NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (July 8, 2004) – A revolutionary new keyboard design has reached the next level of development with help from the NASA-funded Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP).

The patented Input Nomenclature Ten Digit Interface Device (IN10DID) is the brainchild of Wayne Rasanen, a television director and editor, who was motivated by his desire to find a more efficient keyboard design.

“In my research, I discovered that the ‘qwerty’ design was invented shortly after the Civil War and the letters were spaced quite oddly so that the hammers of the old manual typewriters wouldn’t jam,” Rasanen said. “It seemed bizarre to me that we’re still using a system that was designed 130 years ago to be inefficient, so I decided to create something more appropriate for the 21st century.”

The resulting keyboard concept reduces the mechanical keyboard from more than 100 keys to only 10 keys, one for each finger. The 10-key format provides complete keyboard functionality in a variety of convenient configurations and is perfect for increasing usability in various small, mobile devices.

Rasanen had a basic schematic but needed assistance to improve the design, as well as reduce or simplify the hardware components in order to proceed with the development of a prototype. While serving on the board of the Tampa Bay Inventors Council, he heard about SATOP and applied to the Titusville-based program for help.
SATOP provides free engineering assistance to small businesses with technical challenges through donations of expertise from 49 Space Alliance Partners, including NASA field centers and aerospace contractors.

SATOP put Rasanen in touch with Dan Kovach, an electrical engineer with The Boeing Company who also is an electronic hobbyist and inventor. “I enjoy working with microprocessors and circuit designs and I found IN10DID fascinating because the concept was well-defined, but needed circuit design help,” Kovach said.

Kovach used his 20 years of expertise in electronics to simplify the IN10DID schematics and find newer and better components for the design, which now will be smaller, more advanced, and easier and less expensive to manufacture. Kovach also referred Rasanen to a fellow engineer, Andy Tucker, who has helped prepare a preliminary prototype that Rasanen recently demonstrated at a major technology show.

“I have been amazed at the dedication and energy that Dan and SATOP have demonstrated in solving my challenge,” Rasanen said. “Dan even conducted related research while he was on vacation and the final document he presented was practically a thesis.”

Rasanen hopes that his technology eventually can benefit NASA in return for the help he has received. “IN10DID can be used in gloves to type without a keyboard, so I could see astronauts using the system during space walks,” he said. “We’ve taken a huge leap forward with SATOP’s assistance and I hope we can give back to the Space Program one day.”