Using a PIC with USB, accelerometer, and gyro for tilt-based gaming

Computers & Mobile Fun & Games

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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April 6th, 2010

Starlino writes:

For the hardware I used the Acc_Gyro sensor and a thumb-size PIC platform UsbThumb built around the inexpensive PIC18F14K50 chip that provides all the necessary USB connectivity and ADC inputs.

This setup is actually hardware compatible with my original Motion Gamepad design so all the software utilities and firmware will work on the Acc_Gyro + UsbThumb combination that is available as a kit under the name of UsbThumbImu. The Acc_Gyro fits on top of UsbThumb and this is not a coincidence since UsbThumb was designed as microcontroller helper for the Acc_Gyro with the idea of being able to provide the USB/Serial/SPI/I2C interface, as well as making use of the built-in 10bit ADC module of the PIC18F14K50.

Play PC games the iPad style – Using a PIC with USB, accelerometer and optional Gyroscope