MoErgo Glove80 User manual

Glove80 User Guide
Date: 4 Aug 2022 DRAFT

Table of content
Table of content 2
The story behind Glove80 4
What’s in the box? 5
A look at Glove80 5
Quick test drive with Glove80 7
Typing with Glove80 8
Setting up Glove80 for comfortable typing 8
Default key layout 9
Indicators 12
Caps-lock, num-lock & scroll-lock 12
Key layout layer status 12
Battery indicators 13
BT and USB indicators 13
Operating Glove80 wirelessly 14
Introduction 14
Selecting BT Profile and USB-connected device 14
Pairing with a BLE device 15
Unpairing a BLE device 16
Unpairing all BLE devices 16
ZMK output fallback mechanism 17
Battery-powered operation 18
Charging 18
Battery indicators 18
Battery saving with RGB Underglow 18
Configuring the RGB underglow 19
Battery saving 19
Customizing key layout and swapping keycaps 20
Customizing key layout 20
UI Configurator 20
Loading the new ZMK firmware onto your Glove80 20
Putting Glove80 into Bootloader for firmware loading 22
Entering bootloader mass storage device mode from ZMK 22
Entering bootloader mass storage device mode on power-up 22
Replacing keycaps to match key layout 23
Customizing the tenting angle 25
Pae 2 Glove80 User Guide

Benefits of tenting 25
How to adjust the tenting angle 25
For lower angle tenting adjustments 26
For higher angle adjustments (up to roughly 25 degrees) 26
Appendix: Specification 28
Appendix: ZMK 29
Appendix: Custom mounting 30
How to custom mount 30
Attaching Tripod Mounting Plate 31
Appendix: More Customizations 32
Extending the Glove80 electronics 32
Side-Car Module 34
Appendix: Compliance and Certifications 35
USA 35
Canada 35
Pae 3 Glove80 User Guide

The story behind Glove80
Thank you for choosing Glove80. Glove80 is not your usual keyboard. It was designed by a
bunch of keyboard warriors for themselves.
We were a small group of I.T. professionals who had various kinds of RSI. Without a good
ergonomic keyboard our careers and quality of life would seriously suffer.
We wanted and needed the most comfortable keyboard.
But nothing available was good enough. Some of us were using Kinesis Advantages. Our
co-designer Chris even made an open-source controller and firmware to improve Kinesis
Advantage.
But we knew we could make a much better keyboard that would be more comfortable for more
of us.
And so we did! In 2014/2015. We had no idea how difficult it would be. Hundreds of variations
and experiments later1, we had finally made the keyboard we were happy with.
We used this keyboard as our daily drivers. For 5 years. We had made it for ourselves and
nobody outside our little group knew about it.
Then in 2021, Stephen, the other co-designer, had a rare opportunity to do something different.
Our friends had been asking us to share this invention with others who need a seriously
comfortable keyboard. Stephen took up this challenge and re-designed Glove80 for
mass-manufacturing. Same ergonomics, but significantly more refined.
Glove80 is a work of love. We hope you will love it too. Thank you for believing in Glove80.
1https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/repetitive-strain-injury-rsi-how-ultimate-ergonomic-keyboard-created
Pae 4 Glove80 User Guide

What’s in the box?
<Photo of the box>
- Glove80 keyboard (a pair of 2 halves)
- A USB-A to USB-C cable
- A set of extra M4 threaded rods for high angle tenting
- 12 extra feet for high angle tenting and custom mounting
- 12 extra silicone pad for high angle tenting and custom mounting
- 12 half height M4 nuts for tenting
- An M4 wrench
- A keycap puller
A look at Glove80
Glove80 is a split keyboard, consisting of a left half and a right half.
The left half is called the Central, and acts as the “brain” of Glove80. When connected to a host
like a PC or a phone with a USB cable, the USB cable must be plugged into the left half. When
Glove80 is connected to the host via Bluetooth Low Energy (BT Lowe Energy or BLE), the left
half is the half that is talking to the host wirelessly.
Contoured keywell: Keys to type with your four fingers on each hand
Thumb cluster: Keys to type with your thumbs
Detachable palm rest: Optional palm rest
Pae 5 Glove80 User Guide

Power switch: For switching off power. Please note that it is still possible to charge the battery
even when powered off.
USB port: For connecting to host (left half only), updating firmware, and battery charging
Fixed legs: Legs that are not height adjustable
Extensible legs: Legs that are height adjustable
Side-car anchor studs: two M2 studs for attaching a “side-car” add-on
Palm rest thumb screws: For attaching the palm rest to the keyboard
Pae 6 Glove80 User Guide

Quick test drive with Glove80
Procedure:
1. Plug in the USB cable to the left half of your Glove80
2. Plug in the other side of the USB cable to a host, such as a PC
3. Switch on both the left and right halves by pushing in the power button on each side
4. Start typing
If all goes well you should see the keystrokes showing on the PC.
Your Glove80 is shipped with its battery partially charged. However, we recommend fully
charging both halves before using Glove80.
Pae 7 Glove80 User Guide

Typing with Glove80
Setting up Glove80 for comfortable typing
Glove80 has been designed to encourage good typing postures. For an overview of Glove80’s
ergonomic design features and the rationale behind Glove80, please read The Ergonomic
Design of Glove80 Split Contoured Keyboard2
Here is a quick instruction:
1. Make sure you have a properly set up and comfortable desk and chair, or alternatively a
standing desk.
2. Attach the palm rest to each half of your Glove80.
Note: you can type on your Glove80 without the palm rests. However for maximum
comfort, we recommend attaching the palm rests.
3. Place the two halves in a comfortable position, such that:
● The two halves are separated at a distance suitable for your shoulder width;
● Your wrists are straight when viewed from above, i.e no ulnar deviation;
● Your forearms are horizontal or slightly pointing downwards when you place your palms
on the palm rests. If necessary, please re-adjust your desk and chair.
<some pictures/illustrations of the 3 bullet-points above would be useful>
4. Place your fingers on the highlighted keys in the image below. This is the typical rest
position for your fingers, also known as the “home row”.
2https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ergonomic-design-glove80-split-contoured-keyboard-moergo.
Pae 8 Glove80 User Guide

5. Glove80 is a columnar keyboard: it is designed to reduce the need for fingers stretching
sideways. Most of our finger movements are to curl and uncurl. The index and the pinky
fingers are each responsible for two columns, while the middle and ring fingers are each
responsible for one column. Adjust the position of your palm (and if necessary the two
halves of the keyboard) until you feel comfortable reaching the finger keys.
6. Glove80’s thumb cluster is unique. It is designed to require no or very little palm
movement to reach all 6 thumb keys. Try pivoting your thumb from the base joint of your
thumb to reach each of the thumb keys.
That’s it! Here is a video of one of our testers typing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68v-AztMob8
If you are already familiar with typing on a columnar keyboard such as an Ergodox, you should
very quickly adapt to your Glove80. If you have never typed on a columnar keyboard, there will
be a learning curve to adapt to the columnar finger movement. Most people find themselves
picking up the basics within a day, but mastery will take at least a few weeks of practice.
Default key layout
Glove80 supports the concept of multiple layers.When you power on the keyboard, the Base
Layer will be in effect. However you can switch to different layers) in which the same key will
have different meanings. This isn’t as confusing as it may sound: you do the same when you
use the Fn key on a laptop. There are two ways of switching layers: You can switch to another
layer momentarily (for as long as you hold down a trigger key, à la “Fn”) or indefinitely until you
switch layer again.
When shipped, Glove80’s default key layout has 3 Layers: Base Layer, Lower Layer and the
Magic Layer.
Here is the Base Layer:
Pae 9 Glove80 User Guide

Please note that legends in the illustration above, R1…R6,C1..C6, and T1..T6, define the
convention for key positions on Glove80. For example in the default layout Base Layer, LH C2R3
is “R”, and RH T1 is the “Shift” key on the right hand.
If you press and hold the Layer key, Glove80 will momentarily change to the Lower Layer. As
long as you continue to hold down the Layer key, the other keys will have the functions shown
in “Lower Layer” below.
If you double-tap the Layer key, Glove80 will persistently change to the Lower Layer: without
further holding down the Layer key, the other keys will continue to have the functions shown in
“Lower Layer” below. Pressing the Layer key again will return to the Base Layer. This is useful
for the numeric keypad and arrow cluster.
Pae 10 Glove80 User Guide

Single tap the Magic key, and the RGB LED indicators will show the status of caps lock, scroll
lock & num lock, charge level of both batteries, status of BT Profiles and which layers are in
effect.
The Magic Layer is activated momentarily by holding the Magic key. While the Magic key is
held, the other keys will have the functions described in the “Magic Layer” below. The Magic
Layer is the layer for controlling Glove80 itself.
Pae 11 Glove80 User Guide

As you become familiar with Glove80, you may want to customize Glove80’s key layout to
match your typing habits.
Indicators
<This feature is under development. It is currently not available>
When you tap on the Magic key, you will activate the indicators for 10 seconds. The left hand
RGB LEDs will light up to indicate the status of the Glove80, showing:
● Caps lock, scroll lock, and num lock status
● The battery level and status of both left and right halves
● The status of each BT Profiles
● Which key layout layer is currently active
Here is a diagram showing the meaning and position of the indicator RGB LEDs:
Caps-lock, num-lock & scroll-lock
If the respective indicator is red, the lock is enabled.
Key layout layer status
If the respective indicator is purple, the layer is active
Layer 0 is the Base Layer of the key layout.
For the default key layout, Layer 1 is the Lower Layer.
For the default key layout, Layer 2 is the Magic Layer.
Pae 12 Glove80 User Guide

If you are using a customized key layout, the meaning of Layer 1 to Layer 5 will depend on your
definition. If your customized key layout has more than 6 layers, the status of Layer 6 or above
won’t be shown.
Battery indicators
For more details of battery indicators, please refer to the Battery indicators section.
BT and USB indicators
Each BT Profile is represented by a RGB indicator.
The meaning of the colors for a BT Profile Indicator is:
- Red: The BT Profile is current not paired
- Yellow: The BT Profile is paired but the device is currently not connected
- Green: The BT Profile is paired and the device is currently connected.
The meaning of the colors for the USB Indicator is:
- Red: The USB device is currently disconnected
- Green: The USB device is currently connected
One of the BT Indicator and USB Indicator is extra bright. The extra brightness indicates this
particular device is the actual output device to which the key codes will be sent.
Please note that due to behavior of ZMK, the actual output device may not be the same as the
selected output device. ZMK’s output fallback mechanism is explained further in the section
ZMK output fallback mechanism. If the output fallback mechanism is in operation, i.e. actual
output device is not the same as the selected output device, the Output Fallback indicator will
be in red.
Pae 13 Glove80 User Guide

Operating Glove80 wirelessly
Introduction
Glove80 is capable of wirelessly connecting to your computer, your phone or other devices
through Bluetooth Low Energy (BT Low Energy or BLE). Your devices need to support Bluetooth
4.2 or above.
Glove80 supports up to 4 simultaneous BLE devices being paired. Conceptually speaking,
Glove80 has 4 BT Profiles, numbered BT Profile 0 to BT Profile 3.
Each BT Profile can be paired with a different BLE device. If you try to pair with the same BLE
device using two BT Profiles, pairing will fail and may cause strange behavior.
Selecting BT Profile and USB-connected device
On a default key layout, you can select a BT Profile by pressing the Magic Key and the
corresponding key highlighted in blue above.
Once paired and connected, you can quickly switch between BLE devices and the
USB-connected device by selecting the corresponding BT profile or selecting Output to USB.
For example you may pair with a MacBook on BT Profile 0, and an Android phone on BT Profile
1. If you want to type on the MacBook, you can switch to BT Profile 0 by, on the default key
layout, pressing Magic + BkSp. If you then want to switch to the Android phone, you can switch
Pae 14 Glove80 User Guide

to BT Profile 1 by, on a default key layout, pressing Magic + Del. If you want to switch to the
USB-connected device, on a default key layout, you can do so by pressing Magic + left-Alt
Pairing with a BLE device
NOTE: Before you pair with a BLE host, if you had previously paired the Glove80 with the said
BLE host, you must first remove the pairing from both the BLE host and Glove80. Otherwise the
pairing attempt will fail, or will cause strange problems. Please see the section on Unpairing a
BLE device.
Pairing procedure:
1. Power on Glove80
2. Select a BT Profile on Glove80 that is currently not paired with a BLE device.
3. Press the Magic key, the selected BT Profile should be indicated in red, confirming that it
is not already in use. See the section on BT and USB indicators for further details.
4. On the BLE device you intend to pair with, use the procedure appropriate for your
operating system to pair with the “Glove80 Left” device.
a. On a Windows 10 computer,
i. Go to Settings -> Bluetooth and other devices
ii. Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled
iii. Click on the “Add Bluetooth or other device” button
iv. Choose the “Glove80 Left” device to pair with
NOTE: If the “Glove80 Left” device is not listed on the BLE device you
intend to pair with, it is possible it was previously paired with Glove80.
Therefore the pairing needs to be removed from the BLE device.
NOTE: If pairing fails or if there are strange problems, there are a number of possible
explanations:
Pae 15 Glove80 User Guide

1. Does the BLE device support BT version 4.2 or later? If not, the BLE device may not be
compatible with Glove80.
2. Did you previously pair Glove80 with this device? If so, you might have accidentally left a
stray pairing on Glove80, Please see the section on Unpairing all BLE devices.
Unpairing a BLE device
Procedure:
1. Power on Glove80
2. On Glove80, select the BT Profile that was previously used to pair with the BLE device. If
you don’t know which BT Profile was used, you will have to Unpair all BLE devices.
3. Press the key(s) to clear the bluetooth pairing. On the factory default key layout, the keys
are Magic + F1.
4. On the BLE device that was previously paired, use the procedure appropriate to the
operating system to remove the pairing, e.g.:
a. On a Windows 10 computer,
i. Go to Settings -> Bluetooth and other devices
ii. Select the paired Glove80 Left device
iii. Click on the “Remove Device” button
Unpairing all BLE devices
CAUTION: This procedure will remove pairing with all paired BLE devices on the Glove80.
Please use this procedure with care.
NOTE: You can also use this procedure when you have difficulties pairing with a device that you
may have previously paired with, or attempted to pair with.
Procedure:
1. Power on Glove80
Pae 16 Glove80 User Guide

2. Press the key(s) to clear all bluetooth pairings for all 5 BT Profiles. On the factory default
key layout, the keys are Magic + F10.
3. On all BLE devices that were previously paired, use the procedure appropriate to the
operating system to remove the pairing, e.g.:
a. On a Windows 10 computer,
i. Go to Settings -> Bluetooth and other devices
ii. Select the paired “Glove80 Left” device
iii. Click on the “Remove Device” button
ZMK output fallback mechanism
If Glove80 is simultaneously connected to both a USB device and an active BLE device on a
selected BT Profile, and the currently selected output is disconnected, Glove80 will
automatically fall back to output to the other connection method.
For example, if Glove80 was set to output to USB and the USB device is disconnected, the
Glove80 firmware (ZMK) will automatically fall back to output to the last selected BT Profile.
Conversely, if Glove80 was set to output to a BT Profile, and the BLE device disconnected, the
Glove80 firmware (ZMK) will automatically fall back to output to USB.
This is a ZMK behavior meant to simplify switching between devices.
In the case of automatic output fallback, if the removed connection is restored, Glove80 will
return to output to the originally selected connection method.
As described in the section BT and USB indicators, when indicators are active, Glove80 will
always highlight the current actual output, even in the case that it was activated by automatic
output fallback. If output fallback is currently active, Glove80 will display this with a red light on
LH C1R5.
For more information on this output fallback behavior, please refer to the ZMK documentation
https://zmk.dev/docs/behaviors/outputs.
Pae 17 Glove80 User Guide

Battery-powered operation
Glove80 can be USB-powered or battery-powered. Each half of Glove80 has a separate
lithium-polymer battery.
Charging
To charge one half of Glove80, simply plug the half into a PC or USB charger with a USB-C
cable.
You can continue to use Glove80 while charging.
Battery indicators
<This feature is being developed, and is currently unavailable>
<To be written>
Battery saving with RGB Underglow
<This feature is under development, and is currently unavailable>
RGB LEDs consume a lot of power, depending on their brightness. To extend the battery life,
Glove80 implements an automatic mechanism for the RGB underglow feature:
● When the battery level is below 40%, Glove80 will automatically limit the maximum
brightness of RGB Underglow.
● When the battery level is below 20%, Glove80 will automatically disable the RGB
Underglow feature. However the Indicators function will continue to operate.
Pae 18 Glove80 User Guide

Configuring the RGB underglow
Depending on the configuration of your Glove80, it has either RGB LEDs under all keys on both
halves (“Gaming” edition), or RGB LEDs under the keys on the left half (“Standard” edition).
The RGB underglow displays beautiful patterns on your Glove80. On a default key layout, the
RGB underglow function is controlled by the keys highlighted in the diagram below in the Magic
Layer.
● Toggle: Turns on and off the RGB Underglow function
● Effects: Switch to the next underglow effect
● Bright+/Bright-: Controls the brightness
● Hue+/Hue-: Controls the gue
● Satur+/Satur-: Controls the saturation
● Speed+/Speed-: Controls the speed of the effect
Battery saving
When the battery runs low, RGB Underglow will be dimmed or switched off completely to extend
battery life. For more details please see the Battery saving with RGB Underglow section.
Pae 19 Glove80 User Guide

Customizing key layout and swapping keycaps
Customizing key layout
Each of us has a different hand size and shape, typing habits, and different application needs.
Glove80 and its open-source ZMK-based firmware make it easy for you to customize your
Glove80 to have exactly the key layout you want.
There are a few ways to change the key layout. The easiest way is to use the UI Configurator.
An alternative is to edit the keymap file and compile your own ZMK firmware For more
information on this, please see Appendix: ZMK.
After you have built a new ZMK firmware with the new key layout using either approach, you will
have to load the firmware onto Glove80. To do this, follow the instructions in the Loading the
new ZMK firmware onto your Glove80 section.
UI Configurator
<This section is to be written - it is currently incomplete>
Nick Coutsos’ excellent open-source ZMK Keymap Editor has been customized for Glove80.
Loading the new ZMK firmware onto your Glove80
The UI Configurator will generate a .uf2 file which is the new firmware containing the new key
layout. We have to load this new firmware onto both halves of your Glove80.
To do this safely, please prepare:
- A spare keyboard or on-screen keyboard
- The USB-A to USB-C cable
The steps to load the new firmware is:
1. First plug in the USB-A to USB-C cable to the left half of your Glove80.
2. Put the left half into bootloader mode. On the default key layout, this is done by pressing
the keys Magic + Esc. If you have changed this in your layout, please see the section
on Putting Glove80 into Bootloader for Firmware Loading.
Pae 20 Glove80 User Guide