Custom Joystick
This is a project that I wanted to start for a really long time but I haven’t had anybody available until just recently (2022… Wow, does time ever fly). A good friend of mine Andy was kind enough to see my need and express interest in working on a project where we would inbed some kind of input device in my wheelchair controller that would help me interface with my computer since my driving hand doesn’t function well anymore.
Previous blog posts:
Part 1 – project introduction
Part 1.5 – More design detail
Part 2 – Test print…and Legos?
Part 3 – Revision and buttons
Part 4 – The Classy Update
2024 Update
Below is the newest iteration that we’ve come up with which contains six separate keyboard switches that function separate inputs through a simple USB connecting to a computer. This gives me some functionality back while I’m working on projects including this website! It’s kind of a huge deal to me!
The picture below is currently how it functions and looks connected to the wheelchair. So far it works fantastic and is easily the best iteration we’ve done in terms of not only the look but also the functionality.
So far we’ve had a few chats about what the next updates could be but for now I’m more than happy with how much additional functionality it gives me over the previous versions. Considering I can customize each key to do just about anything that a keyboard can do I’m quite happy! Whenever there’s a possibility for me to have more control over my computer it’s a great day!
If you’re interested in more on this project like the links to the GitHub project, the actual hardware and wiring behind it all, as well as some of the details of how it all came together please check out my good friend Andy Letourneau’s Patreon or email him directly at odd@off-peak.engineer to see what he can do to help!
-mh