JediPad
From ScribbleWiki: SunFish7's Wiki
NOTE:
This is NOT the main site. Go to JediPad.org for the main site!
[edit] Blog Stuff
Welcome!
Check out my
YouTube Video of JediPad
And here's a YouTube video of some earlier stuff
26 Dec
Please Donate if you can - I am skint!
25 Dec
Lots of comments coming in. Main criticism is it's overcomplicated. Why am I using 7 TrackPoints instead of a single TrackPoint plus finger-based chording system? First off: you're totally right. My next prototype will fix this.
But I should also say: I wanted to design the microcontroller board as an experimentation board; so i could try out different hardware combos. There's going to be a range of devices that will emerge from this framework. I just need more bloody thermoplastic. And an enthusiastic dev-team :) wana muck in?
This is getting really exciting - since posting on hackaday.com links and articles are starting to spread through the Matrix.
http://www.wilson-graf.com/w/?p=4398
this is great - I really want to get through to fellow hackers coders, techies, hobbyists enthusiasts.
really this JediPad is just a token offering - I am trying to redesign HCI from scratch.
Can anyone help with a proper website?
24 Dec 07
Woot! I just got featured on the mainpage of hackaday.com
[edit] The project, and how you can muck in
I am trying to make an effective computer interface.
Original specification for my designs is on JewelPad3 file.
I released this paper in Christmas 2005 - ie I was already working on post-wii technology over a year before it came out.
But that's hard to read. Go here instead - Old Wiki MainPage. Here is a complete spec for what I'm building.
below you can see some of my efforts. if you're interested please drop me a line sunfish7@gmail.com
if you were interested in developing code for Linux/ Windows, or building one yourself, definitely drop me a line :)
areas I need help:
. Electronics
. . rebuilding gyroscope mouse from scratch
. . PCB layout - getting everything onto a small PCB
. code
. . Linux - drivers, GUI stuff, voice recognition integration
. . Windows - GUI stuff, voice recognition integration
. ergonomics - trying out different designs and seeing what is comfortable and usable
. website - putting everything up nicely
. contacting people who have the resources to produce a prototype run
. playing around
. Funding - I keep running out of money!
. loads of other stuff
More details here! Resources
I am currently moving everything over from my old wiki: www.jpad.wikispaces.com
currently there is a lot of material there that should be here. if you can help me move it over, a million thanks.
be sure to check it out if you're interested in this stuff
love and light
Sam
[edit] Breakdown of Hardware - Demo
Video Demos on YouTube
- Cap
2 Axis Gyro mounted on Cap
Gyro comes from GyroPoint Mouse
just move your head to move the cursor. works a treat.
- Board
- the 2 boards on the top right are the mainboards for GyroPoint mice.
...One connects to the cap, the other connects to gyros in the pad.
...Soldered on to each is a PS2 -> USB Converter
- next to them, a UART -> USB FT232R converter from [SparkFun]
- Below this, a USB hub which merges the above 3 USB inputs
- the MCU is the big one
It's a texas-instruments msp-ts430pm64 development board, with a msp430f169 MCU. It has a JTAG conxn.
- 8 TrackPoint boards
- External 5v in
- Pad
The red bobbles are TrackPoints
The thing with the grey wire tubing attached is the gyroscopes for another GyroPoint mouse
How to use it!
If you're not pressing any of the TrackPoints , it is inactive.
currently only the left most TrackPoint is active.
push gently on it.
the cursor appears, like this:
the cursor is a magnifying glass and a circle.
moving the pad causes a the cursor to move around the screen.
How?
this movement is caught by two gyroscopes.
Point straight ahead of you. now lift your arm until you're pointing at the sky. notice your finger has rotated 90 degrees around the x axis. now point straight forward, and sweep your arm into your pointing to your left. again the finger has rotated - this time around the vertical axis. it is these rotations the gyroscopes pick up.
pressing the TrackPoint harder does three things.
1. it makes the cursor slow down.
2. the magnification increases
3. it makes the circle get smaller. when the circle becomes a dot, the Menu is launched.
Like this:
The Menu spins out from the centre.
releasing the TrackPoint will make it disappear.
to select an item, push the TrackPoint in that direction
the red line shows the force vector of your push
as you approach an item its icon changes
this demonstration shows three menu items ( left click, right-click and double-click ) I will over time make more menus for the other buttons, to encompass all the common keys used in Windows navigation ; a single menu can have unlimited items, and there is the possibility of nesting menus within menus.
I should point out a nice consequence of this design. a beginner will want to wait of the menu has unfolded before making a selection. but once you have done that a few dozen times, your thumb knows which direction to go in, so you just push that directions straightaway. as you're pushing down as well, that triggers the cursor to spawn the menu, but instantly the Menu code detects the direction of your press and performs the appropriate action without even displaying the menu. so there is no visual clutter once you have learnt what does what.
buzz-feedback The Controller contains a rumble unit. this is coded to give a little jolt as the cursor spawns the menu. this is to replace that nice feeling of ' click' when you click the mouse. actually it is nicer. the second feedback occurs when you select an item. it measures the accuracy of your directional press. if you were inaccurate it gives a 'Chuga chuga' like a motorbike failing to start. if you are within 5 degrees, is goes rrRRRRmmmmm, like a motorbike starting properly.