Overwhelmed by Weird Entries: Contest Winners and More

The Odd Inputs and Peculiar Peripherals contest wrapped up last week, and our judges worked hard to sift through their favorite projects. And it was no easy task - we had 75 entries and so many of them were cool on their own that all we can say is go check them all out. Really.

But we had to choose winners, especially because Digi-Key gave away three $150 gift certificates. So without further ado, here are the top three projects and as many honorable mentions as you have fingers and toes - if you don't count your thumbs.

Keybon should be a consumer commercial product. It's a macro keyboard with an OLED display per key. It communicates with an application on your desktop that detects the program you're currently focusing on and adapts the key action and OLED labels accordingly. It's a super smooth 3D printed design to boot. It's the Optimus Maximus' dream, but both DIY and much more reasonable as a macro pad. It's the coolest thing to have on your desk, and it's a big winner!

On the ridiculous side of keyboards, meet the Cree-board. [Matt] says he came up with the idea of ​​using beefy COB LEDs as keys from the bad pun in the name, but we like the effect when you press the otherwise blinding light - they're so bright that 'they use your whole meaty finger as a diffuser. Plus, it really looks like a sunny egg keyboard. It's wacky, unique, and what's not to love about a macropad?

Finally, [Josh EJ] turned an exercise bike into a wireless gamepad, removing the choice between getting in shape and getting high scores by activating both at the same time. An ESP32 gamepad turned Bluetooth is the brains, and he documents in detail how he hooked up a homebrew cadence sensor, used the heart rate pads as buttons, and even added a few extra controls on top. Watching clips of him pedaling hard to push the virtual pedal all the way to metal in GRID Autosport, we wish we'd shouted "vroooom".

If you type for a living, a bespoke keyboard personalizes the routine. The dichotomy takes the two desktop standards, mouse and keyboard, and merges them together so you don't have to move your hand sideways all the time. Pleasant. [Peter Lyons]' Squeezebox is the next evolution of his ultra-low travel design. If you haven't seen our coverage of a previous iteration, you've never seen anything like this before. And finally, we just have to flip our fedora to [Matthew Sparks] and his conversion from a museum Morse code key to a HID-compliant USB keyboard. Said-dah-said!

Pointers. If there's one complaint we have about GUIs, it's pointers. Always point and click. If only there was a way to make this more fun… Try the Magic Stick, which uses an infrared camera similar to the Wii Remote as a rodent substitute. Or Lightpen to HID by [Maciej Witkowiak] who brings an older lightpen to his RetroPie setup. Or maybe there's nothing wrong with the classic mouse after all, and what you really need is a custom-shaped wooden mouse? You'll have to create your own, of course, but follow the Dwergmuis.

Custom devices aim to fit a particular niche, and sometimes that niche is something small and simple. Like a one-button keyboard? Or a gimbal joystick with a few keys? Check out [Yannick's] collection of simple peripherals. [Sven]'s Tiny Mute button only has one job, if you're not planning on glowing, while [Rich T]'s