NL: voor Project Alpakka ga ik de blogposts in het Engels schrijven, dit omdat dit een meer internationaal project is.
A few weeks ago I came across an article on Hackaday. It talked about a new project by a company/group called InputLabs, who had designed a new kind of open source gaming controller.
Some of the unique features of this controller were the fact that it combined parts of a mouse, keyboard, and ‘standard type’ controller in one package. This is achieved by replacing the second thumbstick present on all modern day controllers with a scroll wheel and adding a smaller ‘8-directional’ stick next to it, whilst also replacing the functionality of a second thumbstick with a touch-sensitive surface on the right button part that activates 2 gyroscopes inside the controller when touched, thus using the motion of the controller as a kind of second thumbstick.
What’s even more interesting though, is the fact that this design is open source: every file is available on github or on the Input Labs website, along with guides on how to DIY. Apart from the PCB (of which you can also download the design files to edit/and or send to a custom PCB-manufacturer) and the electronic parts (things like the the buttons, joystick etc) and the controller (a cheap Raspberry Pico), you can 3D-print everything.
This has a lot of advantages regarding color specs. Basically, as long as you can find the filament, you can print the controller casing/buttons in any color you want!
As you notice, I’m really enthousiastic about this project. This is why I decided to write a series of blog posts about my road to DIY this controller!
