You never quite know what you’ll see when you attend an Intel event and this time at IDF Taiwan, Intel was showing off a waterproof keyboard. Now, you might wonder why Intel would bother making a waterproof keyboard, as it is hardly part of Intel’s lineup of products.

The reason why Intel developed it doesn’t really have anything to do with the fact that it is waterproof:  it is all about thermal temperatures. Considering how much space a keyboard takes on a notebook, Intel wanted to take advantage of this space as an air inlet.

This would allow for improved cooling of the heat producing components inside the notebook, as the larger surface area would allow for more air to be pulled into the notebook, leading to improved cooling. The waterproof part is an added bonus.

Intel showed a demo of the keyboard by placing it in a clear plastic container and then blowing smoke over it, which passed straight through it to simulate the airflow. Next, they poured water over it which ended up sitting on top of the keyboard until the plastic container was tilted so the water could pour off.

Next, Shmuel “Mooly” Eden poured what he claimed was a glass of whiskey (or possibly tea) over the keyboard and then poured more water over the keyboard to clean it off.

We can’t wait until this product gets out of the lab and into the retail market, as this should be a standard feature on all notebooks.