usb to db15

[Ian W.]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

I had an idea as to how this could be done with USB. It involves writing a driver for a laptop.

You need the laptop to interpret the USB signals from the gamepad and run the driver for the gamepad. Then you send a data stream to a microcontroller. The microcontroller uses it's digital and analog outputs to output to the joystick inputs on the Operator Interface.

Very complicated. You would definitely get major props for creating this and bonus points for a white paper.

And going by the rules FIRST has set for as long as I can remember, this is effectively illegal, because you have some sort of computer controlling the robot, besides the RC. This idea, while neat, is overly complicated and completely illegal for use during a FIRST competition, and honestly, I think it's a lot easier to rewire a joystick if that's the only joystick you can use.