The Arduino Uno form factor represents an incredibly well documented way to get started with microcontrollers, but what if you want to add a directional pad interface? Rather than fishing around in your parts bin and/or online for discreet parts, the Keypad Shield Kit from SKITEC provides everything you need as a standard plug-in shield.
The pad includes up/down/left/right and center buttons. Two general purpose buttons are also implemented on top of that – one of which can be set up as a reset. 3 pins are required to interface with the device, leaving a wide range of unused IO ready to go via male or female (stackable) headers that emanate from the top.
The board also takes care of debouncing functions, and it supports multi key combinations. Optionally, it features an interrupt pin to let button presses break into normal operation for time-sensitive inputs. A dedicated SKITEC-Keys library is available to assist with this boards operation, helping you get started on your interface journey!
