Posted May 24, 2013 by Chris

“Mister Gloves is a wireless USB gesture input system that enables a person to use a computer by performing intuitive hand and finger motions in the air. While wearing a glove controller on the right hand, the user can move the cursor by forming a pointing gesture and click by curling the index finger or thumb. Other right hand gestures enable scrolling and provide access to various keyboard shortcuts.”

Posted November 17, 2012 by Chris

“My first project using the EZ-USB microcontroller was the ‘EZ1′ test board in 2001 with two MAX521 8 channel DACs, a MAX127 8 channel 12 bit ADC (both with I²C interface), a RS232 connector and one for the Infineon FingerTip sensor as well as two LEDs. If you don’t have JTAG for debugging, two LEDs is the absolute minimum to trace the program execution.”

Posted May 31, 2012 by Chris

“The VDIP1 USB host controller is a worthwhile extension module for anyone working with the Arduino microcontroller. The ability to integrate USB inputs/outputs with your Arduino microcontroller means that you can interface it with practically any USB device, creating even more exciting possibilities with Arduino.”

Posted May 18, 2012 by Chris

“As USB keyboards were an area untouched, I decided to make a small USB HID keyboard device that types a password stored in EEPROM every time it’s attached. A new password can be generated just by tabbing CAPS LOCK a few times.”

Posted February 10, 2012 by Chris

“A hardware keylogger is a perfect solution for monitoring user activity, at very low risk of disclosure. A hardware keylogger is a purely electronic device, so no access to the operating system is required, no traces are left, and software has no possibility of detecting such a device. However, the hardware keylogger concept inherits one weakness: physical access to the keylogger is required for retrieving captured data. This problem has finally found its solution: a Wireless Keylogger.”

Posted July 27, 2011 by Chris

The FTDI USB to Serial converter chip has grown quite a bit in popularity recently for its ease of use in windows and linux. This article shows you how to use the FT245 to create a USB input/output interface with an 8 pin header off of a PCB and 4 control lines.

Posted July 9, 2011 by Chris

This article shows a simple method for using a USB-to-SPI converter to interface USB with any SPI capable device, which is pretty much anything digital. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking this makes the software side of USB any easier, but it does make the hardware connection to any digital processor miles easier by acting as a buffer.

Posted June 24, 2011 by Chris

This article demonstrates how easy USB interfaces on a PIC can be using the 18F4550. While USB in itsself is rather complex, microchip’s USB framework kit, which was used here, makes things at very least tolerable. The article includes schematic drawings and example pictures of the system completely built and working. Checkout the action video!

Posted April 3, 2011 by Chris

USB hubs are everywhere, but 31 port USB hubs just don’t exist, at least not at your local electronics store. Today’s project shows you how to build your own 31 port USB hub with some off the shelf parts. The project write-up is mixed in with a little USB theory.

Posted March 26, 2011 by Chris

This project goes through the very basics of making a USB device using the PIC. The PIC series 18F4550 is a great low-power USB enabled device and this tutorial demonstrates that. Hardware schematics and PIC software is included in the project write-up.