TypeSafe: Hand-worn Device for Promoting Healthy Typing Habits

Tomislav Pejsa

The goal of my project is to build a hand-worn device that promotes healthier postures and habits during keyboard typing. The device will track the wearer’s typing activity and hand posture; it will provide auditory and haptic warnings about stressful postures; and it will alert them to take period breaks. The device will also record data about daily keyboard usage for later download and analysis.

Device will include the following parts: wristband housing the microcontroller, buzzer and/or vibe, and battery; ring with an IMU. May also include a MicroSD card reader and an electromagnetic sensor for better typing detection. The total price of all parts will be $80+.

Project plan:

1. Build a prototype that can capture hand tracking data

2. Perform analysis of the captured data [milestone: mid-Nov.]

3. Develop heuristic activity and posture classifiers

4. Iteratively build prototypes and improve/fix sensing and classification [milestone: end of Nov. for first iteration]

5. Implement recording and download of usage statistics

6. Build final prototype

Fallback: Simplify and shed features. Usage recording gets the axe first.