this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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TAIKO-01 Keyboard Kickstarter Ends July 1 [vendor] (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by udc@lemmy.world to c/ergomechkeyboards@lemmy.world
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give a quick heads-up for anyone who might have missed it, there are only 7 days left on the Kickstarter campaign for the TAIKO-01 keyboard!

If you haven’t seen it yet, there's some background here: https://lemmy.world/post/47465897.

You can find the campaign and all the details here:

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/taikohub/taiko-01-keyboard

Official Site: https://taiko.taikohub.com/

What do you guys think of the layout and design? Anyone here already backed it?

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[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Compared to a Scylla

  • One fewer key on each thumb cluster (2 fewer total)
  • One extra key under each middle/ring finger (4 extra total)
  • Not 3D printed
    • I think this should be called out more prominently in the Kickstarter/webpage
    • Many similar keyboards are 3D printed, which is generally considered to be a cheaper product than an injection molded product. Most people will likely assume this final product is 3D printed, especially after seeing all the mentions of 3D printed prototypes
    • I had to scroll through the official website quite a bit to find a definitive answer to whether or not this is 3D printed
  • Hot swappable
  • No lighting
  • I cannot tell how the halves connect to each other. USB-C or TRRS?
[–] udc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks for the feedback. I'll edit it so the injection mold part is more prominent. Yeah I'm not aware of any concave keyboards that are injection molded that are hotdwappable.

It's TRS, which works with TRS and TRRS cords. I tried "mocking" a USB-C port and asking for feedback and got some people confused which port goes where, so just went with TRS in the end. It's not TRRS also because it doesn't with with TRS, whereas the opposite is true.

I used to sell dactyl minis like the one you pointed out. What I've found from customer feedback was that the thumb cluster needed to be improved. Specifically regarding 4 keys that make a square. Users reported they needed to move their thumbs in an uncomfortable way to avoid hitting the 2 keys that are closer, when reaching for the 2 keys that are further away.

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Holy shit, that's a lot of money.

I like the design, I'm just wondering if you wouldn't be able to throw in a track ball or something like this in addition. I don't like switching from keyboard to mouse.

[–] udc@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah track ball would need to be a later addition. Just trying to keep things simple for now to avoid extending the timeline too much. It can take 2-3 months just to manufacture the molds alone nevermind revisions.

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I can imagine, it would still be great though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] udc@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Thanks! Oh and another thing regarding price is we're hoping to register it as a medical device at some point so that it can be covered by insurance. But just because I'm only familiar with US/Canada medical device regulations, we would prioritize US/Canada first.

[–] MxRemy@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Whoaaa I totally missed this, it rules!!! Wish I could afford one, but definitely gonna chuck a few bucks in regardless

[–] udc@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thank! Glad you like it! Yeah I understand. The mold cost is very high since the geometry is complex.

[–] MxRemy@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's a totally understandable price, I'm just broke lol 😝

Just pledged! I didn't see on the kickstarter, sorry if I missed it, but will this be open sourced? Also, would you consider looking into PHA for the injection molding in the future? Wayyyyyy more environmentally friendly, and pretty sturdy to boot!

[–] udc@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It wouldn't be open source. The main reason is because we want to do a clinical trial on split & curved keyboards and need to get govt funding. It'd cost >$100k. I've tried applying for grants already and was rejected because they wanted to see a patent. So it can't really be open source. I was thinking if we got a large enough Kicksarter that we might not need grant funding (or enough sales after). But that isn't looking like it'll happen haha. Which is fine, just got to keep chugging along. I've thought of a few ways around this to still give back to the community. But either open sourcing parts of it that are not covered by the patent or, from what I've seen some medical device companies do, dedicate a portion of profits to provide the product for free for people who can't afford it. But yeah I mean this keyboard was built on the back of giants so giving back is an obvious thing we need to do.

[–] MxRemy@piefed.social 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

That makes sense to me, not much choice there it seems. Could always jusy release the patent early once it's done what it's needed for 👍

[–] udc@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Right that's true

[–] algernon@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've been drooling over the open tab ever since the Kickstarter went up. I have many keyboards from my firmware hacking days, but one with a keywell is missing from my collection. Sadly can't afford it, but it'll remain on my wishlist, so whenever that changes, whenever I'll be able to afford one, I will get one.

I'm not sure it would replace my Keyboardio Model 100 (the thumb key on that is just so incredibly useful), but it's the closest thing I've seen so far.

Good luck!

[–] udc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks!