Just go for it: The story of dance-mat.js
summary
Builds a working Dance Dance Revolution mat using a yoga mat, conductive paint, a Raspberry Pi Zero running Node.js and an NPM HID/gadget script that enumerates as a USB HID keyboard, and StepMania on PC. Implements touch thresholds, maps electrodes to USB hex scan codes, packs eight-byte HID reports, and writes them to the Pi’s USB device node. Prototype supports two-player layout, required soldered leads for reliability, and succeeds in live demos though paint cracks over time.
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chapters (16)
- 0:00Introduction and welcome
- 1:31Rhythm games and DDR
- 3:23Open source DDR alternative
- 5:10Maker Faire and conductive paint
- 7:19Project dance-mat.js begins
- 8:44Turning Raspberry Pi into keyboard
- 10:31USB signal and hexadecimal codes
- 11:35Sending data to PC
- 13:03USB file descriptor and NPM
- 14:30Testing and cleanup
- 15:17Painting the dance mat
- 16:21First successful test
- 16:43Lessons learned and improvements
- 17:48First prototype struggles
- 18:52Live demo with volunteer
- 22:03Conclusion and takeaways
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