If you missed the live stream, we have the VOD below! This is a compelling discussion about the benefits of having an analog keyboard – definitely worth watching if you are a dedicated PC gamer!
You might not have heard of the company or the technology yet, but Aimpad is set to bring about another drastic change to the world of gaming keyboards. Lance Madsen will join us from Aimpad to talk about the idea of an analog keyboard, and why having keys that aren't simply on or off can benefit gamers as they strive to find the best possible experiences.
In our live stream we will be talking about the technology that makes it work, how it will be integrated into future keyboards, and walk through a handful of demonstrations of the technology at work on a prototype keyboard integration.
Aimpad Analog Keyboard Live Stream
1pm PT / 4pm ET – May 23rd
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The event will take place Tuesday, May 23rd at 4pm ET / 1pm PT at https://www.pcper.com/live. There you’ll be able to catch the live video stream as well as use our chat room to interact with the audience, asking questions for me and Lance to answer live.
If you have questions, please leave them in the comments below and we'll look through them just before the start of the live stream. Of course you'll be able to tweet us questions @pcper and we'll be keeping an eye on the IRC chat as well for more inquiries. What do you want to know and hear from Tom or I?
So join us! Set your calendar for this coming Tuesday at 4pm ET / 1pm PT and be here at PC Perspective to catch it. If you are a forgetful type of person, sign up for the PC Perspective Live mailing list that we use exclusively to notify users of upcoming live streaming events including these types of specials and our regular live podcast. I promise, no spam will be had!
Tuesday is May 23rd and not
Tuesday is May 23rd and not the 22nd. Google calendar entry says 23rd as well, so I assume the 23rd is correct.
You are correct, jtiger102.
You are correct, jtiger102. The date has been fixed. Thanks for catching that!
Is the analog functionality
Is the analog functionality increasing the system response (latency?) when depressing the keys? I’m not sure I understand exactly how this works but I would guess that the analog signal has to be decoded into digital then sent to the system. Have they measured response time vs standard on/off keyboards?
The sensors appears to be
The sensors appears to be similar to how optical mouse works. Thou, latency is an interesting factor compared to top gaming keyboards, but could be a challenge to measure as it’s per increment change and not simply on/off.
From the videos, it seems
From the videos, it seems these keys are applicable to only a select few. Is the whole keyboard analog? What if you want to press multiple keys at once, will the keys lock? Imagine playing a split-screen flight simulator on the same keyboard.
What about long-term. Will debris such as dust or food crumb be an issue for the LED and infrared sensors?
What about wireless? You have wireless gamepads, but their circuit is also smaller than a keyboard. Would wireless be a future possibility? What about latency?
I would hope that the
I would hope that the manufacturer that puts this technology in it’s retail keyboards will allow custom mapping besides the very useful predefined mappings.
From the podcast, I would
From the podcast, I would believe this would be on the game/software developer side as you can custom map your keys in some games as it is.
The keyboard is read like a Xbox360 and Mouse, hence the limited amount of analog keys. But the limit is also to reduce manufacturing cost until it becomes a standard where all keys can have this functionality.
Those bracket keys though…
Those bracket keys though… maybe a vertical offset would have been better.