Danny's Weblog
Commercial interface available between PC and switches
Many interesting business or technical applications of PCs really need a new operator panel to be provided, so that the most frequently used controls are logically laid out, and industrial-strength switches, rated for heavy use, harsh environments, gloved hands, milspec low-illumination "condition red" switching, etc etc can be used.
But the PC does not have keyswitch inputs. Some general-purpose input adapters are available, but they are pricey and intended for lab equipment.
The following supplier provides various adapter circuits intended for turning a PC into a 70s-style arcade game machine. Although their devices are inexpensive, gamers can actually be quite demanding about real-time performance, so they handle things like multiple simultaneous keypresses far better than anything you can kludge up by wiring to a keyboard (but there is a pass-through port so you can have an actual keyboard continuously available but hidden in a drawer or something).
[http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac5.html]
The link above is just for one product. They also have adapters which can handle rollerball-type inputs.
It occurs to me that this kind of thing is probably handy for movie-makers, too: the special-effects guys often have to whip up a control panel. Because the director often winds up changing the response spec for the panel on the fly to match script changes, there is often a special-effects guy crouching behind the panel holding a bundle of hand-wired switches in his hands and frantically trying to remember which three he has to flip on cue... but it would be a lot neater to interface to a computer and change everything in software, at least for props that are going to see some re-use.
Less glamorously, this might be just what you need to produce a cool-looking security system, or golf-course sprinkler system, or something, with nice clean back-panel wiring that can easily plug into a generic motherboard.
The following link may also be relevant: various hardware for arcade machine vendors (also interactive/kiosk machines, vending etc etc): [http://www.happcontrols.com/]
Both links via a Slashdot discussion.
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