Development of an Ergonomically-Programmed Keyboard Layout for English, Tagalog, and Taglish Languages using Python Software

Abstract

The use of computers, especially for school-works or office-related activities, has been vital in recent years. Nowadays, in the Philippines, English and Tagalog languages are alternately used for formal writing, while Taglish is often used for informal writing. Either means of type-written communication is highly dependent on the use of computer keyboards. The most used keyboard layout today is the QWERTY layout, which based on previous studies, was not designed ergonomically. Hence, this study aims to develop ergonomic keyboard layouts that are more fit than the QWERTY layout, in terms of utilizing finger strength and encouraging finger and hand alternation, for typing in English, Tagalog, and Taglish. The keyboard layouts were developed with the use of Python programming language. The layouts were developed considering factors such as finger strength, finger alternation, and hand alternation and were evaluated using the Text Analysis (TA) points computed based on the previously-mentioned factors and the distance travelled by each finger. Of the 12 proposed layouts, layouts 2 and 4 ease hand movement when typing English, Tagalog, and Taglish words as compared to the QWERTY keyboard layout.