A KVM Switch for any HID device built with multiple Raspberry Pi Pico 2
This project is still in development. The code is almost done, and I need to design the PCB.
So far I can use it as a KVM switch. I can select the computer to use with a keyboard shortcut. I was not able to test with exotic keyboard / mouse yet, but those should be supported.
The detailed documentation is available at doc/technical.md.
The remaining tasks are:
- Test with 2 nodes (switch between 3 computers).
- Design PCB for 1 node (and maybe for 2 nodes later)
- Test with 3 hid devices.
- Test
TUD_OPT_HIGH_SPEED
git clone git@github.com:Socolin/KVM-Switch.git
cd KVM-Switch
git submodule update --init --recursive
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DPICO_BOARD=pico2 -DPICO_SDK_PATH={PATH_TO_PICOSDK} -DPICOTOOL_FETCH_FROM_GIT_PATH={PATH_TO_PICOTOOL}
make -j
# Then output is in src/node and src/controllerTo simplify flashing both, you can use the serial number of your pico with picotool info -a the serial will look like 46AA0E6255B66826
picotool load --ser $PICO_PI_NODE_SERIAL -f -x src/node/kvm_node.uf2;
picotool load --ser $PICO_PI_CONTROLLER_SERIAL -f -x src/controller/kvm_controller.uf2;
The KVM Switch can be configured through a web UI. It can be accessed with a web browser supporting WebUSB.
You can access it at https://socolin.github.io/KVM-Switch/ (You need to use a browser supporting WebUSB)
The code of the config UI is in tools/configurator
If you need to build the tool, you need Node.js 24 then run those commands
cd tools/configurator
npm install
npm run start
Then access it at http://localhost:4200 (You need to use a browser supporting WebUSB)
Basically, I see AI as a tool, and I have fun writing code, so:
- All the code in
src/is written by a human. - AI was used as a learning assistant, to help understand and learn all the USB / HID / Electronic stuff.
- AI was used to review the code.
- AI was used to generate some test cases (but the test logic is human-made) (see
AI-generatedcomments).
This project started to fix an issue I had with my current commercial KVM switch, that is the delay to switch between 2 computers; I wanted a shortcut to switch instantaneously. This project is also an opportunity for me to learn a some few things with electronic and discover dev on a microcontroller. Feel free to provide any feedback, as I'm still learning.
I first tried to use CH9329 and CH9350 to avoid all the USB parts and get this done quickly. However, during
my testing I discovered that the CH9329 has a HID descriptor that does not expose all the features I wanted (like the
mouse pan) and the CH9350 felt the same way. So I learnt a lot about HID descriptors, tinyUSB, etc… And, now this project
should support any HID device (not just keyboard and mouse) like Gamepad etc… I kept the code I used to use those chips
in src/legacy if anyone need this, feel free to use it