dexter-controller (Python)

This is a Python package for controlling the Dexter device. It provides an interface to interact with it using a mapping between the device and the connected LoadCells for each finger.

Installation

You can install the package using uv:

uv add dexter-controller

Usage example

import time
from dexter_controller import Finger, DexterHandController

# The mapping dictionary should contain the serial port paths as keys and a list of Finger enums as values.
mapping = {
    "/dev/ttyUSB0": [Finger.THUMB, Finger.INDEX],   # "COMx" on Windows
    "/dev/ttyUSB1": [Finger.MIDDLE, Finger.RING],   # "COMy" on Windows
    "/dev/ttyUSB2": [Finger.PINKY],                 # "COMz on Windows
}

# When using the controller, you can access the raw data for each finger.
# Devices are connected on creation of the controller.
controller = DexterHandController(mapping)

try:
    print("Press Ctrl+C to exit.")
    while True:
        line = (
            f"Thumb: {controller.thumb.raw_data if controller.thumb else None} | "
            f"Index: {controller.index.raw_data if controller.index else None} | "
            f"Middle: {controller.middle.raw_data if controller.middle else None} | "
            f"Ring: {controller.ring.raw_data if controller.ring else None} | "
            f"Pinky: {controller.pinky.raw_data if controller.pinky else None}    "
        )
        print(line, end="\r", flush=True)
        # sleep for a short duration to avoid flooding the output (20 milliseconds)
        time.sleep(0.02)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("Exiting...")
finally:
    controller.close()