Idea: wireless foot controller

[StephanV]

First of all, there's a real chance I'll never get to executing this idea, but I figured this post might inspire some of you so posting this seemed like a right thing to do.

In my quest to finding the perfect mobile setup, I've been toying with the idea of a wireless foot controller for Traktor. Nothing like the Keith McMillen SoftStep, but something a lot simpler: less cable, more fool (and drunk) proof. A rather small yet sturdy case, with 1 large button to act as a modifier, and 1 large pedal (think http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/upl...y%20Switch.jpg) to act as an effect parameter. Add a couple of LED's for feedback and troubleshooting, and that's it.

I think this has great potential, if used properly. Often, the limiting factor is not the amount of buttons or pots one has at its disposal, but the amount of hands to control them. Adding an extra foot (or maybe 2) to control modifiers, does not just provide 1 (or 2) extra button, but really provides an easy workable shift button.
I'm having a hard time expressing myself properly here, but I hope you get where I'm going at.


Practically speaking, I'm not sure what the best approach would be, there's a lot of options. Let's break it down.

1. Wireless connection
First of all, I consider this a requirement because of several reasons. The first being that I actually don't have any USB ports left, and I don't feel like using a USB hub. The second, and more important reason is that in a lot of booths, running a cable from your setup might be too much of a hassle, and it can easily be stepped on.

There's basically 2 options here: bluetooth and wifi. I think the latency of both is low enough (after all, I won't be using this for time critical operations such as cue'ing), so the focus is more on reliability, ease of use and cost effectiveness. I'm leaning slightly towards wifi here, yet power consumption might be higher (although HP reports otherwise: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/pr.../110512xb.html , yet this might just be due to a much larger battery, I'm not sure).

2. MIDI brain
There's a lot of options here. Since this controller features a very limited amount of controls, the focus here is basically only cost effectiveness. As long as it has 3 ins and a couple of outs, and has the ability to communicate through wifi and/or bluetooth, we're good to go.

At first I thought about a wireless PS3 or XBox 360 controller, but apparently they both use IR technology, which has no use for us. There's also the wifi mouse I mentioned earlier, but I think this might result in a lot of problems, the main one being that your regular mouse/touchpad will be mapped the same way, thus becoming unusable.

Probably, the best option would be a real MIDI brain such as the Arduino or Teensyduino. Unfortunately, I'm no expert at all in this matter, so I have no clue what would be a viable option. Expert input would be appreciated!

3. Case
In contrast to wired controllers, this is actually an important point of thought. After all, we need a case that's not only sturdy, but doesn't interrupt the wireless signal too much. A metal case seems like a no-go to me (cage of Faraday, anyone?), so probably wood or some premium plastic?

4. Battery
Less critical at this stage, but still. Rechargeable batteries (possibly with USB-charing possibilites) are one way, the biggest drawback being the smaller capacity. On the other hand there's disposable batteries obviously, but these automatically require a case that allows for replacing the batteries without too much hassle. I'm unsure what the best option is, we'd need to know the power consumption of the entire controller first.



That's it for now. Opinions, suggestions, criticism, questions, ... are all welcome obviously.

[StephanV]

So.. No one would be interested in using a controller like this at all? Or is the post too long to read? Or anything else I'm missing?

I've even been considering taking this to Kickstarter, but with this kinda enthousiasm it might not be the best idea in the world, although I still believe it's got huge potential.

[padi_04]

Seems like too much of a hassle for just a footswitch that you won't be moving all over the place (like you would with a MF3D or iPad). You stop worrying about a cable but then you need to keep the unit charged and set up the connection instead of just plugging in a regular pedal.

There might be people who would be benefit from it, but IMO it's complicating something dead simple. Don't get me wrong, It would be nice to have a cheaper solution to what it's on the market to extend the controls at "hand", I'm just questioning the conectivity .

[StephanV]

Thanks for the feedback!

The main reason for making it wireless is that a lot of dj booths are closed in the back, which means you'd need to have the cable hanging right in front of you. This seems like a problem prone approach to me. Accidentally stepping on the cable wouldn't be that an uncommon case, and could lead to pretty much desastrous results. The cable would also look really weird, hanging there.

But maybe I'm anticipating a problem that isn't actually there.

Oh and also, are there any (wired) foot controllers with encoders (leaving the SoftStep's velocity sensitve buttons aside)? I've only seen units with buttons, and even those were fairly rare (well, the ones with USB MIDI support). Encoders seem like a major improvement to me!

[padi_04]

Don't think i've seen any, the main issue is how would you operate them with your foot. I think it's a sector that has been barely exploited in the controllerism world mainly because people asociate them with regular instruments so the thought doesn't even crosses their mind. I was considering getting a pedal in the near future but for Ableton.

[StephanV]

The same way analog foot pedals are operated (think the picture I linked in first post: http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/upl...y%20Switch.jpg). Sturdy and precise.

[padi_04]

But you have hard ends on those. Something like an endless modwheel might do the trick but it will increase the size of the unit.

[StephanV]

Exactly, and I don't feel the added value of an endless modwheel justifies the extra size and complexity. Regular encoders can still be used for more static effects, this foot controller is really meant for short and more dynamic usage (i.e. kick in some effects for a quick buildup, for example). A usage for which the pedal I mentioned seems perfect to me.