Beyblock20 Is a Modular, Magnetic Keyboard System Based on the RP2040
Christian Lo used Seeeduino XIAO RP2040 development boards in each of the modules in his beyblock20 keyboard system.
Raspberry Pi is best known for their range of single-board computers (SBCs), but last year they entered the microcontroller industry with the RP2040 used in their Raspberry Pi Pico development board. The RP2040 is an affordable and very capable microcontroller that is now available in many development boards from other manufacturers. One of the most compact is the Seeeduino XIAO RP2040, which Christian Lo uses in each of the modules in his beyblock20 keyboard system.
Lo’s beyblock20 isn’t a distinct keyboard or macropad, but rather a modular system that one can use to create either of those or many other kinds of USB HIDs. This is still very much a work in progress and it isn’t yet ready for the general public, but Lo has published all of the current files on his GitHub page. As it stands, there are three beyblock20 modules. The first is a basic 20-key macropad with hot-swappable key switches, the second is similar but adds a small OLED screen, and the third contains a trio of rotary encoder knobs. The modules connect to each other magnetically and users can snap them together in any order to form the device that suits their needs.
The key to this modular design is I2C communication. The unbounded I2C bus lets up to 128 individual modules communicate through a daisy chain of other modules. That’s possible because each module has its own Seeeduino XIAO RP2040 development board. That lets the module monitor its own keys, encoders, and so on, then send the relevant data down the line to master module that connects to a computer. Neighboring modules can communicate through the magnetic connector or standard TRRS (tip ring ring sleeve) audio cables if the user doesn’t want them to touch.
It isn’t clear yet how the beyblock20 system will handle the master module, which would act as the interface between the computer and the rest of the modules. We suspect that the XIAO RP2040’s USB port on that master module will provide the connection, but we don’t know how the user would designate it as the master. Lo should provide more detail on that has the project progresses.