Surfboard: keyboard with microphone as a low-cost interactive surface

Abstract

We introduce a technique to detect simple gestures of "surfing" (moving a hand horizontally) on a standard keyboard by analyzing recorded sounds in real-time with a microphone attached close to the keyboard. This technique allows the user to maintain a focus on the screen while surfing on the keyboard. Since this technique uses a standard keyboard without any modification, the user can take full advantage of the input functionality and tactile quality of his favorite keyboard supplemented with our interface.