Keyglove API (KGAPI) Protocol Features

On August 7, 2014   /   Development, Software, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment
Keyglove API (KGAPI) Protocol Features

For those not already aware, I’ve been working on a straightforward protocol that you can use to control the Keyglove. This (or at least the initial version of it) is now complete. This Keyglove API, or “KGAPI”, is made up of the following basic types of communication:

  • Commands: sent to the Keyglove to make stuff happen
  • Responses: sent back from the Keyglove after commands are sent, acknowledging or reporting errors
  • Events: sent from the Keyglove when things happen that aren’t directly triggered by commands, such as touch sensor changes or new motion data

This is the same kind of structure that you will find in many protocols used by hardware peripherals, so there’s nothing particularly special here.
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Shiny New Keyglove Firmware on Github

On August 7, 2014   /   Development, Software, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment
Shiny New Keyglove Firmware on Github

The development between now and my last post has been pretty significant. I published a new Kickstarter project update a few days ago, but I don’t want to fragment the news updates, so I’m (mostly) reproducing that content here.

The biggest news is the updated and largely rewritten Arduino firmware source code that powers the microcontroller at the core of the Keyglove design. Since this is an open-source project, it has always been my intention to publish the complete source so that anyone can understand or modify the functionality however they might wish to. However, I am a bit of a neat freak when it comes to code. Well, “a bit” may be an understatement. It’s hard for me to work with or around code that isn’t organized, and/or formatted, and/or documented well, and it’s even harder for me to publish it knowing that others may need or want to use it in their own designs. Before I feel good about handing something to the world, it must pass my own tests for organization, readability, and documentation.
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Keyglove Interface Options

On June 5, 2012   /   Development, Software, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment
Keyglove Interface Options

As I continue building the code to support all the necessary aspects of the configuration and control protocol for the Keyglove, I am also thinking about the various ways the protocol will be used, and how to keep everything as predictable and flexible as possible. There are both wired and wireless methods of interfacing with this device, but it turns out to be a little more complex than that.
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Keyglove Serial Communication Protocol Draft

On October 23, 2011   /   Development, Hardware, Software, Uncategorized   /   2 Comments
Keyglove Serial Communication Protocol Draft

One of my main goals for the Keyglove is to allow it to be used on as many devices and operating systems as possible with no complicated driver installation or configuration every time you set it up. Using a USB connection and Human Interface Device (HID) profiles, along with the Bluegiga WT12 Bluetooth module that also supports HID profiles, the Keyglove can appear to the host devices as a standard keyboard, mouse, or joystick, none of which require drivers. This allows for basic usage with almost no work.

But what about special types of usage? What about reconfiguring the Keyglove’s behavior, even if most of the time you do just want to use it as a keyboard and mouse? What about extending the capabilities beyond what I imagined, or implementing your own special driver for your particular hardware or software application? Obviously a HID-only approach is too limited. So, we turn to basic serial communication, which is one of the easiest methods to communicate with a hardware device in a way that pretty much anyone can work with, regardless of the platform. It works the same over Bluetooth as it does over a USB virtual serial port (which is built into the main Keyglove processor), and it’s also easy to adapt to a direct connection to another microcontroller, should anyone want to do that.
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