# MIT student designs magnetic keyboard with individually rearrangeable keys

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/open-source-keyboard-lets-you-swap-parts-like-magnetic-legos/
- Published: 2026-10-26T17:25:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T17:33:53+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/10/26/open-source-keyboard-lets-you-swap-parts-like-magnetic-legos/5305470
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, Fashion, World

## Key points

- Keybytes lets users rearrange individual magnetic keyboard keys.
- MIT student Nathan Alspaugh has spent about 100 hours designing it.
- A full-size build could cost around $900.

## Summary

MIT aerospace engineering student Nathan Alspaugh has designed Keybytes, an open-source keyboard made from individual magnetic key modules that can be rearranged into custom layouts. Each key has its own RISC-V microcontroller and connections to neighbouring keys, making the project a highly flexible alternative to fixed keyboard designs.

A separate controller module links the keys to a computer, while the build uses custom circuit boards, Cherry MX switches and 3D-printed cases. Alspaugh says he has spent about 100 hours on the project; a full-size version could cost around $900, though he may sell improved designs later and encourages others to build their own.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.