NDS lcd & touchscreen outputs? I work with disabled...

djdoc · Post by **djdoc** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:01 am

Hi. First post on this forum. Not too familiar with this whole format, but really need to find an answer:

I work with children with disabilities and have found that games like Nintendogs are incredibly therapeutic for many small children with very limited hand skills. Even children with a mental age as young as 9 months are able to "get it" and I see a lot of potential with this system for special needs kids.

However, the real problem for many of the kids is I need to be able to put these games on a bigger touch screen and display.

I'd like to hack the NDS so that I can put the cables that go from the internal touch screen pressure pad, and the LCD output to the screen, to make a large, external screen using a WACOM even adapting Nintendo screen input/output directly to my tablet PC somehow.

Anybody who has any ideas on what hardware off the shelf will connect to what, would be greatly appreciated. I think the occupational therapists in my department could really get some great use out of this with getting otherwise pretty depressed and bedridden kids to light up. I see a lot of use on the cancer ward here as well... But the screen is just too small for many of our kids.

The main reason I need to do this with a DS, is that the touch screen and polish of the games, particularly Nintendogs is so immersive, even for kids who have impaired motor skills.

Thanks,
-Duk
rehabdoc@gmail.com

madc0w · Post by **madc0w** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:51 am

sry doc, but there's no easy way to do that. You would have to convert the output of the ds screen to the imput of the tablet screen. Then you would have to do the same thing for the touch pad, then compensate for the extra area and pixels. Its great to hear what you're doing. My friend's older brother actually does similar things to this. He works on making game systems easier for disabled people to play.

demonofaj · Post by **demonofaj** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:01 am

As madcow said, you need a sort of IC to convert the DS signals to make it plausible to a bigger touch screen, but god bless you for such a good deed, you're a good man/woman.

soundwave · Post by **soundwave** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:08 am

Itd be really cool if your name was 'DrDoc", anyways...just pretend I didnt say that. (and score 1 for the NDS, it can be used by anyone!)

demonofaj · Post by **demonofaj** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:09 am

Uh, soundwave this is kinda serious in someway, but comic relief never hurt, did IT?

bioniclebert · Post by **bioniclebert** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:15 am

Mabye if you had a dS emulator running and configured for a SMART BOARD.
Those things are cool!

You have some very good intentions to hack up systems, so we'll be glad to help whatever we can! Or at least I will...

demonofaj · Post by **demonofaj** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:17 am

That could work, take a touch screen based computer if you will, get a DS emulator, and configure the bottom screen to the actual screen.

bioniclebert · Post by **bioniclebert** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:19 am

Emulators such as ensata dont play games yet. They can only get ping pals to run close to full speed, and the only other one that even is "Workable" is goldeneye...

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:22 am

well, for those with some motor skills, there is another option. You could always make or buy an arcade style thing, it's a lot easier to hit the buttons and stuff. If you go to EBGames, they have pads ready to go with a PS2 (I think others, too) for ~$60. They also have button sets on ebay for ~$20, I think (for 2 people

) but then you'd have to wire it yourself

extremesonic · Post by **extremesonic** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:25 am

you should try talking with Nintendo themselves, they may be able to set you up with something to that effect, it would be good advertising, business, publicity for them to do it.

bioniclebert · Post by **bioniclebert** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:27 am

You guys remember the "spotlight" portable TV?

Well why not to it with this! Open it up and place the LCD against the spotlight! Then It is projected into the backdrop, while the user is poking away at the little screen.

of course, youd have to rig up a reflection device, because the light would be in the way of your hands!

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:31 am

No.

Sorry, we don't modify things to have larger screens, we just void warrenties.

sam fisher · Post by **sam fisher** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:01 pm

Try nintendo directly. Spongey they dont want a mame cabinet thing they want nintendogs! If only there was a workign emulator. It could do the scaling easily that way.

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:39 pm

extremesonic wrote:you should try talking with Nintendo themselves, they may be able to set you up with something to that effect, it would be good advertising, business, publicity for them to do it.

I was just going to say that. Since the Nintendo systems(especially handhelds) mainly use proprietary hardware, they are a lot harder to modify. Like extremesonic suggested, you should contact Nintendo about this. Large companies will often work on projects like this to gain public recognition. Phone Nintendo head office, and request contact information for the head of R&D, and their head of public relations.

x24 · Post by **x24** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 3:56 pm

Somehow nintendo has done it at the nintendostore in nyc (they have two tv screens above playable ds') so its possible somehow..