Irish company BeeRaider has developed a new keyboard design specifically for modern-day usage and, having already launched a touchscreen app demonstrating the layout, is seeking investment to deliver a physical product in 2013.

The QWERTY keyboard that we all use today was originally developed to stop the most frequently used keys on manual typewriters from jamming when typing too fast.

BeeRaider believes that this 19th-century design needs a 21st-century overhaul that fits within the context of today’s technology. The company’s aim was to create a design that would be both logical and ergonomic for efficient data entry.

Advantages over QWERTY

The radical new design from the Drogheda-based company claims many advantages over the standard QWERTY keyboard that we use today.

The bee-shaped layout allows for either one-handed or two-handed typing, while also making room for increased area size of the keys.

The company says the design also scales well and is suitable for touchscreen portable devices. Users can test this theory for themselves by downloading the BeeRaider Keyboard app for Android and giving the design a test drive on their smartphones or tablets.

A QWERTY layout has been retained in one version of the design, but BeeRaider has also created an optimised alpha-character efficient layout, which takes the frequency with which we use each character into account.

Encouraging reception at CE-Week’s Innovation Zone

Fresh from CE-Week, the trade show of the US Consumer Electronics Association which took place in New York City on 26-28 June, BeeRaider was one of 10 specially selected exhibitors in the ‘Innovation Zone’ and was well received by attendees.

BeeRaider is now seeking to license its design and to find investment to bring a physical keyboard to market in 2013.