Blinkstick In Chrome

Projects
#1

Just to explore some of Google Chrome’s more esoteric features, I’ve written a Chrome App that can control a Blinkstick:

It’s a very early release (given I’ve only had a Blinkstick for 3 days), so don’t expect too much, but it’s fun to be able to use my Blinkstrip without needing to install anything. I’ve only tested it on OSX, and it’s got absolutely no defensive code in there at all so it might just fall over. But it definitely works for me.

Thanks to Arvydas for writing a great Node.js API that’s very easy to read. :smile:

If anyone wants a peak under the hood the code is at GitHub - onion2k/BlinkstickChrome: A Chrome app to control a blinkstick.

1 Like
#2

Excellent work! I had it on the list for a while :smiley: Do you mind if I put your code to the list of the unofficial API implementations on the main website?

#3

Sure, that’d be great. :slight_smile:

The latest version has some fun new additions - a three.js visualisation of the blinkstick you’ve connected (or emulated) and a server so you can control it over a network. The goal is to get it to the point where it can act as a virtual blinkstick while you’re doing development.

#4

I’ve pushed a new version of the app to the Chrome app store and to Github. There’s a bunch of fixes and a few new features:

  • 3D. The blinkstick has a WebGL visualisation of the Blinkstick (limited to a Blinkstrip for now).
  • Emulation. Select ‘Emulate’ at the top and then a Blinkstick to play with a virtual Blinkstick. NOTE: Everything works exactly as it does when the real thing is plugged in.
  • TCP Server. There’s now a TCP server in there, so you can control LED colours over a network. Basic instructions are on the Github page for now but I’ll write something more detailed later. NOTE: Technically this means it now works with anything that can do network requests. Nice. :slight_smile:
  • Flash. There’s a new ‘F’ slider for each LED that controls the flash frequency.
  • Sync. The main control button now has a ‘Sync’ button that resets the timing of each flashing LED so they’ll be in sync.

I’m adding a pattern generator next. Then I’ll pull the Chrome.HID code out in to a standalone library.

Any comments and feedback would be great.

#5

Sneak peak of the pattern generator… https://twitter.com/onion2k/status/659650082304823297/video/1