deskthority

Space Invaders are low profile?

Edit: So the wiki reveals they were patented as such. Maybe the patent compares them to less compact vintage switch designs.

Edit edit:
From the patent:

Keyboard specifications for electronic equipment for sale in many industrialized countries require the keyswitch housing to project not more than 17 mm from the attached printed circuit board. A keyswitch which meets the foregoing specification generally is designated as a "low profile keyswitch".

It would be interesting to compare measurements of Cherry MX vs NMB Hi-Tek. I find that switches are often so much smaller than they appear in photos, and although there are definite indications that NMB were going for a compact design (with very little above the plate), the total height isn't clear (height of switch, and height from base of switch to top of keycap).

You can see in the first image that the Space Invaders are similar height to MX when they do not have keycaps. Space invaders appear to be 1-2mm shorter than the Cherry switch. You can see the difference when the keycaps are in place, with the Space Invader gaining very little height while cherry keycaps extend the height a far bit. The key I used is DCS row 4, so DSA caps would shorten the switch a bit, but that would still be a 3-4mm taller than the Space Invaders. That would mean that a fully depressed Cherry MX switch with DSA caps would be the same height as a non-depressed Space Invader switch.

Pretty compelling! Pity they're not still in production…