Example Projects

This page lists projects implemented with V-USB. Please remember: We also want to list your project! If you don’t have a website to publish it, just upload to GitHub, Sourceforge or similar!

PowerSwitch - The Pure Basics

A simple example intended to demonstrate how to use V-USB. This is Objective Development’s reference implementation.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/powerswitch.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

RemoteSensor - Wireless Data Acquisition

This project is a wireless thermo- and hygrometer with up to 16 sensors and a central logging facility accessible via WWW. It’s a more advanced example intended to demonstrate how to use V-USB with an additional interrupt endpoint.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/remotesensor.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

USBasp - Programmer for Atmel AVR Controllers

USBasp is a USB in-circuit programmer for Atmel AVR controllers. It demonstrates how to pipe "large" data blocks through the USB driver.

http://www.fischl.de/usbasp/
Author: Thomas Fischl

LEDLoad - an LED Display for CPU Load

LEDLoad has started as a neat CPU load display using a single dual color LED. The current release has been extended to support up to two tri-color LEDs. It is designed to use a free internal USB port of any modern PC and replace the power LED in the case with something more interesting. A host driver kernel module is available for Linux.

http://www.jers.net/ledload/
Author: Jeremy Garff

LCD2USB - an Interface to Text LCDs

You know those ubiquitous 5x7 dot matrix text displays based on the HD44780 chip? LCD2USB interfaces those displays to USB. It is integrated into LCD4Linux, an Open Source Software which displays Linux system information on LCDs.

http://www.harbaum.org/till/lcd2usb/
Author: Till Harbaum

HIDKeys - a USB Keyboard

HIDKeys is a USB keyboard with 17 keys. This is an example demonstrating how to implement HID class compliant USB devices. It uses the operating system built-in driver for USB keyboards and thus needs no additional software on the host. For a full-blown keyboard implementation, see the C64 Keyboard project below.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/hidkeys.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

Automator - Punched Tape Updated

Automator is a device similar in concept to punched tape teletypes and musical boxes. It records key sequences and plays them back with relays. Program upload and download are done through an HID compliant driver.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/automator.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

uDMX - a DMX Interface

uDMX is a USB bus powered DMX interface. DMX (Digital MultipleX) is a bus for controlling stage lighting and special effects devices. This particular implementation comes with a Unix command line tool and plugin module for the Max/MSP software.

http://www.anyma.ch/research/udmx/
Author: [ a n y m a ] - Max & Michael Egger

Crypto-Boot - a USB Boot Loader

The image on the left is Oleg with his paraglider, he contributed this example project: A boot loader based on V-USB which does code decryption based on Atmel’s Application Note AVR231. Oleg maintains no homepage for the project. It is therefore hosted on the Wiki:

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:crypto-boot
Author: Oleg Semyonov

AVRUSBBoot - USB Boot Loader for ATMega 8

This is another USB boot loader. It is small enough to fit into the 2 kB boot block of an ATMega 8. This boot loader is ideal for prototyping: No need to connect a programmer, just set a jumper and the programmer is built into the target!

http://www.fischl.de/avrusbboot/
Author: Thomas Fischl

AVR-CDC - a USB to Serial Converter

This ingenious project implements the USB Communication Device Class, making use of the operating system’s driver for the device class. No separate driver is needed on the host! Although it goes somewhat beyond the USB specification, it works on all major operating systems.

http://www.recursion.jp/avrcdc/
Author: Osamu Tamura

SNES/NES Gamepad and Atari Joystick to USB Adapter

NES and SNES are gaming consoles. When playing NES and SNES games with an emulator, nothing is better than using the original gamepads. This project converts the NES/SNES interface to USB, emulating a USB joystick. A project update from December 2006 brought support for Atari joysticks. See the project’s News section for a link. An illustrated guide for building a controller for 4 SNES/NES gamepads can be found here and here. There are also instructions for building the adapter without a PCB.

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/snes_nes_usb/index_en.php
Author: Raphaël Assénat

AVR-Doper - an STK500 Compatible AVR Programmer

AVR-Doper is an STK500 compatible In-System Programmer (ISP) and High Voltage Serial Programmmer (HVSP). It comes with a built-in USB to Serial adaptor to connect directly to USB.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/avrdoper.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

PPM RC to USB Interface

This project is a USB joystick controlled by a PPM radio remote control transmitter. There are a lot of such projects around based on different MCUs and USB drivers. But this one is Open Source. It provides very accurate PPM handling and a number of filtering options. Home constructors will like the optional servo tester mode and ADC interface instead of PPM for self-made control boxes.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:ppm-rc-to-usb-interface
Author: Oleg Semyonov

C64 Keyboard

This project implements a full-blown USB keyboard based on the keyboard matrix of a Commodore 64. The fun in this is that you can put a state of the art miniature PC into a C64 breadbox. Technically, it demonstrates how a real USB keyboard can be implemented with V-USB.

https://symlink.dk/projects/c64key/
Author: Mikkel Holm Olsen

USB-LED-Fader

USB-LED-Fader can control up to 8 LEDs with individual brightness waveforms. Its command line tool can easily be integrated into scripts to implement a status display for computer load, mailbox status, network load, video recording software or similar background tasks.

http://www.schatenseite.de/en/2006/10/02/usb-led-fader-4/
Author: Ronald Schaten

i2c-tiny-usb

This project is a tiny low-cost I2C bus adapter. It is meant to replace bit-banging adapters for the parallel port. Advantages are built-in power supply, less CPU load and a very low number of components. The image shows an example application with a DS1621 temperature sensor.

http://www.harbaum.org/till/i2c_tiny_usb/
Author: Till Harbaum

USB-Servo

This device controls a servo over USB. Potential applications are only limited by your imagination. The image shows a mouse pointer finder, similar to the classic x-eyes application on X-Windows.

http://www.schatenseite.de/en/2006/10/28/usb-servo-aka-mousepointerpointer/
Author: Ronald Schaten

3DP-Vert

For many people, Microsoft’s Sidewinder 3D Pro is the only joystick they ever want to use. Unfortunately, most modern computers don’t have a Game Port which is required to connect this joystick. 3DP-Vert allows you to connect the Sidewinder 3D Pro via USB.

http://code.google.com/p/sw3dprousb/
Author: Grendel

USB-Servo 2

A second USB servo controller. This one extends Ronald Schaten’s USB-Servo to 6 servos with a separate supply. It was designed to control the servos of a robot.

http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/25
Author: Duncan Law

USBJoy

This project is primarily for Russian speaking users. It’s similar to the SNES/NES gamepad to USB adapter above, but connects to the following consoles: Dendy (Russian NES), SEGA Mega Drive-II, PlayStation and PlayStation-2. You can use these gamepads with game console emulators and computer games.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:usbjoy
Author: Sergey Ryumik

xu1541

C64 floppies can only be read by Commodore floppy drives. Unfortunately, these drives cannot be directly connected to modern PCs. This project is an adapter which connects the VC 1541 floppy drive via USB.

http://www.trikaliotis.net/xu1541
Author: Till Harbaum and Spiro R. Trikaliotis

N64/Gamecube Adapter

This is another variation of the NES and SNES gaming console adapter. This one turns a Nintendo 64 or a Gamecube controller into a USB joystick.

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/gc_n64_usb/index_en.php
Author: Raphaël Assénat

IRMouse

IRMouse registers as ordinary mouse to the host computer, but it’s controlled by codes of an IR remote control instead of physical movements. You can assign IR codes to x/y movements and mouse buttons.

https://github.com/ksz2k/irmouse
Author: Krzysiek Szczuka

Magnetic Mouse

This is a very interesting college project demonstrating the implementation of a drawing tablet based on hall effect sensors. Lots of background documentation!

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/ee476/FinalProjects/s2007/ayl26_ym82/ayl26_ym82/index.htm
Author: Yiyin Ma and Abby Lin

InfraHID

This project is a general IR remote control to keyboard and mouse event converter. You can assign keystrokes, mouse movements and mouse button clicks to the codes sent by an IR remote control.

https://sites.google.com/site/vamposdecampos2/infrahid
Author: Alex Badea

USBTenki - Environmental Data Acquisition

This is a multi channel data acquisition system for various types of sensors. It’s been developed to record temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/usbtenki/index_en.php
Author: Raphaël Assénat

4x16 LCD on USB

This is another LCD controller for the USB, this time stripped down to the bare minimum. The code fits into 2k flash of an ATTiny2313. Since the circuit has 5 V levels on USB, it won’t work with all hosts.

http://www.delta7.de/projekte.php#usblcd
Author: Bernhard Schulte

The Lord of the Keys - Store Passwords on SmartCards

This password database emulates a USB keyboard to send passwords to the computer. It’s the winner of a Honorable Mention Award in Circuit Cellar’s AVR design contest. An interesting mix of technologies with excellent documentation!

https://www.circuitlake.com/handy-password-managing-system-lord-of-the-keys.html
Author: Carlos Cossio

EasyLogger - ATTiny45 Without Crystal

This project demonstrates how to take advantage of the internal RC oscillator of the ATTiny45 to get more free I/O pins. It’s a data logger which takes a voltage sample every second and sends it to the PC, emulating a USB keyboard where the value is typed.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/easylogger.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

BootloadHID - Another USB Boot Loader

This boot loader takes advantage of the HID kernel drivers on Windows: It works without installing libusb-win32. Other than that, it’s quite similar to Thomas Fischl’s AVRUSBBoot.

https://www.obdev.at/products/vusb/bootloadhid.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

Extreme Feedback Device

Want to have more interesting feedback when you build your software project, not just "build succeeded" or an error message? This device makes software development more fun, especially during winter season.

http://www.vandenbrande.com/wp/?page_id=15
Author: Johan Van den Brande

USB2LPT - USB to Parallel Port Converter

This USB to Parallel Port converter is not only of practical use, it also demonstrates how the low power sleep mode demanded by the USB specification can be implemented with V-USB.

http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/bastelecke/Rund%20um%20den%20PC/USB2LPT/ul-15.htm.en
Author: Henrik Haftmann

SNES Joypad

This is another implementation of Raphaël Assénat’s idea of an SNES to USB adaptor. This one is smaller in size (eight pin AVR) and uses less components. The description is available in German only.

http://hobbyelektronik.org/wiki/index.php?title=SNES-Joypad
Author: Christof Rueß

Miniature Robot

This is a miniature robot programmed via USB. Most of the documentation is in French, but the Readme file in the project download (search for "avr-usb" in the linked description) is in English.

http://www.cours.polymtl.ca/inf1995/fichiers/
Author: Matthew Khouzam

gnusb - a Platform for Controllers and Sensors

Gnusb is a platform for building USB controllers - like mixers, foot pedals and the like - primarily for use with Max/MSP or pure-data.

http://gnusb.sourceforge.net/
Author: [ a n y m a ] - Max & Michael Egger

RemoteSensor 2 - Wireless Temperature and Humidity Sensor

An improved version of Objective Development’s RemoteSensor reference project. Since it is based on Sensirion’s SHT11 sensor chip, no calibration is required and the transmitter is much simpler and smaller.

http://www.tahina.priv.at/electronics.html
Author: Christian Mock

USB-DDS - Frequency Generator 0 to 40 MHz

This Direct Digital Synthesizer generates sine waves from 0 to 40 MHz with millihertz resolution under computer control. It is useful for amateur radio operators as a reference oscillator.

http://www.mydarc.de/dg8saq/AVR-USB/
Author: Thomas Baier

USBaspLoader - Bootloader Emulating USBasp

This boot loader requires no separate upload tool on the host because it emulates USBasp. Since AVRDUDE can be used for uploading, it can be integrated into the Arduino development environment. For an ATTiny boot loader see Micronucleus.

https://www.obdev.at/vusb/usbasploader.html
Author: Objective Development Software GmbH

unzap - Universal IR Receiver and Transmitter

This IR Receiver and Transmitter with 2 MB of flash memory for IR code storage has numerous applications, some of them are a bit subversive...

http://www.lochraster.org/unzap/
Author: Alexander Neumann

DeVis - Visualizer Plugin for WinAmp 5

This project is an LED based visualizer which comes with a plugin for WinAmp 5.

http://www.delta7.de/projekte.php#devis
Author: Bernhard Schulte

USB Relays - Controlling Relays with USB

This project helps you automate things: It has 6 relays for controlling mains voltage devices and 4 opto-coupled inputs. Ulrich’s description is in German only.

http://www.ulrichradig.de/home/index.php/avr/usb-relaiskarte
Author: Ulrich Radig

SpiffChorder - Full PC Keyboard with only 7 Keys

Contrary to a normal (QWERTY style) keyboard, a character on a Chording Keyboard is represented by pressing multiple keys simultaneously. Good for fast one-handed typing!

http://symlink.dk/projects/spiffchorder/
Author: Mikkel Holm Olsen

Hit Counter

You have this very cool new website and are waiting for people to view it? Then this is the right gadget for you: a physical LED display showing the hit count. Technically, this is an 8 digit USB controlled 7 segment LED display.

http://www.bobhobby.com/2008/04/22/usb-physical-hit-counter-based-on-avr-attiny25/
Author: Bob carret

redKontroll - a Versatile Input Device

This is an HID compliant custom controller with 5 rotary encoders, 5 push buttons, 2 softpots and 3 capacitive touch sensors. It can be used to control sound and video software.

http://www.fredrikolofsson.com/pages/hardware.html
Author: Fredrik Olofsson

xxxxx-HID

xxxxx-HID provides a well documented USB sensor input solution, aimed primarily at artists working with audio and video and using free software such as Pure Data or SuperCollider. Six analog inputs (10 bits resolution) and four digital or pushbutton inputs are provided on a simple to etch and assemble board.

http://1010.co.uk/avrhid.html
Author: Martin Howse

AVR-MIDI - a Class Compliant MIDI Device

This MIDI controller uses the same tricks as AVR-CDC to implement a MIDI class compliant USB device. It does not require special host side drivers, but since it goes beyond the specification for low speed devices, it may not work on some hosts.

http://cryptomys.de/horo/AVR-MIDI/
Author: Martin Homuth-Rosemann

rump - The Model M

The Model M was one of IBM’s most popular keyboards. Some people still prefer this it over all others, but modern PCs don’t have a PS2 connector anymore. This project shows how to replace the original controller with a USB capable circuit.

http://mg8.org/rump/
Author: Chris Lee

HandUsb - Data Glove Interface

An alternative controller for the Pinch Glove fingertip contact glove. Something as futuristic as a data glove should connect through USB, not RS232 as in the original design!

http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/mb-iwp/Datenhandschuh/
Author: Henrik Haftmann

Dulcimer - The Model M Again

This coincidence proves how popular the Model M still is: Another replacement electronics to give USB connectivity to IBM’s old keyboard, developed at the same time as rump (see above) and without knowing about the parallel effort. This version supports the keyboard’s LEDs as well.

http://www.schatenseite.de/en/2008/07/12/dulcimer-2/
Author: Ronald Schaten

Haunted USB Cable

This is something to be built during long evenings or rainy weekends in March, so that it’s ready when April 1st approaches. The device implements a keyboard and drives the user mad by sending random keystrokes from time to time.

http://imakeprojects.com/Projects/haunted-usb-cable/
Author: Donald P

AetherSense - No-Touch Joystick

This one-axis joystick is based on ultrasonic distance sensors. It has been built especially for the Aether project, a tabletop gaming system.

http://energy.eecs.umich.edu/wiki/doku.php?id=proj:aethersense:home
Author: Spencer Russell

ZX-USBJoy

With this project you can connect up to two ZX Spectrum joysticks to your computer (which runs a ZX Spectrum emulator, of course). The website is in Russian. You need to enter 6 digits (a CAPTCHA) to download the project.

http://narod.ru/disk/1762604000/ZX_USBJoy_20071020.zip.html
Author: Sergey Ryumik

USBGame12 - an Interface for Simple Joysticks

This interface offers 12 digigal inputs presented to the operating system as USB joystick with 4 directional buttons and 8 general purpose buttons. It can be used to connect historic joysticks or for general purpose digital inputs.

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/usb_game12/index_en.php
Author: Raphaël Assénat

Intellivision to USB Converter

This converter connects a Mattel Intellivision controller to your PC.

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/intellivusb/index_en.php
Author: Raphaël Assénat

AVR IR Downloader - Upgrade Firmware via IR

This project makes firmware upgrades easy: The target has an Infrared receiver and the data is sent via IR. The IR transmitter is based on V-USB.

http://avrirdownloader.wordpress.com/
Author: Hendy Eka H. and Arief Mardhi B.

Pepper-MIDI - Control SX-150 Synth via MIDI

Who said that analog synths have no MIDI interface? This project adds MIDI to the Gakken SX-150 synthesizer.

http://web.me.com/kuwatay/morecat_lab./Pepper-midi-e.html
Author: Morecat Lab

FunkUSB - DCF77 Receiver with USB

This project is a radio clock receiver (DCF77) which connects to the host computer via USB. The DCF77 signal can be received in Germany and neighbouring countries.

http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/bastelecke/Rund%20um%20den%20PC/FunkUsb/
Author: Henrik Haftmann

ATMega-USB-Dingens

This is a kind of prototyping board. It’s basically an ATMega8 with USB and all other pins available at connectors. "Dingens" is a German slang word for "thingy".

http://www.infolexikon.de/blog/atmega-usb-thingy/
Author: Tobias Weis

1-Key-Keyboard

This is the easiest way to interface a single switch to a computer. On- and off-events are translated to keystrokes of a virtual keyboard. An updated version allows up to 4 keys.

http://blog.flipwork.nl/?x=entry:entry081009-142605
Author: Flip van den Berg

Slide Show Presenter

Those old slide-projectors had a handy button with a cable where you could advance to the next slide or go one back. This project implements this type of controller for Powerpoint (and similar) presentations.

http://tuxgraphics.org/electronics/200810/avr-usb-slideshow-presenter.shtml
Author: Guido Socher

usbmot

Usbmot controls up to two small motors using the L293D. The speed of the motors is controlled with PWM.

http://andreas.goelzer.de/usbmot
Author: Andreas Gölzer

WiSHABI - Accelerometer-Based HID

WiSHABI is a wireless, single-handed, accelerometer-based, USB-HID compliant PC interface. It implements mouse and keyboard functionality.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:wishabi
Author: Jadon Clews

PS2USB - Sony PlayStation Adapter

No, this is not a converter for PS2 keyboards or mice. This project converts Sony PlayStation 1 or 2 controllers into a USB joystick.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:ps2usb
Author: Primož Kranjec

Temperature Probe

This is a simple USB thermometer for data logging. The host side software is written in Ruby, demonstrating how to use USB devices in Ruby.

http://www.stahlke.org/dan/usb-temperature/
Author: Dan Stahlke

USBTemp

A simple temperature logger based on the DS18S20 chip.

http://code.google.com/p/mikrowerk/wiki/USBTemp
Author: Mathias Dalheimer

SUN Type5 Keyboard Converter

You have an old Sun Sparc Station keyboard and want to use it on your modern PC? Use this converter turn it into a standard USB keyboard!

http://shikasan.net/sunkey/sunkey_e.html
Author: IIDA Tetsushi

TiltStick

This is an accelerometer based joystick. It adds quite a lot of fun to games like Enigma when played on a handheld device.

http://www.harbaum.org/till/tiltstick/index.shtml
Author: Till Harbaum

redKontroll2 - Controlling Video and Audio Software

This is another HID compliant custom controller for controlling sound and video. This time with 4 potentiometers, one slider, one light sensor, 16 push buttons and one switch.

http://www.fredrikolofsson.com/pages/hardware.html
Author: Fredrik Olofsson

USB-TWI - a Two Wire Interface

This Two Wire Interface comes with two application examples: A stepper motor controller and a data logger.

http://usb-twi.sourceforge.net
Author: Claudio Montecucco

Chenillard

Chenillard is a device that you secretly plug into a victim’s computer. It flashes the LEDs of the computer’s keyboard in sequence. Useless, but good for April jokes...

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:chenillard
Author: Sylvain Davaine

usb-Relay

Simple but effective: A power switch controlled through USB.

https://github.com/johannesk/usb-relay
Author: Johannes Krude

avrBridge

avrBridge is basically a firmware which makes the AVR’s register block directly accessible to the host. The host can directly configure timers, set I/O pins, use the UART etc.

http://ka010.wordpress.com/projects/avrbridge/
Author: Kai Aras

AVR Stick - a Simple Data Logger

This is an improved version of EasyLogger which is also available as pre-assembled unit.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9147
Author: SparkFun Electronics

USB Scope - cheapest dual trace scope in the galaxy

It has not the sample rate of a real digital storage scope, but it’s great for low speed signals.

http://yveslebrac.blogspot.com/2008/10/cheapest-dual-trace-scope-in-galaxy.html
Author: Yves Lebrac

Terminal Keyboard - a Serial Terminal as Keyboard

This device converts any serial terminal (or terminal emulator) into a USB keyboard.

http://hobby-electrons.sourceforge.net/projects/terminal-keyboard/
Author: Neil Stockbridge

Retro Adapter V2

The Retro Adapter V2 connects almost any type of game controller to USB. It works with PCs running Windows/Linux and with Apple Macs, as well as the Sony Playstation 3.

http://denki.world3.net/retro_v2.html
Author: Paul Qureshi

SUPERPLAY

SUPERPLAY is an arcade joystick controller. It supports multiple games consoles and PC/USB, and has an expansion bus for extra modules such as an LCD display or LED lighting controller. It is follow-up to the Dreamcast USB Arcade Joystick.

http://denki.world3.net/superplay.html
Author: Paul Qureshi

Quick Launch Keys

Many keyboards now come with shortcut keys for starting a web browser or controlling volume. This project extends every keyboard by this functionality.

http://denki.world3.net/quicklaunch.html
Author: Paul Qureshi

MamePanel

This project implements a Mame panel which includes controls for Mame games by joystick and mouse, Mame and operating system user interface by Keyboard and volume control.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:mamepanel
Author: Andreas Oberdorfer

USBTenki-mux

This is an extension of Raphaël Assénat’s USBTenki to 16 independent temperature sensors.

http://www.schmut.com/other-stuff/usbtenki-mux/usbtenki-mux
Author: Mario Theodoridis

openchord-guitar

Instead of playing Guitar Hero / Rock Band with a controller that simply looks like a guitar, you can now play on the real deal – moving your fingers along the strings of a real guitar, making real chords, strumming with a real pick.

http://code.google.com/p/openchord-guitar/
Author: Alan Chatham

usbddr

You can have a lot of fun playing Dance Dance Revolution - until your dance pad breaks. Then it’s time to build yourself a more stable dance pad based on an ATMega8.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:usbddr
Author: Stefan Rehm

USB Line Switch

Turn on and off loads such as computer peripherals with one mouse click. This is a commercial product, available as construction set or completely assembled device.

http://www.reusch-elektronik.de/index_en_uls.htm
Author: Reusch Elektronik

USB Radio Clock

This is a compact DCF77 radio clock receiver with USB interface. It features an internal real time clock as second time source. This is a commercial product, available as construction set or completely assembled device.

http://www.reusch-elektronik.de/index_en_usbdcf77.htm
Author: Reusch Elektronik

USBLotIO - Lots of I/O Pins

This is a very simple and easily expandable I/O adapter. It uses shift registers for a virtually unlimited amount of I/O lines. Description is in German only.

http://hobbyelektronik.org/w/index.php?title=USBLotIO
Author: Christof Rueß

HDBeamer

This do-it-yourself beamer uses V-USB in the microcontroller which does temperature control and counting hours of operation. Description is in German only.

http://www.ringwelt.de/HDBeamer/HDBeamer4b.html
Author: Ralf Tralow

USB DCF77 Receiver

DCF77 is a long wave transmitter in Germany which sends a precise time signal. It can be received in most of Central Europe. This receiver synchronizes your computer’s clock to the DCF77 signal.

http://www.kreuzholzen.de/projects/usb-dcf77-receiver/index_en.html
Author: Jürgen Beisert

MIDI Expression Pedal

This pedal is not just a great USB/MIDI device, it also demonstrates how to replace potentiometers with cheap and durable capacitive sensors.

http://wzab.cba.pl/STARE/MIDI/pedal/index.html
Author: Wojciech Zabolotny

Open Crypto-Token

A very cheap device performing Elliptic Curve Cryptography directly on the AVR. The private key is locked in the AVR’s flash memory to protect it from external access.

http://code.google.com/p/opencryptotoken/
Author: Mariusz Kryński

PS3negcon

This adapter allows the PS3 to use the NeGcon controller. Those who know the NeGcon will appreciate this project. Others don’t need to...

http://ps3negcon.element42.org/
Author: Mo Evans

kazzo

This is a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) cartridge dumping and copying device. It can also write to flash cartridges.

http://sourceforge.jp/projects/unagi/wiki/kazzo_intro_en
Author: Unagi Kaihatu Kyoudou Kumiai

USB Wireless Tilt Mouse

This project explores the possibilities of a mouse controlled by tilt for environments where no flat surface for a conventional mouse is available.

http://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/ece4760/FinalProjects/s2010/ss868_jfe5/ss868_jfe5/index.html
Author: Skyler Schneider, Jack Ellsworth

SCANALOGIC-2 - Logic Analyzer and Signal Generator

Although this Logic Analyzer is a commercial project, the entry level cost (for a kit) is exceptionally low.

http://www.ikalogic.com/scanalogic2/
Author: Ibrahim Kamal

MIDI Drum Trigger

The design goals of this MIDI drum trigger are: Simple, cheap and consisting only of easily available components.

http://wzab.cba.pl/STARE/MIDI/perkusja/index.html
Author: Wojciech Zabolotny

Monaka

This is basically a hardware- and firmware-framework for sensors and signal output with a MIDI and Open Sound Control interface so that it can be easily used for music and multimedia.

http://morecatlab.akiba.coocan.jp/morecat_lab/Monaka-e.html
Author: Yoshitaka Kuwata

MOCO/MICO - USB to MIDI Converter

A simple and tiny USB to MIDI converter. It's so small that it fits into the MIDI connector!

http://morecatlab.akiba.coocan.jp/morecat_lab/MOCO-e.html
Author: Yoshitaka Kuwata

PPM2USB - RC Remote Control as Joystick

This device converts the PPM signal of a radio remote control transmitter to USB joystick controls so that you can fly your simulator with the real remote control. It's very similar to Oleg Semyonov's version, but requires less exotic prerequisites.

http://thomaspfeifer.net/ppm2usb_adapter_en.htm
Author: Thomas Pfeifer

UKI - USB Key Injector

If you know what a keyboard injector is: This is the Pro-Model. A keyboard injector presents itself to the computer as a keyboard. You can imagine the rest.

http://www.nopsecurity.net/UKI1.htm
Author: NOP Security

vusbtiny - ISP Programmer

An AVR ISP programmer stripped down to the bare minimum. An 8 pin AVR, no crystal and a couple of passive components.

http://www.simpleavr.com/avr/vusbtiny
Author: Chris Chung

LED Flower

Cool looking flowers with LED light effects, which can be controlled via USB. The site has detailed instructions and offers nice looking PCBs.

http://cccgoe.de/wiki/LED_Flower
Author: Johannes Agricola

USB Funk - Radio Controlled Power Switch

Ever wanted to switch the power for some devices via USB? This device controls commercial 433 MHz remote control power outlets via USB, saving the wiring paths between your computer and the controlled outlets.

http://www.maltepoeggel.de/?site=usbfunk
Author: Malte Pöggel

CCD Spectrometer

This is a low cost, but high quality optical spectrometer. It can be used to measure the spectral distribution of light sources such as LEDs, or for physical analytics to measure absorption spectra.

http://fzu.cz/~dominecf/electronics/usb-spect/usb_spectrometer_dominec.pdf
Author: Filip Dominec

Burgerking Lamp

This project shows what happens when a passionate hobbyist gets a cheap toy with an LED. It also demonstrates that V-USB projects don't require a PCB :-)

http://www.adlerweb.info/blog/2011/03/26/bitbastelei-6-kinderspielzeug-hacking-usb-anschluss-fur-burgerking-lampe
Author: Florian Knodt

Indictron - Monitor Continuous Integration Status

This is basically a controller which can switch 16 LEDs arranged in a 4 x 4 array. It comes with a plugin for Cruise Control .Net, a Continuous Integration Server, so that it can visualize the build status for up to four software projects.

http://bytecruft.blogspot.co.at/2011/04/build-system-status-monitor.html
Author: Pedantite

FIGnition - Simple 8 Bit Computer with Video

This simple Open Source 8 bit DIY computer with composite video output uses v-usb for firmware upgrades via the USBasp boot loader. The project is featured by the BBC and kits are available for sale.

http://www.fignition.co.uk/
Author: Julian Skidmore

Red Feline Stompbox - USB Guitar Pedal

This is basically a one-key keyboard with a programmable state machine which allows it to offer reasonable semantic richness with only one key.

http://redfelineninja.org.uk/software/rfstompbox.html
Author: Daniel Thompson

USB Joystick Adapter

An adapter which connects two 9-pin digital joysticks as USB HID devices.

http://www.hexagons.de/index.php/USB_Joystickadapter
Author: Andreas Paul

Web-Controlled Rover with WebCam

This rover can be controlled via a web interface while you can see the world from the rover's perspective through a web cam. It uses v-usb to connect the motor drivers to the main computer.

http://www.homofaciens.de/technics-robots-rover-construction_en_navion.htm
Author: Norbert Heinz

uart2kbd - Virtual Keyboard

This is a USB keyboard without keys. Instead of pressing keys, you send it commands over a serial (UART) interface.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/uart2kbd/
Author: Sunjun Kim

Stand Alone Temperature/Voltage Logger

Wnat to know how precise your fridge holds its temperature? Just drop this tiny device into it and read out the temperature curve any time later.

http://www.insidegadgets.com/projects/standalone-temperaturevoltage-logger/
Author: Alex

Vacuum Fluorescent Display Driver

Many people like these old-style green glowing vacuum fluourescent displays. They are often available for a good price as surplus items. This circuit gives them new life!

https://github.com/ceemos/vfd-fv651g
Author: Marcel Schneider

Umlaut Keyboard

Some operating systems make it hard to enter Umlaut characters when a US keyboard is connected. This keyboard amends any keyboard by just the umlaut keys.

http://alpharesearch.de/?page_id=53
Author: Markus Schulz

Magnetometer Mouse

This is an absolute pointing device based on a HMC5883L magnetometer. It works similar to a compass. Control the mouse pointer by moving the sensor in the air, pointing at the desired position.

https://github.com/denilsonsa/atmega8-magnetometer-usb-mouse
Author: Denilson Figueiredo de Sá

LC Meter

This is a computer controlled measurement instrument which can measure inductance and capacitance, frequency and voltage and it can also synthesize frequencies.

http://vusb.wikidot.com/project:lc-meter-usb
Author: Balogh Barnabás

phi-T Control

This is a foot controller for digital guitar effect software. It implements the USB MIDI class and is therefore directly recognized as MIDI device without any additional drivers.

http://philaudio.wordpress.com/projects/phi-t/phi-t-control/
Author: Philipp Bulling

Little Wire

This little gadget can be programmed to perform various tasks ranging from an AVR programmer, PWM/servo controller, ADC, I2C interface, SPI interface, UART interface to a 1-wire interface.

http://littlewire.cc/
Author: Ihsan Kehribar

ZX81 USB Keyboard

This looks like a Sinclair ZX81, but it is a real USB keyboard, just with the look and feel of a ZX81!

http://tynemouthsoftware.blogspot.co.at/2012/02/arduino-based-zx81-usb-keyboard.html
Author: Dave Curran

SPÖKA Night Light

IKEA's SPÖKA resembles a little glowing ghost. This project puts the ghost under USB control.

http://wejp.k.vu/hacks/usb_controlled_spoka_night_light
Author: Johannes Heimansberg

USB IR Remote Receiver

A multi-protocol receiver for infrared remote controls.

https://www.mikrocontroller.net/articles/USB_IR_Remote_Receiver
Author: Portisch

Case LED - CPU Usage Meter

Yes, this is an article about case modding. But it's not just about cool light effects, the light displays the current CPU load of the computer.

http://cuznersoft.com/wordpress/?p=164
Author: Kevin Cuzner

USB GPIO

In the old days, when computers had parallel ports, it was easy to interface prototype hardware with a computer. This project offers an alternative: General purpose I/O pins controlled via USB.

http://www.jenrathbun.com/Electronics/?page_id=759
Author: Tom Struzik

USB NES Controller Adapter

Playing NES games on an emulator is half the fun if you don't have the original controller. This adapter converts the NES controller into a USB joystick.

http://www.bidouille.org/elec/usbnesadapter
Author: Victorien Villard

USB Volume Control

You're playing music on your computer and somebody wants to talk to you or a phone call comes in. In order to reduce the volume, you must first get around the screen locker, find the audio player application, ... Not anymore, with this gadget!

http://obruboff.ru/usb-volume-control/
Author: Обрубов Виталий

RC-5 Remote

This is a USB keyboard controlled by an IR remote control. The firmware understands RC-5 (Philips) remote control codes.

http://www.marwedels.de/malte/usbir/
Author: Malte Marwedel

Password Generator

You fear that people can watch you type your password? Or you always forget it? This device is a virtual keyboard which types your password automatically each time it's plugged in.

http://codeandlife.com/2012/03/03/diy-usb-password-generator/
Author: Joonas Pihlajamaa

AVRMIDI

This simple MIDI to USB converter is part of a bigger project, the lad-drum: an electronic drum kit based on AVRs.

http://code.google.com/p/lad-drum/
Author: Adrian Gin

LED Cube

27 LEDs, arranged in a cube 3x3x3, each of them controllable via USB. This is a beginner's project, as it is intended to introduce to soldering at the hobby level.

http://cccgoe.de/wiki/LED_Cube/en
Author: Johannes Agricola

BlinkStick

This Open Source mini kit takes the hardware to the bare minimum! A bright RGB LED can be controlled by any host: Linux, Mac, Raspberry Pi or even Windows. Ideal for beginners!

http://www.blinkstick.com/
Author: Agile Innovative Ltd

FlyStick

The FlyStick is mostly a passive device: It reflects IR light back to a camera which can then determine the position and rotation of the stick. A microcontroller with V-USB handles two joystick keys on the stick.

http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/mb-iwp/FlyStick/#2
Author: Henrik Haftmann

SHT11 - Temperature and Humidity Sensor

This circuit connects an SHT11 temperature and humidity sensor chip via USB. The firmware provides excessive HID self-description and implements proper power management.

http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/bastelecke/Rund%20um%20den%20PC/SHT11/
Author: Henrik Haftmann

tinyUSBboard - Arduino Compatible AVR Board

An Arduino compatible prototyping board, so simple that it can easily be built on breadboard! It is not only easy to build, but also cheap due to the tiny bill of materials.

http://matrixstorm.com/avr/tinyusbboard/
Author: Stephan B.

HiCu

An AVR development board with 62 digital I/O pins, 16 inputs for just 22$, based on the ATMega640!

http://www.workinprogress.ca/projects/hicu/
Author: Patrick Sébastien

CVpal - USB for Analog Synthesizers

This DIY kit controls analog synthesizers via USB MIDI from your computer, iPad or iPhone. It offers two CV and two gate outputs.

http://mutable-instruments.net/modules/cvpal
Author: Olivier Gillet

Tiny AVR JTAG Programmer

A small and inexpensive programmer for all AVRs that supports JTAG programming. Compatible with AVRDUDE programming software.

http://www.embedded-creations.com/projects/tiny-avr-jtag-programmer/
Author: Louis Beaudoin

ATtiny85_USB_HID_DS18B20 - Temperature Sensor

A temperature sensor with DS18B20 featuring high resolution measurements.

https://gitlab.com/user890104/ATtiny85_USB_HID_DS18B20
Author: Vencislav Atanasov

ZX-Keyboard

This is a project to convert an old ZX Spectrum in to a fully usable USB keyboard that will function with a PC, Raspberry Pi, or an Android device that supports HID devices via a USB host adapter.

https://github.com/alistairuk/ZX-Keyboard
Author: Alistair MacDonald

Gamepanel - Custom Game Panel for Flight Simulators

… and similar games where you need a lot of buttons (mapped to keyboard keys). The device is recognized as USB combo device consisting of a keyboard and a joystick.

https://github.com/MrOnak/avr_usbhid_gamepanel
Author: MrOnak

AT93C46 EEPROM Programmer

Since EEPROMs are rarely written by an external programmer, it's hard to find such a device. But it's super useful for reverse engineering devices using these EEPROMs!

http://www.xmechatronics.com/2014/12/usb-programmer-for-at93c46-family.html
Author: NeutroN StrikeR

USB MIDI Keyboard/Controller

Low cost USB MIDI controller device (or interface) for music applications like piano or organ keyboard or pedalboard.

https://www.instructables.com/id/USB-MIDI-Controller/
Author: El Pajarito Manitas

LED Cube 5x5x5

125 red LEDs arranged in a 5x5x5 cube. It connects to a computer using USB and it has 2Kb of internal EEPROM memory, where it stores effects.

https://jiristepanovsky.cz/project.php?p=14ledcube
Author: Jiri Stepanovsky

Presentation Remote

Switch slides during your presentation while you walk around in the room.

https://jiristepanovsky.cz/project.php?p=13presenter
Author: Jiri Stepanovsky

PassKeychain

This devices stores your passwords and sends them via an emulated keyboard when you need them. Note that this is not a security token, it's just for convenience.

https://jiristepanovsky.cz/project.php?p=14passkeychain
Author: Jiri Stepanovsky

AVR HVS Programmer

An AVR programmer supporting High Voltage Serial Programming and TPI interface. Documentation is Japanese, so you may want to use an online translation service.

http://jsdiy.webcrow.jp/hidavrw/
Author: J.Sugita

Tardyon Drive AVR Stepper Controller

USB accessible, single-axis motion controller that can fit into an USB-connector. Comes with driver libraries (Windows and Linux). The board contains no power driver, just the step pulse generation.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/tardyondrive-avr/
Author: HALaser Systems

BrushKnob - Control Device for Photoshop Tools

A commercially available device (funded via Indiegogo) with source code available on GitHub.

https://github.com/kmwtr/BrushKnob/
Author: Wataru Kami

Meta_Robot

A low cost robot with ultrasonic distance sensor based on Arduino or Metaboard.

https://garoa.net.br/wiki/Meta_Robot
Author: Marcelo Campos

AVeRCADE

AVeRCADE is a flexible USB adapter for arcade controls. It can also be used as a generic development board, since it uses USBaspLoader to update the firmware.

https://hackaday.io/project/7941-avercade
Author: Danjovic

Key Pass

This project provides a way of store up to 16 passwords, that can be sent to your PC like keystrokes.

https://hackaday.io/project/8199-key-pass
Author: Danjovic

Mame USB - Extensible USB controller for arcade machines

This project was designed for the DIYer arcade constructor. It consists of a single sided board with capacity for 2 controllers with 12 inputs each, but can be daisy chained to expand the quantity of inputs.

https://hackaday.io/project/6363-mame-usb
Author: Danjovic

USB Bootloader

An AVR boot loader using the USB HID protocol.

http://www.loewenwasser.de/www/dl_usbbootloader.php
Author: Udo Kolb

10MHz Reference

10 MHz frequency reference primarily for HAM radio use, but even high priced laboratory devices are using this reference signal to gain up in precision.

https://github.com/DF4IAH/avr_DF4IAH_10MHz_Reference
Author: Ulrich Habel

USB IR Receiver

Receives commands via NEC remote control and executes configurable host commands.

https://github.com/danielrempel/USBIRReceiver
Author: Daniel Rempel

JoyDivision

This adapter connects old joysticks — the *real* stuff — to your favorite game emulator.

http://www.onyxsoft.se/joydivision.html
Author: Stefan Blixth

Mac Temerature Sensor

A temperature sensor based on the DS18B20 that connects to an Apple Mac over USB, and works within a macOS application to display the temperature.

http://www.approachlabs.com/apple-mac-usb-temperature-sensor/
Author: Antonio Sakr

USB GPIO Board

This board exposes 12 I/O pins directly controllable via USB. Comes with a GPIO driver for Linux.

https://github.com/amitesh-singh/usb-gpio-board
Author: Amitesh Singh

MEGA MIDI

Arduino based USB MIDI Controller, in development. Will be capable to use 64 or more potentiometers, encoders and buttons simultaneously.

http://openhardware.ro/arduino-usb-midi-controller/
Author: Silvius

4 Chord USB MIDI Keyboard

The Axis of Awesome made it clear, all it takes to make a hit pop song is four chords. With this tool you are part of it!

https://4chord.craplab.fi
Author: Sven Gregori

kbdwtchdg

This hardware watchdog is triggered by the keyboard CapsLock status. If no trigger occurs, it sends a keystroke sequence to reset the software.

https://github.com/7enderhead/kbdwtchdg
Author: 7enderhead

vusibino-2

An Arduino-compatible prototyping board built on cardboard. You can't beat the price of this design.

https://chafalladas.com/en/vusibino-2/
Author: Alfonso Abelenda Escudero

Joystick GPIO Adapter

This adapter connects joysticks produced by Monster Joysticks to Linux computers such as the Raspbery Pi and makes them available as GPIO pins.

https://github.com/MonsterJoysticks/USB-GPIO-Adapter
Author: Ian Thomasson Lee

Business Card - featuring 2.4Ghz wireless and WS2812B’s

This business card works as a USB-HID device, takes input from a 2.4Ghz transceiver and it also comes with some flashy RGB LED’s and a prototyping header.

https://abnielsen.com/2018/10/02/business-card-rf24-ws2812b-attiny84-usb/
Author: Anders Nielsen

CubaseShortcutKeyboard

This is a simple device designed action shortcuts in Cubase: control the system volume, mute/unmute the sound, play/stop, start recording, toggle transport cycle, mark the current selected track as solo.

https://github.com/ematt/CubaseShortcutKeyboard
Author: ematt

Joyweiler

A retro arcade Joystick that has both a D Sub 9 pin plug to connect to period hardware like C64 or Amiga, and via USB to modern hardware, to be used with Emulators like Vice or FS-UAE.

https://gitlab.com/edge-records/joyweiler
Author: Edge Records

Retronic Joystick Adapter

Connect your retro joystick (Amiga, Atari, Commodore, …) to your not-so-retro computer. In fact, this DB9 to USB joystick adapter is designed to be use with most joysticks, paddles and joypads with standard DB9 connector.

https://www.retronicdesign.com/en/download/
Author: Retronic Design

Caller Line Identification decoder

Landline phones receive an identification of the caller when they ring. This decoder makes the caller identification available via USB for further processing.

https://up.nl.eu.org/projects/clid.html
Author: Silvester Vossen

Taktschuh

Taktschuh is an add-on to a shoe which converts the rhythm of steps into keyboard events for recording.

https://gitlab2.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/s329728/taktschuh
Author: Daniel Reinhardt

snopf - a USB Security Token

Snopf is a security token which generates unique passwords for every service. The objective is similar to that of FIDO2, but it's less complex and snopf can be used for services that don't support 2 Factor Authentication.

https://github.com/snopf/snopf
Author: Hajo Kortmann

Jogshuttle - an USB Jogshuttle for Video Editing

This jogshuttle allows you to make fast and accurate cutting of clips in kdenlive video editor. It can be used with other video editors which can assign actions to arbitrary keys.

https://gitlab.com/jdigreze/hid-jog-shuttle
Author: Igor Afonkin

USB converter for Trackman MarbleFX

This is basically a PS/2++ (Logitech protokol) to USB-HID converter. As a bonus for the trackball, it emulates mouse wheel scrolling when button 4 (red button) is pressed.

https://github.com/seife/marble_fx_digistump
Author: Stefan Seyfried

ATTiny85 Gamepad - built from things found at home

If all you have at home is a can of tuna, some buttons that fell off your shirt, some epoxy putty and of course an ATTiny85, here is a recipe for building a gamepad from these components.

https://raffsalvetti.dev/2023/07/attiny85-gamepad/
Author: Raffaello Salvetti

USB Power Meter - monitoring energy consumption

With energy becoming more and more expensive, this small measurement device can help you track the power consumption of your home.

https://up.nl.eu.org/projects/sct.html
Author: Silvester Vossen