Through the looking glass: This concept keyboard would likely slow down anyone accustomed to conventional typing. However, its open-source plans ensure the project can live on among hobbyists interested in building devices that blur the line between historical artifacts and modern computer peripherals.
Google Japan has unveiled another unconventional twist on keyboard design – this time replacing the traditional key layout with nine rotary dials in a device it calls the Gboard Dial Version. Developed as part of the company's ongoing series of experimental input devices, the concept reimagines typing by borrowing mechanical principles from the mid-20th century.
The Gboard Dial Version discards standard keycaps in favor of a set of holes and rotating discs of varying sizes, including a dedicated dial for the return key. To input a character, the user places a finger in the relevant dial and turns it until reaching a built-in stop. Upon release, the dial spins back to its starting position, and a series of sensors capture the movement.
While this action closely resembles the operation of a rotary phone, the technology inside is entirely modern. Rotary phones relied on pulse dialing, a system in which the returning dial generated electrical pulses that the telephone network decoded into numbers. In Google's keyboard, the return motion is read by sensors that convert it into USB signals understood by the connected device.
The designers also included an accessory stand with a mechanical webcam control: during a video call, placing a computer mouse atop the stand automatically disables the webcam feed, mimicking the physical "hang-up" gesture associated with classic landline telephones.
This is not Google Japan's first effort to explore unusual input methods. Previous conceptual devices have included a QWERTY keyboard stretched into a single 65-inch row and a cylindrical keyboard shaped like a Japanese yunomi tea cup.
Like those earlier projects, the Gboard Dial Version is not intended for mass-market release. However, its full design has been made publicly available. Google has posted the files on GitHub, including printed circuit board schematics, 3D printing models for the dials and housing, and a complete list of required parts.
These annual experiments balance nostalgia for analog interfaces with the creative challenge of reimagining them for digital environments.
In the case of the Dial Version, the hybrid of a retro rotary mechanism and modern sensing technology offers no practical advantage over standard keyboards, but it stands as a playful example of how a mechanical design from the past can be adapted using contemporary electronics.