The Importance of Keyboard ESD Protection
Since the dawn of computers, the keyboard has been the primary communication mechanism between human and machines. Over the years, many technologies and interfaces have changed, but the keyboard has barely changed in both form and function. Recently, I bought an exclusive wireless keyboard. Initially, it communicated with the computer via Bluetooth without any issues. However, after a month or so, it suddenly stopped. When I opened the internal circuit, I was surprised that the keys had no electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. Any electronic device's keypad, side keys or push buttons are vulnerable to ESD due to constant human interaction with them. Adding ESD protection devices in a keyboard/keypad/side keys can avoid disastrous situations such as the failure of my keyboard. Let us discuss ESD in general and how we can protect our electronic devices from it.