Introduction: DIY a Gesture Keyboard That Can Control the Media Player

About: Howdy, we are application engineers in Seeed. Sharing projects with the maker community is awesome. Hope you like it XD Seeed is the IoT hardware enabler providing services that empower IoT developers to swift…

This is a super cool device that you can use gesture to control the media player. You can simply think this is a keyboard that use gesture to trigger.

In fact the principle of the device is very simple, we use the seeedstudio Arch to run the USB protocol stack, so the computer will regard this board as an USB keyboard, and use the Grove – Gesture Sensor which is based on PAJ7620 to trigger.

The detailed production, please watch the video ~

Step 1: What Do We Need

Hardware part:

Structure part:

  • 3mm thick wood
  • M2 rivets —— 2 pcs

  • M3 rivets —— 3 pcs

  • M3 screws —— 4 pcs

  • M3*75 support columns —— 2 pcs

  • Toothpick —— 2 pcs

  • You also need screwdriver, glue, and laser cutter.

Laser cut the file I also shared here~

Step 2: Wiring

The wire connection of this project is super easy, you just need to plug the Grove – Gesture Sensor to the Arch I2C interface via Grove cable.

Step 3: Software Work

Arch is an mbed enabled development boardwith Arduino form factor and Grove connectors for rapid prototyping. With a variety of Shield and Grove modules, mbed SDK and lots of software libraries, you can rapidly build a prototype. In this project we use the USB HID library.

Grove - Gesture sensor module is based on PAJ7620U2 that integrates gesture recognition function with general I2C interface into a single chip. It can recognize 9 gestures including move up, move down, move left, move right, etc with a simple swipe of your hand.

Now, I’ll show you how to do with the software work.

First, you should login or signup to mbed.

Then, import the Gesture_Keyboard program into compiler.

Thirdly, compile the code and download the output binary.

At last, connect your Arch board to your pc and long press the reset button, it will automatically appear as a USB driver named CRP DISABLD. Go to the CRP DISABLD, delete the firmware file and copy the download binary file to CRP DISABLD. Quick press the reset button to run the new binary.

Step 4: Hardware Work

Now we start to make it. Import design drawings into laser cutter. After laser cutting we get 6 pieces of wood. Then we fixed the Seeed studio Arch on the wood that have three holes. Next we fixed the Grove – Gesture on the wood that have two holes. Here we need pay attention to the direction of the Grove – Gesture, the side of the interface is facing up.

Then we use the support columns fixed two side planks, now fixed the top plank, the front plank and the back plank with the side planks. Here we can use the glue to fix them.

Finally, fixed the plank that has Seeed studio Arch with the side planks, Insert the toothpick in the hole of the side planks. Done!

Step 5: Make. Invent. Do

This project is made as an Open Source Project. It's a starting point. Let your creativity go wild with the mechanical, electrical and software design. Make the demo your own. Decorate it. Improve the work. No matter what, write a recipe about it.

To share and progress together.

Follow us on [Facebook] [Twitter] [Youtube]

Microcontroller Contest 2017

Participated in the
Microcontroller Contest 2017