#Keyboard keypad layout update

QWERTY and Dvorak keyboards are the two most utilized keyboards. Studies show that some factors such as travel distance, amount of pressure on the key, and the tactile feedback effect muscle fatigue and discomfort. Typing performance can be affected by the keyboard layout which also helps to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Keyboards were first introduced more than 100 years ago to support the typist’s task.

#Keyboard keypad layout update

The keyboard represents one of the most popular and effective devices to insert, edit, delete and update long strings of information. The use of computers has become a necessity for all purposes. Therefore, the proposed design can be used for keyboards to reduce time and fatigue. The results showed that the distance travelled obtained by the proposed keyboard layout is less than that for the QWERTY keyboard in all different types of texts, in which an average of 6.04% improvement was achieved. Then, a genetic algorithm is applied to design an ergonomically optimized keyboard to minimize the total distance of finger travel among the selected alphanumeric characters. First, the frequency of each letter pair is calculated by the Text Analyzer. This research considers the frequency of the appearance of the most used 3,000 words in the English language. Most previous studies tried to optimize the keyboard layout based on ergonomic typing and the frequency of letters’ co-occurrence. Alternative keyboard designs help diminish the pain in the arms that occurs due to awkward arm postures. The keyboard size and shape is known to influence the user’s upper extremities. Keyboards are available in various systems, from computers to mobile devices, and have difference shapes and sizes. The application of ergonomic practices on computer workstations reduces the musculoskeletal discomfort experienced and increases the overall satisfaction of the users.

The number of people who use computers for business and personal purposes increases as technology grows.