Ergonomic keyboard

Ergonomic keyboards, in essence, are created with the aim of minimizing discomfort in users' wrists and reducing unnecessary finger movements by rearranging or repositioning the keys.

For instance, typing on a conventional keyboard layout can force the user into shoulder elevation, wrist ulnar deviation, and head rotation.

[4]: 385  Consideration of physical ergonomics suggests the most relaxed typing position is one in which the keyboard user's forearms are parallel to the ground, with wrists held straight.

To facilitate this posture, Klockenberg published a study in 1926 that suggested the primary key clusters for two-handed typists should be split into left and right halves which are set at an angle to each other, allowing the wrists to remain straight.

[4]: 385 [5] A more detailed study was published in 1972 by Kroemer, suggesting that an adjustable split keyboard may reduce user pain.

Because electric typewriters and computer keyboards no longer need to accommodate a mechanical linkage, the keys can be set in vertical columns without staggering, minimizing lateral finger movements when moving between rows.

[20] With a relatively small market, many are custom-built or sold as kits to be assembled by the user, with extensive customization options.

Handheld ergonomic keyboards are designed to be held like a game controller, and can be used as such, instead of laid out flat on top of a table surface.

They allow the user the ability to move around a room or to lean back on a chair while also being able to type in front or away from the computer.

For example, one should be aware that the effect of “ergonomic” keyboards is to change the musculoskeletal region exposed to risk, instead of eliminating hazardous postures.