Creating a Open-Source Horse Riding Simulator

In a recent post, I got to the point of using the reins to control Unbridled: That Horse Game -- but only as mouse input, which moves the rider's head, rather than the horse's head.  To fix this, I need a way to take mouse inputs and convert them to keyboard key presses.  It looks like this is possible with the Arduino Uno I am using, by loading some special firmware onto the Atmega8/16u helper microcontroller on the board. Well, actually, it looks like it is possible for the Arduino Uno, but not the Arduino Uno Wifi Rev2 that I have been using for reading the sensors so far. Bummer! Fortunately I have an Arduino Uno lurking about as well, so I should be able to do it after all.  The regular Uno has the extra connector required for reprogramming the bootloader on the MEGA8U microcontroller.  Information on how to install it can be found  here . Hmm, nope, that won't work either -- it used to work, years ago. Now the preferred approach is to use an Arduino Leonar...

I've previously talked about the need to be able to reliably detect open reins. The sensors in the back of the mouth are good for detecting general rein pressure, but they don't detect the sideways pressure that is ultimately what an open rein creates, based on my current understanding.  For example, with my "head on a turn-table" setup, if I create an open rein to one side or the other, then the head rotates in that direction, confirming that there is a sideways element to the force created. The in-mouth pressure sensors aren't sufficient for this, as the open rein aid applies primarily a lateral force, which is at right-angles to the mouth sensors.  It is possible that I can measure that force directly -- perhaps via sensors between the cheeks and snaffle rings.   I have also been thinking about using an optical computer mouse to directly record the rotation induced in the head and neck by the aid, as with the nice smooth bearings I have used, the head does move...

Having worked out that I need to add cheek pressure sensors to detect open reins, and that the motion of the head when asking for the horse to turn the head affects the felt pressure on the reins, I am now turning to allowing the head rotate in a more robust manner.  At the same time, I want to make a detached head setup, so that I can easily test the reins interaction from on the ground, without having to mount the "horse". The first step was to think about what I was going to do for the hinge.  So I went out to CBC Bearings at Regency Park and had a chat to the nice folks there, complete with wooden horse head on their counter.  They were very helpful, and we settled on using some nice heavy-duty bearings that take a 20mm steel shaft, to make sure that the weight and forces of the heavy horse head moving are easily accommodated without risk of self-damage etc. The steel shaft I purchased from METALCORP on Grand Junction Road, who were also really helpful.  It turns...

While my goal is to build a complete open-source horse riding simulator, this doesn't mean that I have to wait until I have everything working before I have anything.   Based on conversations with my friendly equestrian experts, I believe that there is potential value in a simple reins pressure trainer, that helps new riders learn to provide smooth and appropriate pressure to the horse's mouth through the reins, as well as be able to practice various activities and techniques with the reins. This is an attractive mile-stone, because it doesn't require any movement of the machine, and I already have the mouth sensors more or less working. A few other pieces fell into place for this today, while I was talking with some colleagues: First, for making a horse head, it's quite likely I can just use those latex costume horse head masks that can be bought quite cheaply as the basis for the exterior, and build a simple structure to hold it.  They already have a hollow mouth, so...