POSSIBLE BREAKING CHANGES - PLEASE READ

A large code rebase (configuration class) along with some extra features (start, select, menu, home, back, volume up, volume down and volume mute buttons) has been committed thanks to @dexterdy

Since version 5 of this library, the axes and simulation controls have configurable min and max values The decision was made to set defaults to 0 for minimum and 32767 for maximum (previously -32767 to 32767) This was due to the fact that non-Windows operating systems and some online web-based game controller testers didn’t play well with negative numbers. Existing sketches should take note, and see the DrivingControllerTest example for how to set back to -32767 if wanted

This version of the library has been tested against NimBLE-Arduino version 1.4.1; the latest released version –> https://github.com/h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino/releases/tag/1.4.1

Please see updated examples

NimBLE

Since version 3 of this library, the more efficient NimBLE library is used instead of the default BLE implementation Please use the library manager to install it, or get it from here: https://github.com/h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino Since version 3, this library also supports a configurable HID desciptor, which allows users to customise how the device presents itself to the OS (number of buttons, hats, axes, sliders, simulation controls etc). See the examples for guidance.

ESP32-BLE-Gamepad

License

Published under the MIT license. Please see license.txt.

It would be great however if any improvements are fed back into this version.

Features

[x] Button press (128 buttons)
[x] Button release (128 buttons)
[x] Axes movement (6 axes (configurable resolution up to 16 bit) (x, y, z, rZ, rX, rY) –> (Left Thumb X, Left Thumb Y, Right Thumb X, Right Thumb Y, Left Trigger, Right Trigger))
[x] 2 Sliders (configurable resolution up to 16 bit) (Slider 1 and Slider 2)
[x] 4 point of view hats (ie. d-pad plus 3 other hat switches)
[x] Simulation controls (rudder, throttle, accelerator, brake, steering)
[x] Special buttons (start, select, menu, home, back, volume up, volume down, volume mute) all disabled by default
[x] Configurable HID descriptor
[x] Configurable VID and PID values
[x] Configurable BLE characteristics (name, manufacturer, model number, software revision, serial number, firmware revision, hardware revision)
[x] Report optional battery level to host
[x] Uses efficient NimBLE bluetooth library
[x] Compatible with Windows
[x] Compatible with Android (Android OS maps default buttons / axes / hats slightly differently than Windows)
[x] Compatible with Linux (limited testing)
[x] Compatible with MacOS X (limited testing)
[ ] Compatible with iOS (No - not even for accessibility switch - This is not a “Made for iPhone” (MFI) compatible device)

Installation

(Make sure you can use the ESP32 with the Arduino IDE. Instructions can be found here.)
Download the latest release of this library from the release page.
In the Arduino IDE go to “Sketch” -> “Include Library” -> “Add .ZIP Library…” and select the file you just downloaded.
In the Arduino IDE go to “Tools” -> “Manage Libraries…” -> Filter for “NimBLE-Arduino” by h2zero and install.
You can now go to “File” -> “Examples” -> “ESP32 BLE Gamepad” and select an example to get started.

Example

/*
 * This example turns the ESP32 into a Bluetooth LE gamepad that presses buttons and moves axis
 *
 * At the moment we are using the default settings, but they can be canged using a BleGamepadConfig instance as parameter for the begin function.
 *
 * Possible buttons are:
 * BUTTON_1 through to BUTTON_16
 * (16 buttons by default. Library can be configured to use up to 128)
 *
 * Possible DPAD/HAT switch position values are:
 * DPAD_CENTERED, DPAD_UP, DPAD_UP_RIGHT, DPAD_RIGHT, DPAD_DOWN_RIGHT, DPAD_DOWN, DPAD_DOWN_LEFT, DPAD_LEFT, DPAD_UP_LEFT
 * (or HAT_CENTERED, HAT_UP etc)
 *
 * bleGamepad.setAxes sets all axes at once. There are a few:
 * (x axis, y axis, z axis, rx axis, ry axis, rz axis, slider 1, slider 2)
 *
 * Library can also be configured to support up to 5 simulation controls
 * (rudder, throttle, accelerator, brake, steering), but they are not enabled by default.
 *
 * Library can also be configured to support different function buttons
 * (start, select, menu, home, back, volume increase, volume decrease, volume mute)
 * start and select are enabled by default
 */

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <BleGamepad.h>

BleGamepad bleGamepad;

void setup()
{
    Serial.begin(115200);
    Serial.println("Starting BLE work!");
    bleGamepad.begin();
    // The default bleGamepad.begin() above enables 16 buttons, all axes, one hat, and no simulation controls or special buttons
}

void loop()
{
    if (bleGamepad.isConnected())
    {
        Serial.println("Press buttons 5, 16 and start. Move all enabled axes to max. Set DPAD (hat 1) to down right.");
        bleGamepad.press(BUTTON_5);
        bleGamepad.press(BUTTON_16);
        bleGamepad.pressStart();
        bleGamepad.setAxes(32767, 32767, 32767, 32767, 32767, 32767, 32767, 32767);
        bleGamepad.setHat1(HAT_DOWN_RIGHT);
        // All axes, sliders, hats etc can also be set independently. See the IndividualAxes.ino example
        delay(500);

        Serial.println("Release button 5 and start. Move all axes to min. Set DPAD (hat 1) to centred.");
        bleGamepad.release(BUTTON_5);
        bleGamepad.releaseStart();
        bleGamepad.setHat1(HAT_CENTERED);
        bleGamepad.setAxes(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
        delay(500);
    }
}

By default, reports are sent on every button press/release or axis/slider/hat/simulation movement, however this can be disabled, and then you manually call sendReport on the gamepad instance as shown in the IndividualAxes.ino example.

VID and PID values can be set. See TestAll.ino for example.

There is also Bluetooth specific information that you can use (optional):

Instead of BleGamepad bleGamepad; you can do BleGamepad bleGamepad("Bluetooth Device Name", "Bluetooth Device Manufacturer", 100);. The third parameter is the initial battery level of your device. By default the battery level will be set to 100%, the device name will be ESP32 BLE Gamepad and the manufacturer will be Espressif.

Battery level can be set during operation by calling, for example, bleGamepad.setBatteryLevel(80); Update sent on next gamepad update if auto reporting is not enabled

Credits

Credits to T-vK as this library is based on his ESP32-BLE-Mouse library (https://github.com/T-vK/ESP32-BLE-Mouse) that he provided.

Credits to chegewara as the ESP32-BLE-Mouse library is based on this piece of code that he provided.

Credits to wakwak-koba for the NimBLE code that he provided.

Notes

This library allows you to make the ESP32 act as a Bluetooth Gamepad and control what it does.
Relies on NimBLE-Arduino

Use this Windows test app to test/see all of the buttons