wraggster
July 17th, 2013, 22:58
http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/patching-into-a-gaming-controller.jpg?w=580&h=435
Here a straight-forward guide for tapping into the buttons on most gaming controllers (http://makezine.com/projects/hack-a-video-game-controller-for-greater-accessibility-or-cheating/). Why do something like this? Well there’s always the goal of conquering Mario through machine learning (http://hackaday.com/2013/04/14/teaching-a-computer-to-play-mario-seemingly-through-voodoo/). But we hope this will further motivate hackers to donate their time and expertise developing specialized controllers for the disabled (http://hackaday.com/2013/06/20/building-custom-game-controllers-for-people-with-physical-disabilities/).
In this example a generic NES knock-off controller gets a breakout header for all of the controls. Upon close inspection of the PCB inside it’s clear that the buttons simply short out a trace to ground. By soldering a jumper between the active trace for each button and a female header the controller can still be used as normal, or can have button presses injected by a microcontroller.
The Arduino seen above simulates button presses by driving a pin low. From here you can develop larger buttons, foot pedals, or maybe even some software commands based on head movement (http://hackaday.com/2013/07/05/playstation-3-contolled-with-head-movement/) or another adaptive technology.
http://hackaday.com/2013/07/13/no-nonsense-guide-for-patching-into-a-gaming-controller/
Here a straight-forward guide for tapping into the buttons on most gaming controllers (http://makezine.com/projects/hack-a-video-game-controller-for-greater-accessibility-or-cheating/). Why do something like this? Well there’s always the goal of conquering Mario through machine learning (http://hackaday.com/2013/04/14/teaching-a-computer-to-play-mario-seemingly-through-voodoo/). But we hope this will further motivate hackers to donate their time and expertise developing specialized controllers for the disabled (http://hackaday.com/2013/06/20/building-custom-game-controllers-for-people-with-physical-disabilities/).
In this example a generic NES knock-off controller gets a breakout header for all of the controls. Upon close inspection of the PCB inside it’s clear that the buttons simply short out a trace to ground. By soldering a jumper between the active trace for each button and a female header the controller can still be used as normal, or can have button presses injected by a microcontroller.
The Arduino seen above simulates button presses by driving a pin low. From here you can develop larger buttons, foot pedals, or maybe even some software commands based on head movement (http://hackaday.com/2013/07/05/playstation-3-contolled-with-head-movement/) or another adaptive technology.
http://hackaday.com/2013/07/13/no-nonsense-guide-for-patching-into-a-gaming-controller/