arduino gamepad

Hello amir,

you are welcome. Please can you give us more details on how do you have in mind to manage this project and what are the components you already have or plan to acquire to develop this idea?

Enrico

Hi,

If you want to build a hardware to be physically plugged to an ios device, you need to enroll the apple MFi, ...To avoid this, you can try to make your gamepad BLE.

In my opinion a good kit to start in this project coukd be the CY8CKIT-049 from cypress.

Hope that helps.

Hi gihu, I am not updated to the last changes of Apple on the most recent iOS versions but AFAIK, iOS BLE has some GATT layer (that seems obvious to be available to developers) that are locked and can't be used in the applications as a reserver for their internal usage. Most of these "locked" features depends on the limitations of the iOS that should only be used to those things Apple wants. This is a detail to be considered before any design.

Enrico

Hi Enrico, it is completely certain for traditional bluetooth device, even I think an authentification IC was needed in your hardware to connect to an ios device, but I think this is not needed in BLE.

I will check it in more detail, but my first impression is that if there are ble ios compatible keyboards, then HID gatt can be accesible, and gamepads use HID gatt.

So, you are right, time to research info

It exist:

http://www.adafruit.com/products/1535

Supposed to be ios compatible.

And:

http://3dprint.com/45206/3d-printed-gamepad-bluefruit/

hi Gihu,

thank you for this detail. I have not though that gamepads (not analog ones) are nothing more than a replacement of some keys. I was thinking to something strongest In past I have developed for both Android and iOS the BLE interface for a small device controlling a couple of motors via PWM as a feedback of the use on the smartphone touch, with some GATT profiles for battery status, motor temperature and global inside device temperature and other stuff. While in Android it was possible without difficult to manage these custom profiles, in iOS (was version 6) the BLE was not permitting to get for example some parts of the battery status protocol and temperature as it is locked and reserved for the Apple friends who develop expansive hardware for fitness and other stuff, using these protocol. And this is also something there is a long time discussion on the Bluetooth.org SIG just because in theory this is not so politically correct than the open protocol BLE will expect to be.

Enrico

im sorry guys im lost here, so it is possible to make it and if i use the adfruit ez-key can it be connected to a joystick.

If you use the ez-key, you will connect it as a keyboard.

You can use other platform to try as a gamepad, just for if as Enrico says any features are blocked, obviously the app should be also compatible with gamepad (not just the iOS).

I have tryed to connect BLE with HID gamepad descriptor to an iOS, pairing and connection works, but I have not tried anything else (lack of time ), as soon as I have the chance I will try how to send information about joystick and buttons. Which app do you want to play with the gamepad?

One of the things I am fascinated by years (I have done great projects on this game during '90s) is Doom ... Just to be honest. The second of importance (I have played days, not onlyhours) is the retro Terminal Velocity.

But Doom was incredibly fascinating ...

i have bluetooth keyboard that can connect to ios devices and i have try to play games using it but it wont work. the main reason why i want to make this game controller to play FIFA16.