ThinkPads are some of the most durable laptops around, and there never seems to be a shortage of enthusiasts who are proud to show off an ancient device that's still in working order.
If you've used a ThinkPad, you know that it comes with some features not regularly found anywhere else. One such piece of hardware is the ThinkPad TrackPoint system, consisting of a red pointing nub placed in the middle of the keyboard and accompanied by a set of physical buttons just above the modern touchpad.
The TrackPoint is a major part of ThinkPad's identity, and although it doesn't get nearly as much attention as it used to when laptop touchpads were not yet in such a great state, it certainly still has its uses.
And I'm not just talking about use as a touch alternative.
I built "FooTrack" – a completely hands-free, foot-operated PC mouse & gamepad using a ThinkPad TrackPoint. Looking for feedback from this community! from r/diyelectronics
This past weekend, I spotted what could be the most impressive second-hand use of a TrackPoint system. Reddit user Gitman_87, who is evidently the engineer behind the CtrlZ YouTube channel, posted a creation that they've dubbed "FooTrack."
As explained in the introductory post, Gitman_87 has been quietly developing FooTrack as an accessibility tool based on the TrackPoint's hardware.
I noticed that a lot of adaptive gaming gear is either insanely expensive or lacks the analog precision you actually need to play fast-paced games. So I decided to build my own from scratch.
u/Gitman_87
Gitman_87 explains that the project is still in its infancy, and the community outreach on Reddit is mainly to gather feedback from potential users and other ThinkPad aficionados.
How does FooTrack work, and why is a ThinkPad TrackPoint's hardware perfect for the project?
ThinkPads last a long time, and even when they're well past their expiration date in terms of software compatibility, the hardware often lives on. I don't doubt that there are countless TrackPoint systems in working order that get sent to a landfill every year. Not only does that make the hardware cheap, but also rather plentiful.
The TrackPoint pointing nub relies on force input rather than distance, and Gitman_87 recognized that it could "translate into really smooth cursor or joystick control" based on micromovements from your feet.
A Raspberry Pi Zero is used alongside the TrackPoint controller inside the device, and a custom Wi-Fi UDP script allows for 100Hz polling to make it feel plenty smooth.
Now it has practically zero lag and can instantly swap between a PC mouse and an Xbox gamepad.
u/Gitman_87
In a video posted on the CtrlZ YouTube channel, the creator shows off a padded cover installed atop a custom base that's housing the TrackPoint hardware and Raspberry Pi.
The video shows rather smooth navigation in Windows 11 using FooTrack. There's no gaming footage available yet, but the creator has stated that they're putting together a full presentation video for imminent release.
Although the creator originally began working on FooTrack as an accessibility tool for gamers, one response to the original post brings up the possibility of using FooTrack while programming. It's a pain to take your hands off the keyboard, and being able to move a cursor with your feet indeed seems like a no-brainer.
If you have any thoughts or useful feedback, I urge you to jump into the Reddit discussion and let Gitman_87 know what you think.
I truly think the creator is onto something here, especially if it actually works as well as it appears to in these early videos.
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