A focus dial with real resolution
The 58 mm optical encoder moves defocus by 0.2 nm per detent with the aberration corrector on, and 1 nm without. Press it to switch between fine and coarse.
Concept · prototype in development · Kickstarter 2027
TEM-view Console
The hand panels of a transmission electron microscope, sized for a desk, with a voice. Focus, stigmate and drive the stage of the Seeing with Electrons exhibit with real knobs, or just ask it.
Drag to orbit · turn a knob · click a key · hold the mic key for a scripted voice demo
TEM · 200 kV · Δf −12.0 nmEvery control has a job on the column
Each knob maps to the control it stands for on a real microscope, and what it does follows the operating mode, as on a manufacturer's console.
The stage under your thumb
A Hall-effect joystick drives the stage. Two multifunction knobs set the stigmator, image shift or tilt as an X/Y vector, and in the Ronchigram the corrector's coma, three-fold and four-fold terms.
Ask the microscope
Hold the mic key and say "defocus minus fifty", "switch to the Ronchigram" or "what am I looking at?". Two MEMS microphones pick up your voice; the exhibit answers with its narration and moves the controls for you.
A mute you can trust
The microphones only stream while the key is held, and a hardware switch on the back cuts their power. When it is off, the status light turns red and no software can listen. Made for classrooms and museum floors.
Lights that read the column
The ring around the focus dial takes the color of the operating mode. Keys light while the wobbler runs or the beam is blanked, a blue light line runs along the front edge, and a 128 × 32 display shows the mode, the voltage and the last change.
USB-C, no drivers
The console is a standard USB device: game controller and microphone in one. Any browser with the Gamepad API drives the exhibit as soon as it is plugged in, and the microphone appears like any USB headset; Chrome and Edge also send the lights and display back over WebHID. Every knob and key can be remapped in the exhibit's panel dialog, and the firmware is open.
Protocol, firmware and pin map on GitHub · Prototype enclosure in 3D
axis 0–1stage joystick X, Y
axis 2focus (counter, wraps at ±32767)
axis 3–4magnification, intensity
axis 5–6multifunction X, Y
axis 7context: α, aperture, biprism, T
buttons 0–15mode, wobbler, optimal focus, acquire …
report rate500 Hz (every 2 ms)
audioUSB microphone, 2 × MEMS, 16 kHz, while the key is held
Target specifications
For the production run. The prototype uses a 3D-printed body; the numbers will be confirmed with manufacturing quotes before the campaign.
- Size
- 210 × 120 × 34 mm, about 660 g
- Body
- Smoked frosted polycarbonate top, CNC 6063 aluminum base, bead-blasted and anodized black, blue light-pipe edge
- Controls
- 58 mm optical focus dial with push (fine/coarse) · 5 encoders with push (magnification, intensity, context, multifunction X and Y) · Hall-effect joystick · 8 PBT keys with blue legends
- Voice
- 2 MEMS microphones behind acoustic mesh · hold-to-talk key · hardware mute switch with red status light
- Feedback
- RGB status ring, per-key lighting and front light line · 128 × 32 OLED
- Electronics
- RP2350, USB-C, composite USB device: HID (8 axes, 16 buttons) and USB audio
- Works with
- Any current browser on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS; lights and display need Chrome or Edge
- License
- To be announced
Planned rewards
Early-bird prices first. Shipping and taxes are collected after the campaign.
Supporter
$15
Your name in the exhibit credits, and build updates.
DIY kit
$89 then $109
Board with microphones, encoders, joystick and keys. Print the body yourself from the files.
Console
$239 then $289
Assembled and tested, with voice. Exhibit black and blue, USB-C cable.
Console Pro
$379 then $449
Heavier knobs, optical encoders throughout, and a trackball option for the stage.
Classroom
$1,299
Five Consoles and a teaching guide for the exhibit's training scenarios.
Prices are targets and may change with final quotes.
Try it before it exists
The exhibit has an on-screen version of this console: press V on the live site.