Title: Adaptive Keyboard (2010)
By: Microsoft
Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/content/projects/uist.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/content/projects/AdaptiveHardware.aspx
All the microsoft research projects
Image: on my Flickr

Concept:
A keyboard with dynamic keys, changing of appearance and function (not necessary letters)
Description:
What’s an Adaptive Keyboard? It is a research prototype developed by Microsoft Hardware to explore how combining display and input capabilities in a keyboard can allow users to be more productive. The keyboard incorporates a large, touch-sensitive display strip at the top. In addition, the display continues underneath the keys, allowing the legends to be modified in real time. This lets you do things like change the character set to a different language or display command icons.

Opinion:
A very interesting prototype to make keyboards a new nonverbal tool of communication with other symbols than letters without to change the traditional context of use of the keyboard device

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojusRO38Tdc]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0MEhKk9xg4]