Pressure-Sensitive Keyboard and Interesting Tidbits From Microsoft’s Labs

Some journalists from Crunch Gear and other blogs got to do a tour of Microsoft Labs recently and had a variety of interesting projects and facilities to report back on.

The most interesting focal point of the tour was Microsoft’s pressure-sensitive keyboard, which works much the same as a regular keyboard, but registers the amount of pressure that you press the keys with toward producing different actions–such as producing versions of the letter in different sizes. The keyboard contains no keydown limit, so you can press multiple keys at once and register all of them. While it has a variety of potential applications, it would be quite well-suited to gamers who would be able to perform actions such as running and jumping simply by pressing the keys at different pressures. According to Crunch Gear’s Devin Coldewey, it worked very well for gaming purposes and was quite sensitive. Check it out in the video after the break.

Another interesting point that wowed several of the journalists was Microsoft’s anechoic chamber, where Microsoft tests its audio gear. The chamber is specially-designed to completely deaden sound from inside and out so that the only thing that one is able to hear is the sound wave being tested. Looking a bit like a torture room, the room features a vast array of triangular structures that are used to absorb sound. Creepy, but apparently quite effective. [via Crunch Gear and Gizmodo]