[ noun ] a keyboard that is a data input device for computers; arrangement of keys is modelled after the typewriter keyboard <noun.artifact>
The 'black boxes' now being developed have an internal modem to enable data communication down existing telephone lines. The aim is to use a telephone data link to enable viewers to order automatically films of their choice using a keypad.
By mocking up instrument controls on a touch-sensitive computer display and testing them with nurses, the designers found that doses should be programmed using a volume control rather than a numerical keypad.