Bobby Towers' Trochee Is a Parameterized, 3D-Printable, Raspberry Pi Pico-Powered One-Hand Keyboard

Developer Bobby Towers has shown off two 3D-printed keyboards with a difference: These multi-colored marvels are designed for one-handed use, and powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico.

"There are many reasons and situations where one would find themselves without use of one or both of their hands. Injuries, disabilities, child-rearing, and probably countless others I haven't thought of," Towers explains of the reason for switching from a traditional two-handed keyboard layout to one more usable with a single hand. "Usually though, unless the reason is permanent, it is not worth the monetary investment to justify a $400-$1000 Maltron [single-handed] keyboard. I think this is a major problem, and if there were a cheaper option, more people would enjoy a more productive lifestyle while in these compromised situations."

Towers' solution: A custom keyboard which can be produced at a considerably lower cost. "The Trochee keyboard is a parameterized, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard with a focus on accessibility," he explains. "It is based on the Dactyl [split-hand, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard designed by Matthew Adereth], then cross that with the Maltron [single-handed keyboard]."

The Trochee is designed to be largely universal, originally built to house a single-board computer within its housing. Towers' latest design revision, however, swaps this out for the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico board with its RP2040 microcontroller — using the Raspberry Pi Pico as a USB controller for connection to a desktop or laptop system. At the same time, Towers has added a detachable wrist-rest to the design, and a dedicated back panel with microcontroller board mount.

The Clojure-based project is available on Towers' GitHub repository under the Eclipse Public License 1.0 "or any later version."