{"rewrite":{"id":"r_269db943cac1864c6d07736a","clusterId":"c_03d7e7eca5e7c96edc54e19b","slug":"google-announces-gboard-kurukuru-version-keyboard-with-keys-on-moving-belts","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Google Announces Gboard Kurukuru Version Keyboard With Keys On Moving Belts","summary":"Google announced the Gboard Kurukuru Version on October 1, a keyboard with keys arranged in four rows on conveyor belts that carry characters to the user's hands. Software engineer Megumi Yamada said rotating character stamps inspired the design, and the blueprints are released free on GitHub. Each belt holds 29 keys, and uppercase and lowercase letters can be typed directly. Because the keys move, users can type without shifting their arms or palms much, and can input with one hand or a single finger. Two additional modes are planned: a High-Speed Mode where keys flow faster, which Google says can train dynamic visual acuity, and a Voice Guide Mode that reads the flowing characters aloud so users can input without looking at the keys. The project is the 15th in Google's annual new keyboard proposals, a series that began with the Google Japanese Input Drum Version in 2010 and continued last year with the Gboard Dial Version.","whyItMatters":"Google's PR told ASCII.jp the October 1 date was chosen because 101 looks like October 1, matching the 101-key US layout, and that the team moved off April 1 because it realized it was not actually telling a lie.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe series started as an April Fools\u0026#39; project, but the Gboard team no longer ties it to April 1. ASCII.jp asked Google\u0026#39;s public relations about the timing and was told the date references the 101 keyboard, a widely used PC layout, since 101 can be read as October 1. After the project was once suspended in 2020, the team looked for a date suited to a keyboard announcement and settled on this one. The recurring joke has practical output: the designs are not sold, but their design data and firmware are released free on GitHub, so the hardware can be built. The Kurukuru Version also lists uses beyond typing. A stick turns it into a guiro, and cardboard key tops make it usable for nail care, according to Automaton. A conveyor belt of characters is harder to assemble than it sounds, and the sources describe completing one as difficult.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Google's Gboard Kurukuru Version needs four belts of 29 moving keys to keep hands still. That tradeoff is the point: the free GitHub blueprints invite someone else to solve the desk-space problem.","twitterPost":"Gboard Kurukuru Version uses four moving belts to spare your arms from shifting. Google published the blueprints on GitHub, so the design is meant to be rebuilt.","threadsPost":"The Gboard Kurukuru Version puts 29 keys per belt on four moving rows so typing stops being an arm exercise. Google's own High-Speed Mode makes the keys flow faster, which changes the skill being trained. The blueprints are free on GitHub, so the next version can come from outside Google.","newsletterBlurb":"Google's annual joke keyboard is back, and this year the keys move. The Gboard Kurukuru Version puts four rows of characters on conveyor belts, with a High-Speed Mode and a Voice Guide Mode. It is the 15th entry in a series that runs on free GitHub blueprints rather than store shelves.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261001-471080/\",\"title\":\"Google's \\\"weird keyboard\\\" announced again this year, named \\\"Gboard Kurukuru Version.\\\" A shift in thinking with \\\"keys that come to you,\\\" also equipped with a high-speed mode\"},{\"source\":\"ASCII.jp\",\"url\":\"https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/422/4422857/?rss\",\"title\":\"Google Announces Keyboard With Keys That Spin Around: \\\"It's Not an April Fools' Joke?\\\" \\\"We Realized We Weren't Actually Telling a Lie\\\"\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":7883,"outputTokens":980,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791059674,"createdAt":"2026-10-03T20:30:20.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-03T20:33:25.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T20:33:25.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_03d7e7eca5e7c96edc54e19b","canonicalTitle":"Googleの“変態キーボード”今年も発表、その名も「Gboard くるくるバージョン」。“キーが来る”発想の転換、ハイスピードモードも搭載","representativeArticleId":"a_95055a4e773791cbe5935ff7","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Gboard くるくるバージョン\"],\"studios\":[\"Google\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"announcement\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-01T02:41:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-01T03:20:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T20:33:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"ASCII.jp","url":"https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/422/4422857/?rss","title":"Google、キーがくるくる回るキーボード発表　「エイプリルフールじゃないけど？」「別に嘘はついていないことに気がついたので」"},{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261001-471080/","title":"Googleの“変態キーボード”今年も発表、その名も「Gboard くるくるバージョン」。“キーが来る”発想の転換、ハイスピードモードも搭載"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Gboard くるくるバージョン"],"studios":["Google"],"people":[],"type":"announcement","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Google announced the Gboard Kurukuru Version on October 1, 2026.","Each conveyor belt on the Gboard Kurukuru Version holds 29 keys, and uppercase and lowercase letters can be typed directly.","Google's design data and firmware for the Gboard Kurukuru Version are released free on GitHub.","The Gboard Kurukuru Version is the 15th entry in Google's annual new keyboard proposals, a series that began with the Google Japanese Input Drum Version in 2010.","Google's High-Speed Mode for the Gboard Kurukuru Version flows keys at higher speed, and Voice Guide Mode reads the flowing characters aloud."]}