How Virtual Keyboards for VR May Turn Any Flat Surface Into a Keyboard

September 01, 2023 By Awanish Kumar

(Image Credit Google)

Image credit : Windows Report Perhaps, you might have encountered a recent video posted by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of himself typing a virtual keyboard in a Quest 2 headset. As experts weigh in on these keyboards, they find it currently inaccurate but they can be the future of productivity in VR. "The next evolution of virtual keyboards will use robust hand tracking technology to accurately track the movement of all of the user's fingers," D.J. Smith, the chief creative officer of the mixed reality firm The Glimpse Group, told Lifewire in an email interview. "Until recently, the inaccuracies of the hand tracking prevented a user from being able to do this; however, the current advances in AI and machine vision are rapidly making this type of virtual typing viable." In the video, Zuckerberg and Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth were seen competing for faster typing speed. Meta chief states that he achieved a speed of nearly 100 words per minute using the virtual keyboard, while Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth’s score was 119 words per minute.

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The experts found the typing speed a bit slower than the PCs and smartphones as using floating keyboards users need to sway their hands in the air. Furthermore, virtual keyboards lack haptic feedback and wrist support as well. [caption id="attachment_192373" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Virtual-Keyboard

Image credit : AppleInsider[/caption] In order to make the virtual keyboard precise & perfect for usage, a large QR code was pasted on a table with contenders tapping buttons with their hands, just the way they would tap on a physical keyboard. However, there are some challenges as well, like even the tiniest difference between the heights of virtual and real surfaces may lead to wrong key presses. Virtual keyboards tend to be exploited by hackers as well. A team of computer science analysts at the University of California Riverside has depicted that spyware can track and record human movements. AI algorithms are able to proficiently decrypt this data into words with a precision rate of 90 percent or more. For instance, spyware could potentially track this password after you take a pause while typing during your virtual gaming session to access your Facebook messages by "air typing" your password on a virtual keyboard shown by the headset. Also read : Google Will Present Pixel 8 In Its Upcoming Event On October 4th "Basically, we show that if you run multiple applications, and one of them is malicious, it can spy on the other applications," Abu-Ghazaleh said in the news release. "It can spy on the environment around you, for example, showing people around you and how far away they are. And it can also expose to the attacker your interactions with the headset."

By Awanish Kumar

I keep abreast of the latest technological developments to bring you unfiltered information about gadgets.

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