Direction Pad

Four directions and a centre, like the pad of a game controller. A rover, a pan-tilt camera, a menu on a small screen: anything that moves in steps.

What it does

Each key sends a word, not a number: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER. Holding a key sends UP_LONG; letting go sends UP_RELEASE. So the pad needs a Text signal, and the device gets the whole story of every key — pressed, held, released — which is what a motor needs to start, keep going and stop.

When to use it

• A rover or a robot arm — forward while held, stop on release.
• A camera or a turret — one step per tap, continuous while held.
• Navigation — up/down/left/right in a menu the device draws on its own screen.

Set it up

1. Declare a Text signal — The pad sends words, so it needs a Text signal. Tap the device icon at the top right, then Declare a signal, and choose the type Text.
2. Place it — Back on the dashboard, tap + and choose Direction Pad under Controllers.
3. Wire it to the signal — Tap the pad, open the Data tab, tap + Add a target and pick the Text signal you just declared.
4. Pick a look and try it — In the Appearance tab, choose the layout you like under Mode. Close the settings, tap ▶, and press a key: the device receives UP.

Settings

Tap the widget in edit mode: the sheet opens with a live preview at the top, then two tabs — Data for what it reads or writes, Appearance for how it looks.

Data — what it writes

Targets

What each gesture sends

Appearance — how it looks

Title

Mode

Colors

States

• Run mode — a key lights while pressed; holding it sends _LONG after half a second; releasing sends _RELEASE.
• Device offline — gestures are never replayed. A rover that starts on its own after a power cut is not what anyone wants.

Arduino device code

The address is all the device knows — I7 here; use the one the app gave your signal. In the sketch, one clause per key and gesture, and WHEN_RELEASED_ANY for whichever key, stop:

IDirectionPad(I7) {
    WHEN_UP           { … }
    WHEN_UP_LONG      { … }
    WHEN_RELEASED_ANY { … }
};

Complete sketch — Cloud

Paste it into the Arduino IDE, put your Wi-Fi and the token the app gave you, upload.

#include <InstantIoT.h>

const char* WIFI_SSID    = "MyWiFi";
const char* WIFI_PASS    = "MyPassword";
const char* DEVICE_TOKEN = "PASTE_TOKEN_HERE";

IDirectionPad(I7) {
    WHEN_UP           { forward();   }
    WHEN_DOWN         { backward();  }
    WHEN_LEFT         { turnLeft();  }
    WHEN_RIGHT        { turnRight(); }
    WHEN_UP_LONG      { faster();    }
    WHEN_RELEASED_ANY { stop();      }   // whichever key: stop
};

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(115200);
    InstantIoT.begin(WiFiLink(WIFI_SSID, WIFI_PASS), Cloud(DEVICE_TOKEN));
}

void loop() {
    InstantIoT.loop();
}

Other connections

The widget block never changes. Only the begin() line says how the device reaches the app:

Direct needs no token: the phone is at the other end of the wire. See Connect for TLS, timeouts and what to do when it does not connect.

ISignal does the same job — and survives a restart. ISignal(I7, const char* v) runs with exactly the same value as IDirectionPad(I7): the widget block is the readable form, ISignal the generic one, and you can use either. The difference shows when the device reconnects: with Restore after a restart on the signal, the Cloud sends the last value again and only the ISignal block runs — a pad is gestures, nothing is replayed. See One block for everything.

Notes

• Always handle WHEN_RELEASED_ANY. A motor that only knows start never stops.
• WHEN_PAD_PRESSED(key) receives every key in one clause if you prefer a switch on the key.
• One pad, one Text signal. Two pads on the same signal would talk over each other.

Next

→ Joystick — two axes in one gesture, for smooth motion → Advanced Button — one action, one value