The keyboard created using LASERS: $150 gadget projects keys onto any flat surface

Smartphones and tablets are great for sending texts and short emails, but it can be frustrating typing a long response on tiny digital keyboards.

An 'Epic Laser Keyboard' aims to solve this problem, by projecting a full-size Qwerty keyboard onto any flat surface.

This means users could whip the pocket-sized device out of their pocket and use it with their tablet, for example, to turn a table or car dashboard into a digital typewriter.

The Epic Laser Keyboard projects a full-size Qwerty keyboard onto any flat surface (illustrated). This means people could use the portable device in a bar or cafe for example

Developed by Celluon in Seoul, South Korea, the product is the size of a matchbox and the company claims 'so much innovation and productivity' is packed inside.

The projector uses Bluetooth to connect with smartphones, tablets and laptops made by Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry.

It must be placed on a flat surface to beam a full-size Qwerty keyboard on opaque worktops, making glass tables impractical.

A built-in battery means it can be used for up to two hours on one charge and the projector can even be used as a virtual multi-touch mouse, the company said.

It will track a user's finger back and forth, as if they are using a mouse, with gestures allowing them to click, drag and zoom by 'pinching' 

Users could whip the pocket-sized device out of their pocket and use it with their tablet, for example, to turn a table or car dashboard into a digital typewriter (pictured)

Developed by Celluon in Seoul, South Korea, the product is the size of a matchbox (shown) and the company claims 'so much innovation and productivity' is packed inside

The Celluon Epic Laser Keyboard has a recommended retail price of $149 (£100) but can be found for around $99 (£66) on Bestbuy and Amazon, for example.

It is not the first keyboard projector on the market and in 2014, HP launched a PC with a projector and 3D cameras.

The HP Sprout combines a 23-inch touchscreen display with an interactive touch mat, in place of a standard keyboard and mouse.

A projector on top of the monitor scans objects, and it can track a user's hands when using a virtual keyboard below.

The projector must be placed on a flat surface to beam a full-size Qwerty keyboard on opaque worktops, making glass tables impractical. Here, it is shown being used in a bar

The projector uses Bluetooth to connect with smartphones, tablets and laptops made by Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry. Here, a user types an email using the virtual keyboard

The computer went on sale in the US in November 2014 for $1,899 (£1,180) and was later rolled out in the UK.

The projector, dubbed the HP Illuminator, is fitted with Intel's RealSense 3D technology, similar to Microsoft's Kinect, and combines a 14.6MP camera, the projector itself, and an LED desk lamp.

This camera system means it is able to beam images on to the mat, but can also be used to scan physical objects.

Once an object has been scanned, a virtual copy can be manipulated in 2D and 3D either on the touchscreen, or on the mat, using a stylus, or touchscreen controls such as pinch and swipe.

During the launch event, HP executives demonstrated how various items from pens and cups to figurines and pictures can be scanned, tacked onto existing images or video, edited then emailed or shared through social media.

And when a virtual keyboard is beamed onto the mat, the cameras can also track the location of fingers to plot what they type using its 20-point capacitive sensors.  

A built-in battery means it can be used for up to two hours on one charge and the projector can even be used as a virtual multi-touch mouse, the company said. Here it is used with a smartphone

The Celluon gadget is not the first keyboard projector on the market. In 2014, HP launched a PC with a projector and 3D cameras. The HP Sprout (pictured) combines a 23-inch touchscreen display with an interactive touch mat, in place of a standard keyboard and mouse

SMART KEYBOARD COULD REPLACE YOUR PASSWORDS 

Analysing your typing could mean the end of passwords, researchers have claimed.

They found each user has a unique typing style due to variables such as the amount of force applied to the key and the length of time between one keystroke and the next.

And this can be identified by a smart keyboard.

The team said it could one day be used to automatically identify and log in someone from just a few keystrokes.

'This has the potential to be a new means for identifying users,' said Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led the project.

The intelligent keyboard (pictured) records each letter touched, and also captures information about the amount of force applied to the key and the length of time between one keystroke and the next

'With this system, a compromised password would not allow a cyber-criminal onto the computer. The way each person types even a few words is individual and unique.'

To evaluate the authentication potential of the keyboard, the research team asked 104 people to type the word 'touch' four times, and recorded the electrical patterns produced.

Using signal analysis techniques, they were able to differentiate individual typing patterns with low error rates, Wang said.

The keyboard works by analysing parameters such as the force applied by key presses and the time interval between them.

The self-powered device also generates electricity when a user's fingertips contact the multi-layer plastic materials that make up the device.

'This intelligent keyboard changes the traditional way in which a keyboard is used for information input,' said Wang.