Handle Bar Bluetooth Media Controller

Bluetooth media control buttons for motorbike handlebars. This is a project that turns an esp32 into media control buttons for a motorcycle (or anything else). It is paired with your phone or gps or what ever and it sends media control keys.

Hardware

• ESP32 Dev Module
• 5 push buttons
• KTM 1290 handlebar mount

ESP32 connection

The buttons are connected directly to the XIAO ESP32-C3 GPIO pins. The ESP32-C3 communicates with the paired phone wirelessly over BLE.

   Physical Buttons
          │
          ▼
 ┌─────────────────┐
 │ XIAO ESP32-C3   │
 │                 │
 │ D0 ─ Previous   │
 │ D1 ─ Volume -   │
 │ D2 ─ Next       │
 │ D3 ─ Play/Pause │
 │ D4 ─ Volume +   │
 └────────┬────────┘
          │
         BLE
          │
          ▼
    ┌───────────┐
    │   Phone   │
    │  Media    │
    │  Player   │
    └───────────┘

Arduino IDE

Tested with:

• Arduino IDE 2.3.6
• esp32 board package 3.2.1

Board Configuration

Board:

ESP32 Dev Module

Tools settings:

• USB CDC On Boot: Enabled
• CPU Frequency: 240MHz
• Flash Frequency: 80MHz
• Flash Mode: QIO
• Flash Size: 4MB
• Partition Scheme: Default

Libraries

Install the following library using the Arduino Library Manager:

• NimBLE-Arduino 1.4.1

Library URL:

https://github.com/h2zero/NimBLE-Arduino

Project Structure

HandleBarBluetoothMedia/
├── README.md
├── firmware/
│   └── bt_media_buttons.ino
├── hardware/
│   └── KTM 1290 BT Buttons.stl
└── docs/
    └── bt_media_buttons.jpg

Build

1. Install the ESP32 board package version 3.2.1.

2. Install NimBLE-Arduino version 1.4.1.

3. Open:

   firmware/bt_media_buttons.ino
   

4. Select:

   Tools → Board → ESP32 Dev Module
   

5. Compile and upload to the ESP32.

Alternative CLI

arduino-cli lib install "HijelHID_BLEKeyboard" arduino-cli lib install "NimBLE-Arduino" arduino-cli compile --fqbn esp32:esp32:XIAO_ESP32C3 . arduino-cli upload -p /dev/ttyACM0 --fqbn esp32:esp32:XIAO_ESP32C3 .

Notes

This project was developed and tested with:

• Arduino IDE 2.3.6
• esp32 by Espressif Systems 3.2.1
• NimBLE-Arduino 1.4.1

Future versions of the ESP32 board package or NimBLE-Arduino library may require code changes.