Initial V: A BMW shifter converted to a Bluetooth keyboard for use with Vim

by smcleod • 3 years ago

331 107 3 years ago

Let’s expand this to include pedals and a steering wheel. We can put WPM on the speedometer and CPU load in the tachometer.

The windshield wiper stick can clear the current buffer.

smcleod3• 3 years ago

Wiper spray buttons to squirt coffee into mouth as well.

coreyisthename• 3 years ago

And the hazard lights to automatically minimize all open windows

smitty1e• 3 years ago

I want the blinker lever to manage normal/insert mode.

lysp• 3 years ago

BMWs don't come with blinkers - never seen one being used.

fooker• 3 years ago

Don’t forget to change the blinker fluid every 9999 characters typed.

msla• 3 years ago

Emacs users are sometimes stereotyped as wanting foot pedals to get more of those sweet, sweet control and meta keys.

mburee• 3 years ago

Damn, I'm guilty of that too

dotancohen3• 3 years ago

Quadruple buckies that require actually hitting one of the keys with your nose are fun.

davidkunz• 3 years ago

The steering wheel could invoke :earlier xs (when rotated by x to the left) and :later xs (to the right). We'd have a time machine.

not_knuth• 3 years ago

I like it. Memory is the highway and you use an indicator to show that you are entering a critical section.

Zach_the_Lizard• 3 years ago

And if driving a classic vehicle with a manual choke, engaging the choke tells you about vim commands

ilyt7• 3 years ago

I did for a moment considered jacking the car up, putting monitor on the bonnet, connecting to OBD and using pedals and steering wheel for simracing controls.

Then discovered steering wheel angle and break/clutch is not available on OBD bus in my car.

wintorez• 3 years ago

No turn signal!

lxe• 3 years ago

Looking at the control manual this looks very ergonomic. You're essentially delegating non-input controls to a joystick with feedback, while the typing is done on the keyboard. This is actually useful.

egeozcan• 3 years ago

This needs moving one hand back and forth though. Maybe pedals? When I think about it, perhaps humans need more outputs :)

argorain• 3 years ago

You mean something like this?

https://github.com/alevchuk/vim-clutch

douglee650• 3 years ago

I actually have this idea where there’s a pedal that shifts your keyboard from qwerty to Dvorak, and some savant can hyper-optimize input by shifting with human look-ahead.

doix• 3 years ago

A few years ago I had some pretty bad issues with my hands, mostly caused by using my thumb to reach for the Alt key. My employer bought me some foot pedals that I ended up binding to alt and capslock (since I used my capslock key for ctrl + esc). It actually works pretty great :).

SturgeonsLaw• 3 years ago

There are plenty of muscles that are underutilised in the computer peripheral world. Feet, legs, toes, tongue, anus. Hardware designers are too orthodox and we're all worse off because of it.

sethd• 3 years ago

Just need a third hand to make it efficient.

xiphias2• 3 years ago

There should be a sport / non sport mode option as well, I'm used to switching between those 2 more often

mftb• 3 years ago

You didn't! I love this.

ksec• 3 years ago

I saw the link and thought from Tenderlove? Is this a reference to Initial D? And he didn’t disappoint :D

I guess we can now listen to Eurobeat while programming in Vim.

Let’s start with Running in the 90s. XD

irusensei• 3 years ago

I feel like ordering some tofu.

WirelessGigabit2• 3 years ago

Annoying fact about these shifters, when mated to the ZF-8: if your car doesn't start you gotta go under it and screw in some bolt to make it go into neutral.

blamazon5• 3 years ago

It's amazing the vast library of very make/model/config specific "put this in neutral" hacks that are basically required knowledge for modern tow truck operators.

Edit: If you'd like to see pictures and an explanation of the ZF-8 situation there's some good ones here: https://blog.fcpeuro.com/how-to-put-the-zf-8-speed-in-neutra...

First start by safely lifting the car in the air. We always advise using a quality floor jack and jack stands to support the vehicle. Once it is in the air, you need to gain access to the transmission. Depending on the car in question, this could be behind belly pans or covers. Once you've gained access to the transmission, locate the hex-head bolt. Use a 5mm hex bit socket on a ratchet to rotate the bolt to the right. Listen for a click as you move the foot up. The click indicates that the transmission is no longer in park, and the car will roll freely.

Yikes! Best to keep a 5mm internal hex in the glovebox.

WirelessGigabit2• 3 years ago

I think you're overestimating the knowledge of tow truck operators. The other day I saw a Miata towed by the front wheels. Rear wheels on the ground.

That's what I call basic knowledge. I would understand the BMW thing to be in some database.

HPsquared2• 3 years ago

That's actually dangerous.

The gearbox is going to be shifted out of park WHILE THE MECHANIC IS UNDER THE CAR.

If there is a subtle error in setting up the jack (e.g. if there is a slight gradient and the drive wheels are on the ground, so that the car is "resting" against the parking brake), shifting it into neutral could cause the car to move slightly as the longitudinal force is transferred from the parking brake to the wheel chocks / handbrake / jack / etc. If the situation is marginal, this could cause the car to fall off the jack and crush the mechanic.

It just seems like a recipe for (occasional, statistical) disaster.

climb_stealth• 3 years ago

The tow truck operators I have seen didn't give a shit. Pulled hard enough the car ends up on the trailer no matter whether it is in gear or not. No apparent concern for the wellbeing of the drivetrain.

kupopuffs• 3 years ago

when quitting Vim becomes even harder

snthpy• 3 years ago

Ha ha ha, I initially expected this to be the opposite, i.e. vim controls to shift gears on a BMW.

This is much better (and safer).

jonas-w• 3 years ago

"How to exit my car (vim edition)"

Manjuuu• 3 years ago

I don't know if I would trust bluetooth with this.

kreetx• 3 years ago

Especially if exiting vim is at stake ;)

r-s2• 3 years ago

Some small part of me wants to use vim-clutch and make a manual transmission version of this.

smcleod3• 3 years ago

Ooo use it for the mode!

eastbound• 3 years ago

Exactly, a keyboard should replace that clumsy driving wheel that protrudes. It would be MUCH easier to pilot if every car function had a vim shortcut.

sva_3• 3 years ago

"How to exit car"

koolba2• 3 years ago

The safety angle is key. I’ve never had vim crash on me.

r-s2• 3 years ago

"Travel K for 20 feet, take the first L and immediately get in the H-most lane"

Chilinot• 3 years ago

I like the idea of pressing the clutch pedal to go to insert mode, and releasing it to go back to normal mode.

renewiltord2• 3 years ago

That’s the usual vim clutch. I used to use it that way but the pedal I used did not offer enough resistance and so my foot would tire.

macintux• 3 years ago

As I recall, early mouse prototypes involved foot pedals, but businessmen didn’t want to look like they were using a sewing machine.

jeron• 3 years ago

From the title I thought it was referring to the iDrive knob. The knob was originally designed by 3DConnexion, which was a Logitech subsidiary that made human interface devices for 3D modeling

The use of the shifter though, is something else

mk_stjames• 3 years ago

As someone who has used both a 3DConnexion space mouse and a BMW iDrive knob I always noted the similarity in design but do you have a source for the BMW iDrive knob originally being developed by 3dCx/Logitech? Because I have never seen a claim that there was actually a partnership or work done by the latter for the BMW. I think it is just a strong influence of single-point UI and a coincidence. 3dConnexion was founded in 2001, and the first BMW iDrive vehicle was the 2001 7-series but they had concept center-knob UI control before that.

ris58h• 3 years ago

I love the naming. Eurobeat intensifies

yiiii• 3 years ago

Can somebody add a proper ignition lock so that people can quit Vim properly?

roninski• 3 years ago

The github page needs eurobeat blasting on load.

sireat• 3 years ago

Best for tofu delivery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iT2mzlVf0

Although it should have been Toyota Corolla AE86 stick-shift then.

_Microft• 3 years ago

Here's "Deja Vu" if someone would prefer to have some background music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv13gl0a-FA

askiiart2• 3 years ago

By far my favorite eurobeat song, and objectively one of the best

layer8• 3 years ago

Here’s Night of Fire for your enjoyment: https://youtu.be/YdHO0R4FeyQ

tenderlove• 3 years ago

Yes!!!! My plan is to make a promotional video with Euro Beat music. I also want to feature "multi-line editing!"

askiiart2• 3 years ago

Here you go

https://github.com/tenderlove/initial-v/pull/2

sva_3• 3 years ago

BMW with automatic transmission seems self-contradictory. What's the fun in that.

t0mas883• 3 years ago

They sell an option for paddle shifters on the wheel. Even F1 cars have automated gearboxes with paddles on the wheel, so it's not that crazy for a "sports" saloon to have the same?

sva_3• 3 years ago

The automatic transmission used in F1 cars is not at all comparable to the automatic transmission in consumer cars.

While the automatic transmission in F1 cars allows for fine grained control of the individual gears and just automates the gear-switching, consumer cars typically control which particular gear should be used at any moment of driving, and this difference is clearly noticable while operating the vehicle.

stephencanon2• 3 years ago

The ZF-8 auto that BMW uses is honestly pretty great. I’m a diehard manual fan, but I have very few complaints about it in our BMW wagon, despite having hated every other automatic I’ve ever been subjected to.

marginalia_nu• 3 years ago

Get the collection!

https://github.com/foxweb/vim-pedal

tommica• 3 years ago

Computer culture is sometimes a bit paradoxical - I thought moving hand to the mouse from the home row was a big no-no, but now suddenly it's all OK to move them hand from that row to a gear shift!

In any case, a cool project, and the naming of it is top-notch!

Aromasin• 3 years ago

It's the rule of cool. Everything must be as ergonomic as possible, unless of it adds to the cool-factor, which a functioning stick shift for your computer certainly does.

fareesh• 3 years ago

Taking the hand off the keyboard is sub optimal - pedal is ideal

nivenkos• 3 years ago

An automatic shifter - I was expecting 6 gears.

cromulent• 3 years ago

See also the Writehander, from 1978. My Dad's old mate had one.

https://www.microsoft.com/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=6

falcolas2• 3 years ago

Modern edition: Azeron game controllers.

https://www.azeron.eu/

ilyt7• 3 years ago

I remember using razer nostromo n52, this seems like some weird evolution of that

https://www.engadget.com/2010-11-19-razer-nostromo-gaming-ke...

kjs3• 3 years ago

Ouch. That looks like a torture device. There should be some monocled guy petting a cat saying "let's see if you can type your way out of this, Mr. Bond".

ramesh31• 3 years ago

Now you just need the clutch to go with it: https://github.com/alevchuk/vim-clutch

adolph2• 3 years ago

I'm not sure what mode in Vim would map to Reverse on the handle, so there's no way to transition to Reverse at the moment.

Hmm, I would have thought normal mode lowercase U even if caps lock is mistakenly set.

Redoubts• 3 years ago

I would finally learn vim to use this.

lightbendover• 3 years ago

At least use the glass shifter, have some self-respect.

starkparker• 3 years ago

If you don't have a spare BMW lying around, you can print an H shifter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5pWZvCl2iY, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3881165

theodric• 3 years ago

This somehow makes me like both vi and BMW less

Initial V: A BMW shifter converted to a Bluetooth keyboard for use with Vim

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