calibration
You may have noticed, that the mouthpiece of the FLipMouse is extremely sensitive. It is one of the biggest advantages of this device, but there are some problems related to the sensitivity. Maybe you noticed, that the mouse cursor is moving, if you change the position while the FLipMouse is plugged in?
This page describes which calibration facilities we built in and how to use them:
- If you just built a new FLipMouse, please follow the instructions in Getting started
- If you want to know something about the runtime calibration (triggered while the device is used), have a look at Runtime calibration
- You find additional information on the start up calibration in Start-up calibration
- Detailed information and links to the sourcecode are available in the last part: Further information
So you just finished building our FLipMouse construction set?
Congratulations!
You need to follow a few additional steps to complete the setup. This chapter shows you how the initial sensor calibration is done for the FLipMouse. To achieve maximum accuracy, please follow the following steps.
Prerequisites:
- Fully assembled FLipMouse (see: Building the FLipmouse)
- FLipMouse firmware is running (see: Initial setup)
- Running FLipMouseGUI software, which is able to connect to the FLipMouse (see: [GUI config] (https://github.com/asterics/FLipMouse/wiki/gui))
Goals:
- Calibrated mouthpiece sensors
- Calibrated sip'n'puff sensor
Steps:
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Unmount the mouthpiece
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Unmount the front cover (holded by 2xM3 screws) to have access to the 4xM4 screws:
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Connect the FLipMouse to the PC
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Start the FLipMouse GUI software and connect to the FLipMouse. Answer with "no" when you are asked to load settings from the FLipMouse.
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Open the tab "Force levels":
You should see now the current values of each FSR sensor. The values maybe completely different than the ones shown in this picture. -
Our goal: Each sensor value should be in the area of 500-600. You achieve the highest accuracy if all values are equal and around 520. As you can see in the picture, values from 500 to 660 are also valid (this example works very well). Follow the next steps to calibrate each sensor to a good value
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The value will increase, if you tighten the screws (turn right); the value will decrease, if you loosen the screws (turn left). Adjusting one sensor is done by turning BOTH of the nearest screws (e.g. sensor up -> turn both upper screws)
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Start with the sensor which has the highest deviation of the optimal value
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Adjust each sensor to the optimal possible value. Don't be afraid: your mouse cursor will move anywhere.
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If you are done, unplug the FLipMouse and close the FLipMouse GUI. Hardware calibration is done!
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Mount the front cover and attach the mouthpiece
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Connect the FLipMouse to the PC
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Start the FLipMouseGUI software and connect to the FLipMouse, answer with "no" when you are asked to load settings from the FLipMouse.
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Load default settings via "File->Load settings". You can select either default.set (mouse and keyboard) or bt_usb_mouse&keys.set which provides similar settings, but with Bluetooth support
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Open the tag "Stick Actions":
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Adjust the Deadzone value to the lowest possible value, where the mouse cursor does not move itself. Move the mouthpiece a few times and look if the mouse cursor stops if the mouthpiece is in idle position. Remember: Always press "Apply settings" to use the current setting
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Now it is time to adjust the mouse cursor speed to the personal needs of the user. Adjust the speed value and press the "Apply settings" button to test the current setting
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If every setting is okay, store the values permanently to the FLipMouse via the menu "FLipMouse->Store settings to FLipMouse"
Alright, we are done for the force sensors!
Now we are calibrating the sip/puff sensor:
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If the FLipMouseGUI is not connected, please follow step 2 and 3 of the previous list to connect the GUI to the FLipMouse.
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Open the tab "Sip/Puff Levels":
You should see the current pressure sensor value. This value should change, if you sip or puff at the mouthpiece. -
Adjust the sip value to the needs of the user. The sip function should not be activated, if the mouthpiece is moved normally. If you don't need the sip/puff functionality at all, move all sliders to the maximum (right side) or the minimum (left side).
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Adjust the puff value according to step 3
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Redo step 3 for the strong sip & strong puff level. Both actions should not be triggered in any way, if not desired.
Yeah, finished :-)!
If you experience any problems during the calibration (completely wrong values, no sip/puff value,...), please have a look at the FAQ section of this wiki.
It is possible to calibrate the middle position of the mouthpiece via a dedicated action ("Calibrate Middle Position"). This action can be assigned like all other actions (move mouse, click, ...) to a button or an action. We recommend to use the strong sip action (this is also the default setting).
Every time you power up the FLipMouse (switch the PC on, plug the FLipMouse in, ...), the device is running a start-up calibration sequence.
Warning: Please do not move/touch the mouthpiece when you plug in the FLipMouse! Otherwise the calibration might set a wrong zero-point! If this happens, the mouse cursor moves all the time. Just unplug and plug in the FLipMouse again.
For more information on calibration and settings, please read the User Manual.