Mouse Control With Pushbuttons using arduino

Overview

In this lab, you’ll build an alternative computer mouse using an Arduino Leonardo using pushbuttons to move the mouse left, right, up and down. You’ll see the difference between reading a digital input continually and reading for a change of state.

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Parts

For this lab you will need the following parts:

Mouse Control With Pushbuttons

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NOTE: The sketches contained in this lab will cause the Arduino Leonardo to take control of your mouse. Make sure they’re working properly before you add the mouse commands. The example doesn’t introduce the mouse commands until the end of the lab. Instead, messages are printed to the serial monitor to tell you what should happen. When you’ve run this and seen the serial messages occurring when you think they should, then you can add the mouse commands safely.

The sketches here will work on an Uno until you add the mouse commands. So you can test this on an Uno simply by commenting out any line that says Mouse.begin() or Mouse.move().

Prepare the breadboard

Connect power and ground on the breadboard to power and ground from the microcontroller. On the Arduino module, use the 5V and any of the ground connections:

Add a pushbutton

Attach a pushbutton to digital pin 2. Connect one side of the pushbutton to 5 volts, and the other side of the pushbutton to a 10-kilohm resistor. Connect the other end of the resistor to ground. Connect the junction where the pushbutton and the resistor meet to digital pin 2. (For more on this digital input circuit,see the Digital Input Lab)

Mouse Control With Pushbuttons

Add four more pushbttons

Repeat the last step, connecting four more pushbuttons to pins 3 through 6.

Program the module to read the pushbutton

Follow the same steps as you did in the first Mouse Control lab to read when the pushbutton on pin 2 is pressed. Your code should only print out a message when the button changes state. Similarly, set up a global variable to track whether or not you’re controlling the mouse, called mouseIsActive. Each time the pushbutton on pin 2 is pressed, change the state of this variable from false to true, just like you did in the first mouse control lab.

 

For more detail: Mouse Control With Pushbuttons


About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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