The VirtualKeyboard

The VirtualKeyboard Review

Detailed Description:

The VirtualKeyboard project, which was initiated under the framework of the Chairs that Indra supports in collaboration with the Adecco Foundation, makes it possible to write text using any type of device with the capacity to control the movement of the cursor on the screen, such as a mouse, joystick or touchpad, among others.

The use of the application, which can be downloaded at http://robotica.udl.cat, is completely intuitive and does not require any prior training. Furthermore, it complements and extends the use of the virtual HeadMouse, created in 2008 by the Chair, which allows the cursor to be controlled by using the eyes and which has registered over 225,000 downloads.

The VirtualKeyboard

At the presentation of the VirtualKeyboard, Dr. JordiPalacín, professor at the University of Lleida and Scientific Director of the Indra-Adecco Foundation Chair, drew special attention to the use of this revolutionary tool “capable of helping people with motor disabilities around the world. In Spain alone, there are over 1,500,000 users who could benefit from this”. VirtualKeyboard works using an application that appears on the computer screen and allows text to be written by pressing on a virtual key pad.

The system incorporates innovative technologies, such as word prediction, which makes it possible to reduce the number of clicks needed to write a text of between 15,000 and 20,000 words by 40%.

VirtualKeyboard comes with 5 dictionaries: Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Italian. It also has an automatic learning system that makes it possible to expand the word database in any language based on the Roman alphabet.