Remote joystick

By admin, January 18, 2012

Most remote access systems are not able to control joysticks, especially the generic ones.

Do you want to control devices using joystick remotely?

Well, there is a way:

1 – Choose your preferred computer language;
2 – Pick an ordinary joystick;
3 – Disable polling functions if it has that;
4 – On your program, implement a thread object encapsulating the joystick;
5 – Find your preferred client-server framework. I like(liked) Indy components (available for Delphi, C++, and most .Net languages), and call the “sendline” function like below;
6 – Call objects when the status changes, and obtain a lightweight server! The client-side will only consume the available machine resources. In order to proceed, choose the normal priority in the thread object.

Finally, I’ve found some examples of joysticks made with Arduino, the open-source hardware. There are many e-stores selling this sort of devices. In Brazil, you may find it at Multilogica’s website http://multilogica-shop.com/Kit-Joystick-shield

* These proceedings are designed for MS Windows-based systems, once Linux systems are based on processes. You could try it using Java on server-side and by implementing a simple API and assure low latency for such control.

** Consider UDP Network for non-vital applications.

*** Consider AI in case the connection is cut and the controlled device must achieve at some state for security reasons.