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Selenium

A Miryoku-like approach to minimize finger movements without changing the keyboard layout:

base layer on a 33-key keyboard

  • 3 home-row mods per hand for Ctrl, Alt, Super
  • 3 layer-tap keys under the thumbs
    • left: Shift / Backspace
    • center: Navigation / Space
    • right: Symbols / Return

The idea behind these layers is to bring the characters under the fingers, rather than moving the fingers over the keys. This approach is what makes those 34-key keyboards so comfortable, and the goal here is to get a comparable experience with any other keyboard — including your laptop’s.

Main Benefits

  • Shift, Backspace, Return under the thumbs!
  • all programming symbols are moved to the comfortable 3×10 zone
  • symmetrical modifiers on the home row
  • Vim-like navigation in all apps
  • easier left-hand shortcuts
  • works with any keyboard

Suitable for all keyboards

… well, all keyboards that have at least 3×10 finger keys and 3 thumb keys. So yes, pretty much every computer keyboard out there.

Miryoku requires 6 thumb keys, which tends to limit its use to ergonomic keyboards. Selenium works with 3, which means it’s usable with any standard ANSI or ISO keyboard (spacebar + Alt/Cmd keys), even non-programmable ones thanks to kanata; and it also works with minimalist keyboards like the Ferris (only 4 thumb keys).

Of course, Selenium can be implemented in programmable keyboards with QMK, ZMK, Kaleidoscope, etc.

Navigation Layer

A long press on the Space bar brings up the Navigation layer:

navigation layer on a 33-key keyboard

  • left: one-hand shortcuts (Ctrl-WASZXCV), Tab/Shift-Tab, prev/next
  • right: Vim-like arrows on HJKL, home/end page up/down, mouse scroll
  • bottom: Delete and Escape

Symbols Layer

A long press on the Return key brings up the Symbols layer:

symbols layer on a 33-key keyboard

  • all symbols are on the same layer, arranged for comfort
  • the Shift key becomes a Num layer key

NumRow Layer

If your keyboard has no number row, we got you covered! From Symbols mode, pressing the Num key brings up the NumRow layer:

NumRow layer on a 33-key keyboard

  • all digits are on the home row, in the order you already know
  • the upper row helps with Shift-digit shortcuts
  • the lower row has dash, comma, dot and slash signs to help with number / date inputs

TODO

The main idea is settled (3 home-row mods + 3 layer-taps), but Selenium is still a work in progress in an early stage. Expect refinements.

  • NumPad layer
  • macOS support (KMonad / Karabiner)
  • sample QMK / ZMK implementations for common keyboards
  • variants for specific keyboard layouts

Why the name?

I believe 34-key keyboards like the Ferris are the end game of ergonomic keyboards, and 34 is selenium’s atomic number. All other keyboards I’ve tried feel like unstable isotopes of the Ferris experience.

Other cultural biases might have been involved as well, though this remains to be proven. :-)