Arduino K(V)M Switch

Ive just stumbled on something to help massively with the software for this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bluetooth-Keyboard-Mouse-Adapter

This uses an arduino to read PS/2 keyboard and mouse input and sends it straight to a Bluetooth HID dongle for sending to a connected device.

I can use this code as a platform to handle the keyboard and mouse input capture, then modify the output to send to i2c rather than serial.

Yay!

while this project is currently shelved as it were, I have been having the urge to get at least a working prototype up and running. You know, just to see if it works.

Having a self diagnosed inability to knock up hardware has always stifled my projects; they really take off once I have something to code and program, but getting there? Jesus!

I found a small sheet of perfboard in my cupboard today; not my usual stuff I get with all individual holes, the stuff with tracks along it. Didn't even know I had it!

This has given me an idea.

Using this I can great the plane for my arduinos to plug into and link all the i2c pins together. A 4pin head attached at one end would allow for the master arduino to be connected simply, then a series of female headers will be used to attach the pro micro boards the the plane. Tracks could be cut to allow other pins to be broken off the headers, and header pins removed to stop any other arduino pin being connected to the i2c lines.

I need to find some female header pins but when I do I will give it a go!

It's Sunday night here, and I am lying watch Expendables 2 with the boy, kind of half-thinking about work tomorrow.l, and something has just struck me...

There has been a spate of office moves and relocations at work, and a few weeks ago one of my colleagues left an archane VGA splitter box on my desk.

It is one in, two out, but... what if I was to remove one of the outputs and wire it as an additional input and use the master Arduino to switch which port the splitter receives data from???

Answers on a postcard please :)

Just a quick update to ket you all know this project is being shelved for the moment while i work on some other projects.

I shall be using some of the components in another project for the time being and will be re-ordering parts when I return to this one.

I have the code pretty much finished for this one (sketches for the master and slave arduinos) as well as more detailed plans of the build; these will be shared with you very soon.

If anyone would like to take this project on further with my material please let me know and I will happily invite you to collaborate.

Cheers!

Just a quick note to say that this week should see the completion of my other project (a raspberry Pi-based Video Player for my son). Once this is complete I will get some real work done on this project!

I am looking to use this as soon as I get it up and running. I have two little netbooks (one for development, one for media stuff) that i would like to put in a case with a mouse and keyboard. I would also like to have a couple of extra ports for connecting Raspberry Pis and whatnot.

Im open to suggestions for a case design too. As long as it has a bay for the Arduino Uno and a shield, some slots for thr pro micros and a 4-line backplane with a 4 pin male/female header at each bay its all good :-)

So...

I have finally got my hands on a Pro Micro to start playing with (I got impatient so pulled this one out of an old project (a keyboard emulating foot controller for music recording), and will start coding the slave and some of the master tomorrow :-)

For the master Uno I have opted for a clone. Partly due to a love for it's colour (ha ha), but mostly because it has a micro USB port rather than the Printer-style USB. This way the end user is able to program the master using the same cable as the slave is connected to the target with.

I have had an idea for a further use for the master - I often use a small netbook for coding and suchlike, and it would be great to use it's keyboard as an input to other devices when quickly prototyping.

My idea is to use the serial input on the master as an alternative to the keyboard/mouse inputs on the board.

Up until now in my heads the master's USB port will grant the user with a serial menu to configure the KM switch in a variety of ways. I now plan on adding a menu option to allow 'through-typing' - anything typed into the serial window while in that mode will be passed to the selected slave as in normal use. a pre-defined keyboard shortcut would end this mode.

I have been looking at various sources looking for ideas to incorporate into my project.

I am breaking my research into 4 areas; getting keystrokes/mouse movements into the master arduino, getting the keystrokes/mouse movements Out to the slave, receiving the output on the slave, and sending that out to the target machine.

I have briefly used i2c communication before and have used an Atmega32u4 for keyboard output in the past so I am focusing on how to read PS2 input I have attached a link to a fantastic project which creates a DIY shield for an Uno.

It also states that this shield should still work if USB>PS2 adaptors are used, so i may build them into my final design. USB keyboards are much more common these days.