A French company, Quindar SA, based in Cambrai, says that it will start shipping the world’s first all-optical keyboards next spring. Use of optics means that the things will not emit any electromagnetic radiation and therefore will be completely undetectable by eavesdroppers, making them attractive for military, government classified, and financial applications, the Agence France Presse news agency reports. The company claims that elimination of electrical contacts will make the keyboards unusually reliable and that they are particularly durable. Quindar is a joint venture between France’s biggest keyboard manufacturer, Pendar Industries SA, which employs 180 people and looks for $10m of business this year, and contract research and development outfit Quintel SA. Quindar plans to make several thousand of the new keyboards next year, and looks for them to generate $1.7m in business for the new company in the first year of marketing. The company gave no indication of prices.
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