GIGA Display Shield Onscreen Keyboard

Official Hardware Mega GIGA Display Shield
1

I am working on a build for the Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi with the GIGA Display Shield that requires internet access via WiFi. Once I have it working, I plan to build several and share them across the US, to sites I won't be going to. The trouble is WiFi. The end users won't be able to recompile the code, and I won't be able to add their WiFi credentials for them before I send them.

I was thinking of building an interface where they could enter the SSID & password on the touchscreen, but I am having trouble with understanding how to build an onscreen keyboard. I wanted to ask if anyone else had already tackled these issues (keyboard or WiFi) with the GIGA & Display Shield. Any advice would be appreciated.

2

An onscreen keyboard is one solution. Other things to consider are using either Bluetooth or a serial port to push the WiFi credentials into the Giga. You could even put the Giga into WiFi AP mode and use a web browser to set the main WiFi credentials.

3

Thank you for your reply! I just saw this response. I like the idea of a WiFi AP mode, but I don't even know where to start on that. Do you know if there are any examples to get me started?

4

I haven't done this specifically on a GIGA. (I've used the serial port to push WiFi credential in)

But the general flow of things is the same as what many SmartPlugs and other screenless IoT devices do.

  1. Have a way to force your device into Setup mode. eg a Long press of a pushbutton
  2. Start up the GIGA WiFi in AP mode and make the SSID unique yet easily recognizable
  3. Create a simple HTML form asking for SSID and Password and serve it from the GIGA
  4. Have the user go to the WiFi settings page of their phone or PC to join that network
  5. Have the user open their browser and fill out the form
  6. Write the WiFi credentials to nonvolatile storage
  7. Shut down the GIGA WiFi AP
  8. Join the user's WiFi network using the credentials obtained in Steps 6 and 7.