Dualshock-ZMQ

Dualshock Publisher Application

This is my containerised application that captures input from a Dualshock controller and publishes it via ZeroMq.

ZeroMQ Message Format

The Dualshock Publisher broadcasts controller input as JSON messages over ZeroMQ. Each message is a dictionary containing the following keys:

• timestamp: A float representing the time the message was generated (Python's time.time()).
• controller_name: A string identifying the detected Dualshock controller (e.g., "Wireless Controller").
• axes: A dictionary where keys are axis names (as defined in dualshock_mappings.py) and values are float readings from -1.0 to 1.0 (or 0.0 to 1.0 for triggers).
  • Example: "left_stick_x": 0.5432
• buttons: A dictionary where keys are button names (as defined in dualshock_mappings.py) and values are boolean (true/false) indicating if the button is currently pressed.
  • Example: "cross": true
• hats: A dictionary where keys are hat names (as defined in dualshock_mappings.py) and values are tuples representing the D-pad state. The tuple contains two integers, (x, y), where x is -1 for left, 1 for right, and 0 for neutral; y is -1 for down, 1 for up, and 0 for neutral.
  • Example: "dpad": (0, 1) (D-pad Up pressed)

Setup and Run with Docker Compose

1. Ensure Docker is running:

2. Connect your Dualshock controller: Via USB or Bluetooth.

3. Build and run the container: Run:

   docker compose up --build -d

4. Verify the publisher: The ZeroMQ publisher runs inside the container. By default, it binds to tcp://*:5556. You can connect to this address from another application to receive controller input data (e.g., test with dualshock_subscriber.py from your machine, which connects to tcp://localhost:5556 by default).

5. Stop the container: To stop the running container, use:

   docker compose down

Accessing Controller Input

The application needs access to /dev/input on the host system to read joystick events. The docker-compose.yml file is configured to mount this directory into the container and runs the container in privileged mode to do so.

Customising Controller Mappings

The specific mappings for axes, buttons, and hats can vary between different Dualshock controller models. dualshock_publisher/dualshock_mappings.py is used to define these mappings.

1. Find your controller's mappings: Use dualshock_mapper_utility to identify the raw input for your specific controller:

   python Dualshock/dualshock_publisher/dualshock_mapper_utility.py

2. Play with your controller.

3. Edit dualshock_publisher/dualshock_mappings.py: Open dualshock_publisher/dualshock_mappings.py and update the AXIS_MAP, BUTTON_MAP, and HAT_MAP dictionaries with your mappings.

4. Restart the publisher container: