Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.misc > #5428

Re: I Built a Keyboard

Show all headers | View raw

On Thu, 23 Oct 2014, Paul Sture wrote:

> On 2014-10-23, BartC <bc@freeuk.com> wrote:
>>
>> You mean, as a way of machine-reading what has been typed?
>>
>> Simpler (in concept at least!) might be to use a microphone, and make use of
>> the differences in the noise made by the different keys. A bit like speech
>> recognition. But it would need to be customised to each typewriter (and
>> possibly to the typist, as well as likely to make use of probabilities when
>> there is ambiguity between keys, so if T and Z sound similar, then 'cat' is
>> more likely than 'caz').
>>
>> Another way is to use a camera simply looking at which levers are moving. I
>> think this might be a better idea...
>
> That reminds me of a project I came across a few years ago where someone
> built a floppy disk stacker to automate copying them onto modern disk
> storage.
>
> He incorporated a digital camera which took a photo of each floppy before
> it was fed into floppy drive and thus acquire label images to match the
> contents of each floppy.
>
There must be some calculation somewhere to help determine at what point 
expending effort and money on side issues gives an improvement on the main 
project.

Obviously, the more repetitive work you have to do, the more "cost 
efficient" it is to figure out some scheme to automate the work.

It's not worth it at all for a single use.  A few uses might be faster by 
automation, so long as the automation doesn't take much time or effort. 
But if you've got a lot, the value goes way up.  People scanning endless 
books obviously can see the value in automating it, I waste so much time 
just scanning things I want to keep handy.

   Michael

Back to comp.misc | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

I Built a Keyboard Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-10-19 13:50 +0000
  Re: I Built a Keyboard whiskers@sleepy.cat - 2014-10-19 15:28 +0000
    Re: I Built a Keyboard Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2014-10-19 14:38 -0400
  Re: I Built a Keyboard RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-10-20 18:53 +0000
    Re: I Built a Keyboard Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2014-10-20 16:09 -0400
      Re: I Built a Keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2014-10-21 00:42 +0100
        Re: I Built a Keyboard Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2014-10-20 22:13 -0400
          Re: I Built a Keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2014-10-21 10:43 +0100
        Re: I Built a Keyboard scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us (Scott Alfter) - 2014-10-21 17:07 +0000
          Re: I Built a Keyboard RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-10-21 17:42 +0000
          Re: I Built a Keyboard Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-10-21 23:20 +0000
        Re: I Built a Keyboard Theo Markettos <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2014-10-22 14:23 +0100
          Re: I Built a Keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2014-10-23 14:22 +0100
            Re: I Built a Keyboard Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2014-10-23 14:03 -0400
            Re: I Built a Keyboard Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-10-23 22:03 +0200
              Re: I Built a Keyboard Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2014-10-24 15:44 -0400

csiph-web