This thesis presents the development of a force feedback controller for driving simulation, built
around the MiŠKo3 development board with an STM32G474 microcontroller. With force
feedback, the steering wheel is not merely an input device: a motor in the wheelbase generates
torque according to events in the game, which the driver feels through the wheel.
Commercial direct drive wheels are widely available, but they can only be configured and
upgraded within the limits set by the manufacturer, and the price of a complete setup with a
steering wheel rim, pedals and a mounting rig quickly approaches one thousand euros. The aim
of the thesis was to design, build and test a device that a computer recognises as a force feedback
gaming wheel without the installation of any drivers, while at the same time offering a more
affordable solution.
The device is implemented as a USB HID device incorporating the Physical Interface Device
(PID) class, through which the game transmits force descriptions that the controller converts
into a motor control current. The firmware was developed in the STM32CubeIDE environment
using the HAL library, while the touchscreen user interface was built with the LVGL graphics
library and the EEZ Studio tool. The mechanical parts were modelled in SolidWorks and
manufactured by 3D printing from PETG.
The controller reports the state of seven axes and fifteen buttons to the computer at a report rate
of up to 1000 Hz. The rotation of the steering wheel rim is measured by an incremental encoder
and the positions of the remaining axes by potentiometers, with the exception of the brake,
which uses a load cell and a NAU7802 analog-to-digital converter. All controller settings can
be adjusted through the user interface and are stored permanently in flash memory. The motor
is driven by a VESC controller, which receives the requested current over a UART link.
|
