Toronto-based startup Whirlscape and their Minuum software input app.

As you can see in the video above, the Minuum keyboard is a minimal keyboard that groups letters together for a single-line of virtual keys, using predictive algorithms to get your intended wording straight without having to delve into specifics. The keyboard is actually designed with wearable tech in mind, the startup’s founders tell me, so Glass is a natural fit.

In the demo, you can see how it works: a user simply tilts their head in the direction of the key they want to hit, then taps the touch-sensitive arm of the Glass unit itself to input said character. In practice, it looks a little freaky to see someone using their head and hand in this way, but at the same time, it’s probably less creepy than having them dictate beginning with “OKAY GLASS” out loud all the time.

Minuum is doing a good job of jumping on the wearable trend, with software for smartwatches debuted earlier, too. If it can become the default input method of wearable tech, or at least be acquired by someone like Google who needs to start thinking about what built-in software keyboards on such devices will look like, then it will have done very well for itself.