Using foot pedals with 3DC

[Pix Jigsaw]

I've hooked up a set of foot pedals to work with 3DC.  Right now, I just have shift, alt, ctrl and space keys mapped to pedals.  It is working well and making a difference.  Since I can activate those keys without using the keyboard, I can move the keyboard to the side and bring my tablet towards the center.  The ergonomics seems to be a lot better.  The pedal software has good macro capability and can send mouse button presses as well as keyboard presses.  It does not appear to conflict with my Wacom Intuos tablet.

 

Anyway, here is a link to the system I'm using. http://www.gamingmouse.com/gaming/fragpedal/quad/

 

The hardware seems to be well made and it was easy to set up and assign keys and macros on my windows system.  I haven't had it long enough to fully recommend it, but it certainly seems to be a promising addition to my studio.

[Tony Nemo]

Sounds like it might have neurological benefits. It might 'wake up' regions of the brain that are dozy when at the computer and give them some exercise by teaching them new tricks.

[Pix Jigsaw]

it is amazing how quickly the brain adapts to using the pedals.  Plus its much cheaper than buying a new right wrist and shoulder.

[michalis]

Interesting. 

Tis might be a good idea. But, I don't have pedals. Still sounds interesting. 

[L'Ancien Regime]

I like this idea. How much do those pedals cost? Can they do double duty for aircraft and race car simulator pedals?

[ajz3d]

How about a foot trackball? This kind of hardware is designed mostly for handicapped people, but for 3D navigation (when provided with appropriate drivers and software) it should work great. Combine it with digital (0-1) pedals for your other foot, pedals that could be binded to a chosen mouse/keyboard combinations and... Wait! There's no emote representing "drooling"? 

[Pix Jigsaw]

@ L'Ancien Regime.  They seem to have on-hold-off states, like key presses.  Because of that they might not be good for aircraft and race car simulations.  They are supposed to be great for FPS games and MMOs.  The software that comes with them lets you map multiple commands to a keypress, or different commands to key down and key up.  I think the idea is something like key down--kill and destroy, key up kick the body to the curb and target next victim.  Get your hands and feet going and you are a Kali-like ruler of the battlefield.

 

@ajz3d -- if your brain didn't explode while learning to use them, I think that setup could work.  When you got really good you could lift weights with your hands to tone your upper-body while tapping out marvelous 3D creations with your feet.  Of course if you tried to listen to music at the same time you might start tapping your feet and that could ruin everything.