Open-source Hall-effect gaming keyboard project targets Wooting hype with feature-rich library, web-based software
Hall-effect gaming keyboards, like the Wooting 80HE and Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE we recently looked at, have become the latest hotness in high-performance peripherals. However, it is apparently difficult for most peripherals companies to balance cost, quality, and the ever-important software customisation experience.
While software like VIA and QMK make it easy for traditional mechanical keyboard brands to offer customisation, similar projects for Hall-effect keyboards are less common, meaning manufacturers have to sink development cost into custom software. In an announcement on Reddit, a developer who goes by Peppapighs on GitHub claims to have incorporated most of what makes Hall-effect keyboards special in an open-source HE keyboard library, replete with a browser-based keyboard configurator, much like the ever-popular VIA, QMK, and VIAL.
The end result of the project is a keyboard called the Gauss64, an ortholinear 64% HE keyboard based around a custom PCB, the KBDfans Holy 60 case, Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro switches, and PBTfans Twist R2 keycaps.
Libhmk features
At the time of writing, the library, dubbed Libhmk, packs the following features:
- Analogue input, which can allow for feature-rich controller emulation.
- Rapid Trigger, the coveted gaming feature that registers any movement of the switch as an input.
- Continuous Rapid Trigger, an advanced configuration of Rapid Trigger that keeps rapid trigger active throughout the keystroke, regardless of the actuation point.
- Dynamic Keystroke, allowing up to four inputs per single keystroke
- Dynamic Keymap, enabling dynamically changing key mapping on the fly.
- Tap-Hold (aka. Mod Tap), which changes the keystroke entered depending on whether the key is held or tapped.
- Automatic calibration to account for manufacturing tolerances in various switches.
Of course, being the relatively small project that it is, there are still some limitations to Libhmk. For starters, the library is only compatible with the STM32F446RE microcontroller, and the polling rate is limited to 1,000 Hz. In a world where 8,000 Hz polling is becoming ever-more popular, as in the Iqunix EZ63 (curr. $179.99 on Amazon), this may seem inadequate, but it is still more than fast enough for most gaming applications.
Switch compatibility currently includes GEON Raw HE (curr. $67.99 for 70 switches on Amazon), Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro (curr. $57.99 for 70 switches on Amazon), and GEON Raptor HE switches, all of which are relatively popular or affordable HE switches.
The other major limitation is that the project is not compatible with RGB, and the developer has no plans to incorporate RGB in the future. This is more or less in-line with what is to be expected from the custom mechanical keyboard space, though, and, given the project is open-source, other contributors could build on the project and add RGB if they need it for a project or product.
The developer is still evaluating whether or not to release the custom hardware as a group buy. That said, the open-source HE library, and others like it, goes a long way to making it easier for smaller keyboard manufacturers to implement popular Hall-effect keyboard features affordably and intuitively. Intuitive software customisation and stable driver software are two major reasons why Wooting has remained at the top of the Hall-effect keyboard game, despite sometimes offering inferior hardware compared to its competitors.
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