Exernal USB keyboard as input device??

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

No, we aren't allowed to modify the Driver Station application.
It's the one required piece of the user controls this year.

There are some devices that masquerade as game controllers, but keyboards can't do that.
I think if you can see it in the standard Windows Game Controller utility then the Driver Station will recognize it.

For 99% of the teams, this is true. For the uber-advanced 1% of the teams, it might be possible, but it almost certainly isn't worth the effort.

You are not allowed to modify the Driver Station application, as Mark said. However, you ARE allowed to modify the dashboard. In fact, you are allowed to scrap the default dashboard entirely and start from scratch. If you can convince the dashboard to take keyboard input and pipe it to the robot, I believe it is legal - but check the rules carefully.

Personally, I wouldn't bother - it just isn't worth the time and effort.

[MCeGEAR]

Well, i am not sure if this is game legal or not but if you use a combination of two programs, PPjoys and Glovepie. You can create a fake joystick recognizable by the driverstation with input from any device including a keyboard or even a wiimote tho the wiimote would definitely be illegal.