Google Japan’s 2026 Gboard project replaces a fixed keyboard layout with keys carried on a moving belt, designed for one-handed use.
The project is presented as a joke rather than a product for sale, but its plans are available on GitHub for anyone who wants to build the mechanism.
Google says the keyboard is designed for one-handed use. The user waits to reach the key they want, rather than moving their hand. The company humorously claims that this reduces fatigue. The designs are available on GitHub for anyone who wants to build one themselves.
The idea continues the Gboard team in Japan's tradition of showing off bizarre keyboard designs. In 2010, it showed off a keyboard that looked like a drum kit, and in 2012, it showed off a single-key keyboard for writing Morse code. Since 2016, the team has started showing off its proposals on October 1st. Morse code writing was added to Gboard for Android in 2018.
Among the next ideas were keyboards with cards that turned, a robotic finger operated by a controller, a party blower or bubble wrap, and a spoon that bent.
In 2023, the team showed a hat-shaped keyboard that the user would rotate on their head to select characters. In 2024, it showed a keyboard shaped like a twisted strip with keys on both sides, while in 2025, it showed a model that resembled a rotary phone.
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