Virtual Keyboard - Research Proposal Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Research Proposal on Virtual keyboard 1.0 Introduction Virtual keyboard is a projection of the QWERTY keyboard on a surface by means of laser beams (Jacko 40). A person is only required to click on the image and an electronic signal will be sent replicating the intended letter. The Virtual Device Inc. has created a flashlight gadget to assist in the image projection of an actual keyboard. Virtual keyboards are an innovation from the QWERTY keyboard that used by all computers. The previous keyboard consisted of buttons and was wired to the computer which makes it difficult to move around. Also, the revolution of today’s computer trend has influenced the development of virtual keyboard. This is occasioned by present day smartphones, PDA which operate with a touch screen and hence the need for a virtual keyboard (Nagamalai 50). Unlike the previous keyboard the virtual keyboard also smaller characters making it easy to use. This has been achieved by displaying numerical and alphabetical characters separately. Virtual keyboard also allows users to write different languages meaning it can be applied all over the world without any hesitation as to language. This paper looks in depth about the virtual keyboard. It also describes the various virtual keyboards that are available to the users and, at the same time explain the advantages and disadvantages that accompany each type of virtual keyboard. 1.2 Historical Background Originally virtual keyboards were created for persons with disability. This was to help them to carry out the daily activities without actually needing assistance from other people. This made them independent (Hirose 600). However, as we all know technology is dynamic meaning it is always progressing. New gadgets such as smartphones, PDA’s started cropping up which were touch screen and therefore differing from the regular phones that were characterized with button keypads (Kim 70). This meant that virtual keyboards were the preferred way sending commands to the gadgets compared to the voice command system. The voice command was not accurate and was limited to specific languages and thus the virtual keyboard proved the better option as it is accurate and allows multi lingual (Sherman 100). The use of programs to predict letters by matching them with handwriting on a tablet have also proven inaccurate, leaving the virtual keyboard as the better option. 1.3 Objective This paper will try to look at how this technology has impacted the technological world since its inception. Does the technology affect people positively or negatively? To achieve this, the project, puts in mind health issues associated with the use of the virtual keyboard as it uses laser beams to work. The paper will also look at the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology and also the different ways of improving this technology to suit the day to day activities. This paper also tries to provide assistance on how to use the virtual keyboard to those who have difficulties with this technology. To achieve this, the project will rely on books and articles discussing virtual machine. Questionnaires will also be used to assess the virtual keyboard applicability in the day to day activities. 2.0 Target market of Virtual keyboard technology As described above, virtual keyboards were initially made for people with disability but with advancement in technology, Smartphone manufactures and PDA manufacturers adopted the virtual keyboard technology. Virtual laser keyboards were found to be very compatible with PDA’s as well as Smartphones and have replaced millions of foldout keyboard that were being used for hand held cellular phones. Therefore, the target market of virtual keyboards is mainly the physically challenged as well as the PDA and Smartphone users. According to a research conducted in a US in regards to the Smartphone market, from a sample of 600 people, the results indicated that out of adult respondents intending to buy a smart phone in the next six months, 73% already own a Smartphone while 23% do not own a smart phone. The results were as indicate below. It is important to note that all the smart phones that were used by respondents were making use of a virtual keyboard (Hayward,1). A personal Development Assistant on the other hand refers to a device that is handheld and it assists the users to organize their lives while on their move. The PDA was originally made to store phone numbers, calendar appointment and keeping addresses. However, PDAs have been upgraded to work as a mobile phone, fax machine and even provide internet activities. It has therefore found the need to use virtual keyboard to allow its users to navigate with ease. The other virtual keyboard target users are the users of tablet computers and e-readers. According to a research conducted by Internet and America Life Survey, 25%of respondents owned a tablet (one in every four) and ownership of e-readers had increased to 19% by November 2012. A survey conducted after November 2012 indicate that every two out of three owned a tablet computer and the other one owned an e-reader (Lunden ,1). According to this survey the number of people using e-readers, notepads or both has been growing over years as indicated below. Therefore in general, our target market is 73% of the US young adults who either own a smart phone, PDA, e-readers and tablet computers (Lunden, 1). 3.0Adoption curve of the Virtual Keyboard Technology According to the Diffusion of Innovation theory, innovations are communicated through several channels over a period of time. Different consumers have different levels of willingness to adopt an innovation. There are four different types of innovators: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Each member of this category has different characteristics. Innovators are group of customers who are risk takers, very educated, very well informed and venture some. Early adopters on the other hand are opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early majority adopt innovation after it has been proved that it can work. The large majority adopt the technology after being referred by others. They are skeptical, have low social economic status and are traditional. Finally, the laggards are risk averse and have fear of debts. Early innovators are hungry for new technology and they love to have the latest innovations even if it does not fully fulfill their needs. Early adopters like to have those products that have been there for a while so that it is not risky for them to buy a technology that has not been proved to work. These are the groups that make up the largest proportion of users of virtual keyboard technology (BYU,1). The adoption curve of virtual technology appears as follows: 4.0 Porter’s five factor model The porter’s model provides basis for assessing channels of competition. By analyzing the industry using this model, one will be able to understand the strategic positioning, get insight into the expected profit margin and be in a position to decide to either enter or exit the industry (Morrison, 2011). The diagram below shows an industrial analysis of the information technology where virtual keyboard fall in 4.1Threat of New Entrants Due to its rapid growth and appealing customer base, the IT industry is relatively attractive to new entrants. However, capital requirement for entering this industry pose a high entry barrier for the newcomers (Bauer 1). For instance, developing a virtual keyboard requires huge capital investment since developers require software that are trained to interpret the tremors typing fingers produce on the particular surface used. Therefore any new entrant should expect strong retaliation from existing players since they have already established major brands making the industry not too attractive to newcomers. For newcomer to be successful in this industry, the best way would be if they have a brand new idea for a service or product they should differentiate is completely from the existing innovations already in place. 4.2 Rivalry among Existing Players The IT industry is well known for its competition, growth, and effectiveness. One of the reasons when newcomers are not successful is because of intense rivalry among existing players. Virtual keyboard has faced intense competition from the existing physical keyboards which command a huge market share enabling it benefit from economies of scale which is very valuable to a business. In this industry, products are well branded and to have a strong consumer base. Moreover, market share among existing player is unevenly distributed leading to advertising and promotion battles with one another (Bauer 4). 4.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers: Information technology is a very large industry therefore the term “buyers” refers to almost everyone in the world. A majority of locations in the world have access to computer and internet which are behind technologically and given the large number of buyers, it is safe to say that the customer control the IT industry (Bauer 2). Switching cost is minimal as customers have so many choices and there they not typically locked in to one company. In addition, since most of Information technology sales come from firms that make large purchases, these firms are very power important to the IT companies. For instance the main customers of virtual keyboard developers are large mobile phone companies which develop smart phones such as apple Samsung, and Nokia companies and they are also very powerful. Consumers in this industry are very sensitive to price but information technology services and products are essential for the success of businesses and therefore these buyers will be willing to spend a lot of money to get quality products and services e.g. every mobile phone company wants a virtual keyboard to develop smart phone which are on high demand in the market. Due to the need for training to the use of products as well as constant upgrading, there are typically many interactions between buyers and IT firms. 4.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The major inputs in the IT industry are standard with difference being memory and speed. Even though IT inputs are standard, new suppliers find it difficult to enter the industry due to the existing relationship between current suppliers and IT companies. Since IT companies are the primary customers of suppliers they are very important to them but I believe also that suppliers are very to IT firms as they are mot “locked” into deals with specific firm (Bauer 1). 4.5 Threat from Substitutes In the IT industry there is no much threat from substitutes mostly because there are no true substitutes. Since we live in a digital age we are now relying on information technology to run our businesses and lives (Bauer 2). For instance, virtual keyboard’s substitute is type writers but when you compare the two products type writers can never replace virtual keyboard. 4.6 A conclusion about the attractiveness of the industry as a result of your analysis Industry attractiveness refers to the ease of making profit in an industry in relation to the risk involved (Barney & Hesterly 76). This analysis is mostly undertaken by new entrance to determine whether to invest or not in a particular business. From the above analysis, the IT industry is not an attractive industry to invest in. To start with, there are many entrance barriers to this industry which include: high start up cost, brand name recognition, established distribution channels and post-entry competition. Brand identity poses the most significant threat for all new firms intending to join the industry as they have to launch their product alongside companies that have already established their brand. The buyer power is also high. The main customers of virtual keyboard developers are large mobile phone companies which develop smart phones such as apple Samsung, and Nokia companies and they are very powerful. When buyers’ power is high and the switching is very low, the IT Company can lose customers to the competitor very easily and this increase the retention cost of customers. Finally, there is intense rivalry among existing players which makes the industry less attractive to investors. 5.0 Benefits of virtual keyboard technology 5.1 Portability One of the most vital benefits of virtual keyboard technology is the ease by which these keyboards are compatible with smaller hardware. As the mobile computing industry seek to embrace miniaturization, the main focus is on ensuring quality data input. One of those data input devices is a keyboard. For those people who feel that the keys on their smartphones, PDA’s and tablets have small keyboard keys than those of a regular keyboard, virtual laser keyboard which is projected by a small device makes it possible for them to have a full size keyboard for all their data input. They have an added advantage as this virtual keyboard is easily portable from one place to another (Highland, 1). 5.2 Appearance Style is very important when developing a portable technology. According to Pittsburgh Business Time, the visual appearance of all mobile technology greatly determines the success of that product just like its functionality. Contrary to other forms of technology that have been introduced in the past, virtual keyboard technology fits very well in the minds of the consumers as its functionality draws a lot of attention. As a perfect attention grabber for example, virtual laser keyboards are able to project the image of a keyboard into the air to allow the user control even in absence of a flat surface (Highland, 1). 5.3 Maintenance Contrary to the physical keyboards, virtual keyboards do not have any moving parts and their functionality does not require any actual contact with any device. Whereas the conventional hardware is vulnerable to damages through drops, spills and other malfunctions, the virtual keyboards are easy to maintain. The developers of these devices tag these devices are ‘damage free’ which gives them a vital advantage to the marketing of this technology (Highland,1). 5.4 Flexibility As compared to the physical keyboards, virtual keyboards are more flexible in that the layout of the virtual keyboard can be changed therefore allowing alternative or foreign keyboard layouts (Highland, 1). 6.0 Shortcomings of virtual keyboard technology 6.1 Sound The virtual keyboard does not have sound a feature which is available for the physical keyboard especially the spacebar. The virtual keyboard has tried to make ths feature work but response from users indicates that that feature has failed (McKinlay, 1). 6.2 Tactile Feedback This is another feature that the virtual keyboard technology has not been able to offer which is that feedback you get when you press keys on a physical keyboard. This means that when you press an extra button while typing, you can feel it and correct it with speed without having to rely entirely on the screen (McKinlay, 1). 6.3 Better Positioning With a physical keyboard, you can position the screen where you want it to be relative to the screen. However in the case of a virtual keyboard, you have to compromise between being able to see the screen and being able to type on it. However, this shortcoming has been overcoming by making it possible to project the keyboard on a surface comfortable to the user (McKinlay, 2012). 7.0 Impact of virtual keyboard technology on Businesses, Individuals and the society Even though the companies has installed lots of computers the workplaces where workers work on them when they come to the office and start typing in the physical keyboard connected to the system, staffs in the field may not be able to communicate with the administration people if they don’t have access to a computer and internet (Ojha,1). To avoid losing communication with the administration, the field staffs have now been given mobile devices that have advance features of connecting devices and a virtual keyboard which is operated through the laser technology (Ojha, 1). Virtual keyboard technology has also had a positive impact on individuals as they can keep their mobile phones anywhere and connect the connecting device to operate the virtual keyboard. With a virtual keyboard, they don’t need a physical keyboard to key in data on their computers making it easy, efficient and faster since the virtual keyboard will no malfunction as compared to the physical keyboard. This technology has an impact on the society since artificial environment is very similar with the real world. The virtual technology can also be used in simulation for combat or pilot since there is no danger (Alicesa 2). 8.0 Conclusion From the above analysis, we can conclude that the developers need to keep on improving on this technology so as to overcome the shortcomings. Moreover, with advancement in technology, the threat of new entrants as well as substitution is high and therefore there is need for the developers to add more features to this technology as well as make modifications to overcome the shortcomings. Majority of the users of virtual keyboard technology are young adults who make the largest proportion of smartphones, PDAs, tablet and e-readers users which all make use of this technology. This technology will be widely adopted as indicated by the adoption curve whereby, the majority of the users are innovators, early adopters and early majority. Work cited Alicesa (2011) Impact of HCI on Society retrieved on 14th March 2011 from http://a- http://a-shci.blogspot.com/2011/03/impact-of-hci-on-society.html BYU (2013). Diffusion of innovations theory. Retrieved on 14th February 2013 from http://istheory.byu.edu/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations_theory Barney, J. B and Hesterly, W. S (2008) Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage Pearson Prentice Hall Bauer C (2013), Information Technology Industry ADMN703, Porter's Five Forces Model Hirose, Michitaka. Human computer Interaction: INTERACT ‘01: IFIP TC.13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Tokyo: IOS Press Press, 2001. Print. Jacko, Julie A, ed. Human Computer Interaction Ambient: Ubiquitous and Intelligent Interaction. San Diego: Springer, 2009. Print. Kim, G., and Gerard Jounghyun Kim. Designing Virtual Reality Systems: the Structured Approach. New York: Springer, 2005. Print. Mike Morrison 2011 Porters Five Forces, Competitor Analysis retrieved on 14th March 2011 from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/USER/Desktop/strategy/Michael%20Porter%27s%20Five%20Forces%20-%20Competitor%20Analysis%20_%20RapidBI%20-%20Rapid%20Business%20Improvement.htm Nagamalai, Dhinaharan, Eric Renault, and Murugan Dhanuskodi. Trends in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology. New York: Springer, 2011. Print. Sherman, William R, and Alan B Craig. Understanding Virtual reality: Interface, Application and Design. Massachusetts: Morgan Kaufman, 2003. Print. McKinlay J (2012) 10 Reasons Why I Like Physical Keyboards over Virtual Keyboards Retrieved on 14th March 2013 from http://www.lockergnome.com/hardware/2012/06/18/ten-reasons-why-i-like-physical-keyboards-virtual-keyboards/ Ojha (2013) Business Organizations Insist Employees to Use Virtual Keyboard for Communication, retrieved on 14th March 2011 from http://www.sooperarticles.com/technology-articles/hardware-articles/business-organizations-insist-employees-use-virtual-keyboard-communication-1153855.html Highland J (2012), The Advantages of a Virtual Laser Keyboard. Retrieved on 14th March 2013 from http://www.ehow.com/list_5772511_advantages-virtual-laser-keyboard.html Lunden I (2013) One In Four Americans Owns A Tablet, Overtaking E-Readers, As Printed Book Consumption Continues To Decline: Pew. Retrieved on 14th March 2013 from http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/27/one-in-four-americans-owns-a-tablet-overtaking-e-readers-as-printed-book-consumption-continues-to-decline-pew/ Hayward M (2012) Smartphone Marketing: 4 Predictive Targeting Tips Give Marketers More Predictive ROI. Retrieved on 14th March 2013 from http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/smartphone-marketing-4-predictive-targeting-tips-marketers/1 Read More