What exactly can you do with iomixer?

Previous video: • What exactly is 'iomix...
iomixer tests playlist: • iomixer tests
MIDI in/out demo: • iomixer MIDI in, MIDI out
0:00 Intro
1:42 Digital input/output
3:02 Analog input, servo output
4:09 Servo PWM vs duty cycle PWM
7:24 Addressable RGB LEDs
10:24 Rotary encoder
11:49 Mini displays
13:50 IMU (accelerometer, gyro)
16:04 Barometer
18:00 Compass/magnetometer
20:08 Load cell
22:43 PPM output
24:20 PPM input
25:48 Serial input (ibus, sbus)
31:44 PWM input
32:56 nRF24 transceivers
36:17 GPS
40:00 Serial bus servos
43:44 MIDI input
46:36 Logging
50:12 Gamepad emulation
52:43 G-Code style interaction
55:10 Outro

[@iforce2d]

UPDATE: all the spare boards I had have been taken, thanks for the interest. I'll order another batch and update this comment when there are some more available.

[@TheZerocul]

Tell me what firmware to flash matekH743 or matekH743bdh to work dhot? is there any difference? Dshot on firmware will work matekH743?

[@o0julek0o]

Yes, I *AM* an eager beaver!

[@wsc112782]

This is a really awesome accomplishment for a lone developer to create, great job. I hope you make this an open source project but I could totally understand keeping it closed.

[@matthewreed4192]

This would be awesome if it was made open source! other microcontrollers can be added! community can add new features!

[@iforce2d]

The hardware is open source, but I'm planning to sell the firmware which is what 97% of my development effort went into.

[@irkedoff]

​@iforce2d do you have a website where you sell? I'm fairly new to coding and want to play with one. Thank you.

[@PiefacePete46]

I started watching this video shortly after you released it... I just finished! I got busy in an "Old-Fart" sort of way... trekking about and entertaining overseas visitors, so it has been sitting on my screen, waiting. What a "Tour de iforce" this has become, from it's beginnings as a good idea. As is obvious from the comments, there are sooo many potential use cases. Arduino was a brilliant concept that has spawned some pretty neat offshoots, but you have really nailed it with this. Congratulations, and thanks. 👍

[@jon_raymond]

That nugget about interacting with OpenPNP at the end of the video was very exciting! Great to see a new video from you.

[@iforce2d]

You might like this one too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ6adZ6Hm6p-jZI

[@jon_raymond]

@@iforce2d Sweet!

[@kermets]

Enormous Effort Chris........cheers Brett

[@chefgeoffreyexcellence4254]

This is possibly ht most impressive and promising device I have seen in years. perfect for all kinds of things, but one of the first things that comes to mind is prop designers. Most prop makers I know would foam at the mouth for one of these. Awesome work. Hope it continues on with great progress

[@iforce2d]

When you say 'prop', if you're talking about for movie or theater sets, yeah that occurred to me too. They could be controlled by an operator over radio, or MIDI events could be played from a DAW to play a canned sequence of events. The 37 servo outputs could be handy in animatronics...?

[@chefgeoffreyexcellence4254]

@@iforce2d absolutely. Also for the simple screen and led control over radio or reacting to the environment. Most electronic props are done with either pic microcontrollers or FPGAs -not much Arduino really- and all the propmasters I know would give their legs for how easy that looks to use. I've shared the video to a couple I know to see what they think. Might be a weird unintended industry you solved issues for

[@PiefacePete46]

@@chefgeoffreyexcellence4254 : I hope the people you shared the video with are OK with being described as "weird" and "unintended"! 😜 🥴

[@rjung_ch]

You built a highly capable project here, it's so well thought out! 👍💪✌

[@rowannadon7668]

Wow this thing is really cool. It seems amazing for prototyping all kinds of different systems

[@umbrela_Corp]

By the time i finished watching this i have come up with 200 usefull things that can eliminate large bulky things

[@AerialWaviator]

Amazing work, and progress. It's really looking more polished as a product, both the software interface and the pcb. Seeing how this video view count has shoot up over the week since posted is a great indicator to the amount of interest in your iomixer project. This will really open the ease to prototyping, or someone not familiar with with electronics/programming to approach many types of animatronics, or mechatronics projects.

[@chrismofer]

This is awesome. I work in a hobby shop and lots of people want to make servos respond to button presses or other simple input output stuff but the only way I know how is to show them arduino C programming which is not for everybody. nodes are awesome.

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

The benefit of arduino though is price, you can get a attiny version for less than a dollar that can handle pretty much any simple input output sketches and weighs like 2 grams. Maybe make one and sell it in the hobby shop.

[@TheMadninjamike]

You have been INSTUMENTAL in helping me to progress in my quest to understand and grow in all things related to DIY RC and microcontrollers in general. Thank you for all that you do. I got first comment! yay me....everyone else is alright I guess, but I'm SUPER alright.....

[@markgreco1962]

Now this is some fantastic work Chris. Are you working on selling these commercially.

[@iforce2d]

The hardware is open but I'm planning to sell the firmware. btw check your spam box.

[@markgreco1962]

@@iforce2ddone thanks

[@Sindrijo]

This is really cool! I kind of just stumble upon this video through the YT algo, I'm a programmer but I have only just dabbled a tiny bit into the world of Arduino but I think this would be amazing as a teaching tool in various subjects like robotics and automation. In my work place we have also made and implemented a node-based 'programming' language aimed at enabling 'beginner/novice' users to create simple logic. I particularly like how you have thought about how to use multiples of these in different roles Tx/Rx. This pretty exciting and I think this will definitely catch on!

[@anonuzer3394]

Yes please, i would like another

[@tinayoga8844]

Its like NodeRed but for a microcontroller. Impressive what you have done.

[@gbraadnl]

i thought the same.

[@xcruell]

I. NEED. This!!

[@wifiguy_nz]

I quote you, "Sorry, I got a bit confused there" 😂 Your telling me that, how the hell do you think we feel, lol. Stunning video jam packed with nonsense detailed info. I trust you are educating the next generation of creators and problem solvers. At the age of 50, I am still learning. I can see the teachers tomorrow saying to the children to watch your video's, then dream about them and create.

[@PiefacePete46]

@wifiguy_nz : Did you mean "nonsense detailed info", or "no-nonsense detailed info"?

[@zoidbergVII]

Another eager beaver -

[@RK-dp9fe]

😂

[@tinygriffy]

funny ;) .. I took me a while to put /configurator behind the domain ^^

[@RicardoBHubner]

Muito boa explicação irmão! Abraços.

[@SetoFPV]

wow great project, I hope ESP32 will be supported because it will make IoT devices easily

[@Wayno_Complaino]

My eager beaver can’t wait to order.

[@DroneSkinz]

Where can this IO mixer be purchased? I just landed on Earth. Thanks

[@marc_frank]

really really cool does this generate arduino code in the background and connect to their online ide for compiling? or did you do all that yourself, too? did you go study somewhere or are you self taught?

[@iforce2d]

This is not for arduino, and not compiled either. The nodes are held in memory and each one does it's thing based on how the properties are set. When you click 'upload' all nodes are discarded and all peripherals de-init to get back to the starting state, then everything is set up according to the new config. I suppose you could almost call it an operating system of sorts. Yes I developed all of it. I studied computer science at uni in the late 90's, but that was mostly Java that never ended up helping me much in the real world. For this particular project I would have learned it all after leaving school, namely C/C++, STM32 HAL, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, MySQL.

[@osenseijedi]

Will you be opening "some" code for extensibility? I m thinking specifically about if I were to get a new board that isn't supported yet (not listed in the drivers), would I able to write a driver myself ?

[@iforce2d]

If you mean a new peripheral device, eg. a different type of IMU or barometer etc, then no, it would require me to add it. This system is mainly for those who don't know how to code and don't want to learn, but still want to get something done. People capable of writing device drivers would likely be better off setting up their own custom firmware.

[@tinygriffy]

Impressive !! Did you make a video about how to set up the relay =?

[@iforce2d]

In the previous video I briefly showed starting it up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nl68aZyGiKeJiNU It's only a conduit between the device and the browser so there's not really any set up to do, you just run it.

[@senorjp21]

This is a novel and innovative product and the UI is impressive. I suggest you rename it Servo Magic or something that emphasizes the outcome. Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

[@PiefacePete46]

@senorjp21 : That would be selling it short... the range of capabilities is so vast it deserves a name that tickles your interest:... something like "iomixer" perhaps? 😜 👍

[@cklam123456789]

Did you create the iomixer node using react ? Impressive framework !

[@iforce2d]

I'm using paper.js

[@sveinjohnnynilssen3293]

Is it possible to get the RelayServer?

[@yarnsags]

Will the relay server protocol be available? I'd like to try running the configurator on an ESP32

[@iforce2d]

That would be interesting, not sure if possible, but being a console program with no graphical component the relay server is relatively easy to port. It needs to open a serial connection on one side and a websocket on the other, and I think it would need USB OTG capability too. To answer your question, it's not open-source but I might look into this further sometime. Failing that, a RaspberryPi ZeroW works well and is pretty small.

[@yarnsags]

@iforce2d The ESP32-S2 or S3 should be able to do websocket to USB serial host. It can host the web side, but gives some JS console errors if I just use the downloaded files. (Wasn't expecting that to actually work, just wanted to see if it would fit and load.)

[@gbraadnl]

are you exoected to sell boards, open source it, or keep as a personal hobby project?

[@iforce2d]

I will sell some boards but the hardware is open source, so ideally if it becomes popular I can eventually just sell the firmware.

[@briankristensendk]

Where Can i buy one?

[@iancommons9841]

when do you plan on manufacturing the boards? And if you do how much would you need capital wise to go into production?

[@iforce2d]

So far I'm having the boards made a handful at a time by JLCPCB, it's not really costly enough to require outside capital support. The hardware is open source so in the long run I'm planning to sell just the firmware, which is where 97% of my development effort goes. I'm thinking of making a pick-and-place to assemble boards at home which would be the biggest up-front cost, but I think I can cover it.

[@iancommons9841]

@@iforce2d how much are the boards costing you to make? I'd like to get ahold of a few.

[@iforce2d]

From JLCPCB it's about $25-30 each at the moment depending on exactly which components are mounted, email me for the details if you want to order your own. You'll need to solder on a bunch of pin headers to get it into the state shown in the video.

[@nmrlab3807]

nice way of doing things, maybe you already know but just in case you can upgrade your i6x stock firmware to opentx

[@luciferforpresident]

i didnt really understand what output you are using from the MIDI device and which input it connects to on the iomixer

[@iforce2d]

There is a MIDI out plug on the controller which goes to a pin on the iomixer. It's a UART connection which sends a message when some even happens, like a note being pressed/released, or a control dial/slider being changed. If you mean the physical connection, I had to make up a cable from a 3.5mm audio jack and soldering a bit onto the other end: www.iforce2d.net/tmp/wc245225.jpeg

[@ourchannel8215]

what is this board? looking like flight controller

[@iforce2d]

As mentioned in the video title: iomixer. See the links in the description for more info.

[@jamesmoore2007]

Dude i want to buy a few of them

[@Toro-Tor]

Blown away what this iomixer can do, ie. how easy it is to do, but I rather won't try it, cause I will just blow up things. No, thats not a question, its a statement 😁 I need to understand the logic behind it, like in Arduino, but here in iomixer it is all pre-programmed, so it seems.

[@iforce2d]

The idea is it will be attractive for people who don't know how to code or don't want to. I too like to know how everything works, but there are also people who just want to use a barometer without knowing the details of its I2C registers.

[@PiefacePete46]

@Toro-Tor : I think you should get one and try it. Then you can add it to the list of "Things I tried, and blew up!" 😜 😵‍💫

[@JB-fh1bb]

The algo must have recommended your videos because I’ve been particularly frustrated with how complicated computer input is compared to how it actually is (literally every game input is either a binary input or an analog, or some combination of the two. Why does it take so much effort to use different controllers instead of just mapping the controls? nonsense. Even midi, keyboards, and mice are analog input.) Cool project. I’m going to drive down the rabbit hole now

[@Bob_Burton]

Why is the digital input a float ?

[@tinayoga8844]

I'm not sure where you saw that so maybe the following is incorrect. From what I saw in one of his sample project videos, a three position toggle switch produced a float output. I think it was 0, 0.5, and 1 reported as a float.. Three states for the three positions. So not really digital (0 and 1)

[@iforce2d]

That's a fair question :) I didn't really explain it in this video, but each node has an output value which is the green text we see shown below it. Since nodes can be connected to other nodes in a bazillion possible combinations, it's easier if the value type passed between them can be standardized as much as possible, even if the data type is larger than necessary for some cases. For a numeric quantity, float is the most convenient - a float can represent an integer, but an integer cannot always represent a float. A float is four bytes, which is large enough to hold a 3-byte color value for nodes that output a color type. The data being passed between nodes is actually 5 bytes in total, where the fifth byte contains flags that describe what type of value the main four bytes are, which is necessary for the downstream node to know how to use the value it is given.

[@Bob_Burton]

@@tinayoga8844 look at the digital input at 2:30 and note the data type of its output value Chris has explained why he uses a float for a digital output in his reply to my query

[@Bob_Burton]

@@iforce2d Thanks for the explanation. Because you use a float for a digital value is it safe to use equality when testing the value or is there a chance that a value could be say 0.9999999 rather than 1.0000000 ? Would it be safer to test for say >= 0.5 for HIGH/true and < 0.5 for LOW/false ?

[@iforce2d]

@Bob There are many cases where a node provides a boolean "true/false" result. For example a Unary Operator node with the "is negative" test will always output a zero or one. In those cases you can depend on the output being perfectly zero or one, and a Digital Input node is one such case. On the downstream side, when a node has an input property that will be treated as boolean, it will consider any incoming value above 0.5 to be "true". Thanks for the questions, this is exactly the kind of thing I need to iron out in my next big task... documentation.

[@umbrela_Corp]

If only inspector gadjet had one of these

[@brunselltorp]

please somebody smarter than me start an open robot lawn mower project with this great do-it-all io mixer! could be the awesomest thing ever! =)

[@himselfe]

I just pressed f to try and full screen the video in the youtube video :(

[@tin2001]

I'm using an unofficial KZbin client on my phone, so I can pinch to zoom right in on stuff like that... which I sometimes do on autopilot and wonder why it looks so bad quality.