This week I made the virtual keyboard geometry match the Mac layout horizontally. I changed the layout math so that the 10 main keys in each typing row (number row, QWERTY row, A row, and Z row) all share the same column widths instead of being scaled differently per row. Before this change, rows with large peripheral keys (like tab, caps lock, or shift) would cause the letter keys in that row to shrink, so diagonals like “qaz” and “wsx” didn’t line up exactly. Now the letter/number block is fixed and the peripheral keys flex to fill the leftover space, which keeps the total row width the same. I also pulled the number row into this system so “1qaz,” “2wsx,” “3edc,” and so on are now consistent across all rows. I also updated the camera setup so that on phones and tablets we use the front camera by default instead of the back camera.
I am on schedule and finishing up the keyboard layout and key decision.
Next week I want to clean up the non-letter keys (the space row, including the arrows). I also want to use the phone/tablet stand that arrived to do a perspective test: put a printed Mac keyboard in frame, put the device on the stand, and see what top-bottom ratio and height make our rendered keyboard match the real one. From that, I can pick better defaults for users so they don’t have to drag the sliders every time (they would only adjust them when they want something different, with the default matching the real keyboard). Finally, I want to start integrating with Joyce’s part so that her tap detector uses my key under fingertip mapping now that the horizontal columns are actually correct.