Have you ever wished for easy mouse controls to go along with your VR headset experience? Or maybe you just want a cooler way to mouse in general. In any case, look no further than [rafgaj78]’s Bluetooth Mouse Ring project.
This is version two, which of course comes with several improvements over version one. The biggest change is from tactile buttons to a joystick input. [rafgaj78] also did away with the power switch, using deep-sleep mode instead. Version two is easier to assemble and offers improved ergonomics, as well as a range of ring sizes.
Like the first version, this ring runs on a Seeed Xiao nRF52840 and is programmed in CircuitPython. There are two modes to choose from. In one mode, the joystick does left and right mouse click and wheel up and down, while the push action recovers the micro from deep sleep. In the other mode, the joystick axis is a mouse pointer mover, and you push down to left click.
We really like this sleek design, and [rafgaj78] has great instructions if you want to build your own. This isn’t the first cool mouse ring we’ve seen, and it certainly won’t be the last.
I would have instead used the Seeed Xiao Sense and taken advantage of it’s built-in accelerometer.
And maybe one of those tiny Blackberry Trackball pcb’s on top instead of the joystick.
The other nice thing about using the Xiao Sense is that the IMU can recognize gestures like single and double taps.
i use those a lot. i also use psp style joysticks sometimes. depends on whether you need 0th or 2nd order control.
Thinkpad nipple maybe? Many options possible for differing tastes
Great DIY project. Interesting build. This article and the one it referenced doesn’t mention the existence of commercial products and what makes this unique other than the DIY side of things. I have seen vids, posts, and life hacks on other platforms by gen (insert letter here) that act like they made an astounding new discovery that actually was around decades ago. Next thing you know they’ll discover how to write words without lifting the pen off the paper (😁 ie cursive). So what does this do better/different than
https://a.co/d/ffZXojG ? There are other models available as well one with a joy stick.
i don’t think it’s explicitly stated in either article (to my surprise, since it’s one of the more unique features): this design allows you to wear two rings – one on each hand – and therefore have simultaneous access to mouse buttons, scroll wheel, and directional control using only your two thumbs.
Also, many of the commercial gadgets, like the one you linked, only identify as a bluetooth presentation remote and can’t emulate a mouse, joystick, etc.
they’re useful for software & scenarios that support a remote (changing slides, powerpoint presentation, remote camera shutter) but the hardware isn’t easily adaptable to anything else.
plus the build is really simple and straightforward and the parts are quite affordable.
so for me at least it would easily pass the initial “would this be worth building myself vs buying” test… if I actually needed such a thing
For anyone wondering, this is a great project for smart costumes.
Wear one of these rings, and silently trip one of the costume features. At a con or in a crowd, the people around will probably not notice the gesture. Depending on the circumstances of the encounter, you can make your costume seem very intelligent.
Or to trigger a LARP special effect. I once did this with a chest that self-opened after given a verbal command (two decades ago). The players thought it was some sort of AI system, but in reality the referee was holding a remote trigger in his palm.
Oh man that’s a slick idea, combine that with Elstar’s suggestion of using a different seeed board so you’ve got an IMU for some basic motion tracking and the right costume & you could trigger stuff yourself with gestures. Then of course slap a ring on each hand so you have more gesture options :D
How about this version: https://hackaday.io/project/167075-thumbmouse
I like the idea of a mini touchpad since I assume that gets you more intuitive mousing