Input Samples

The input samples demonstrate handling various PS3 input devices including game controllers, keyboards, the PlayStation Eye camera, and PlayStation Move motion controllers.

Available Input Samples

padtest

Controller input and vibration feedback

kbtest

USB keyboard input handling

camera

PlayStation Eye camera capture

gemtest

PlayStation Move motion tracking

gemsample

Advanced Move features

padtest - Controller Input

Location: samples/input/padtest/ Demonstrates reading controller button states and triggering vibration motors.

What It Demonstrates

Pad library initialization
Detecting connected controllers
Reading button states
Analog stick input
Vibration motor control
Controller information (vendor/product ID)

Implementation

This sample runs as a network server that outputs controller information over TCP.

samples/input/padtest/source/padtest.c

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    int list_s, conn_s;
    short int port;
    struct sockaddr_in servaddr;
    char buffer[MAX_LINE];
    PadInfo padinfo;
    PadData paddata;
    
    fprintf(stdout, "Starting Pad Test.\n");
    
    // Create listening socket
    if ((list_s = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0)) < 0) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error creating listening socket.\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    // Bind and listen
    memset(&servaddr, 0, sizeof(servaddr));
    servaddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
    servaddr.sin_addr.s_addr = htonl(INADDR_ANY);
    servaddr.sin_port = htons(port);

    bind(list_s, (struct sockaddr *)&servaddr, sizeof(servaddr));
    listen(list_s, LISTENQ);
    
    // Accept connection
    if ((conn_s = accept(list_s, NULL, NULL)) < 0) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Error calling accept()\n");
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }

    char* message = "Welcome to PadTest\r\n";
    Writeline(conn_s, message, strlen(message));
    
    // Initialize pad library (max 7 controllers)
    sprintf(buffer, "Calling ioPadInit(%d) returned %d\r\n", 7, ioPadInit(7));
    Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
    
    // Get pad info
    sprintf(buffer, "Calling ioPadGetInfo() returned %d\r\n", ioPadGetInfo(&padinfo));
    Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
    
    sprintf(buffer, "PadInfo:\r\nMax Pads: %u\r\nConnected Pads: %u\r\nInfo Field: %08x\r\n",
            padinfo.max, padinfo.connected, padinfo.info);
    Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
    
    // Iterate through all possible pad slots
    for(int i = 0; i < MAX_PADS; i++) {
        if(padinfo.status[i]) {
            sprintf(buffer, "Controller %u:\r\nVendor ID: %hx\r\nProduct ID: %hx\r\nStatus: %hhu\r\n",
                    i, padinfo.vendor_id[i], padinfo.product_id[i], padinfo.status[i]);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            // Get pad data
            sprintf(buffer, "Calling ioPadGetData(%d) returned %d\r\n",
                    i, ioPadGetData(i, &paddata));
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            // Read button states
            sprintf(buffer, "X..... %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_CROSS);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "O..... %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_CIRCLE);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "/\\.... %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_TRIANGLE);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "[].... %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_SQUARE);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            sprintf(buffer, "LEFT.. %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_LEFT);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "RIGHT. %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_RIGHT);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "DOWN.. %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_DOWN);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            sprintf(buffer, "UP.... %d\r\n", paddata.BTN_UP);
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            // Test vibration - small motor
            PadActParam actparam;
            actparam.small_motor = 1;
            actparam.large_motor = 0;
            
            sprintf(buffer, "Vibrating small motor... ");
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            ioPadSetActDirect(i, &actparam);
            usleep(2000000);  // 2 seconds
            
            sprintf(buffer, "Finished.\r\n");
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));

            // Test vibration - large motor
            actparam.small_motor = 0;
            actparam.large_motor = 255;
            
            sprintf(buffer, "Vibrating large motor... ");
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
            
            ioPadSetActDirect(i, &actparam);
            usleep(2000000);
            
            sprintf(buffer, "Finished.\r\n");
            Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
        }
    }
    
    sprintf(buffer, "Finished.\r\n");
    Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));
    
    // Cleanup
    sprintf(buffer, "Calling ioPadEnd() returned %d\r\n", ioPadEnd());
    Writeline(conn_s, buffer, strlen(buffer));

    close(conn_s);
    return 0;
}

Pad Data Structure

The PadData structure contains:

Button states: BTN_CROSS, BTN_CIRCLE, BTN_TRIANGLE, BTN_SQUARE
D-Pad: BTN_UP, BTN_DOWN, BTN_LEFT, BTN_RIGHT
Shoulder buttons: BTN_L1, BTN_L2, BTN_R1, BTN_R2
Analog sticks: Left stick (X/Y), Right stick (X/Y)
Pressure sensitivity: Available for analog buttons

Controller Input Patterns

Basic Setup

Initialize pad library

ioPadInit(7);  // Support up to 7 controllers

Check connected pads

PadInfo padinfo;
ioPadGetInfo(&padinfo);
printf("Connected pads: %u\n", padinfo.connected);

Read pad data in loop

PadData paddata;
for(int i = 0; i < MAX_PADS; i++) {
    if(padinfo.status[i]) {
        ioPadGetData(i, &paddata);
        if(paddata.BTN_CROSS) {
            // Handle cross button
        }
    }
}

Cleanup

ioPadEnd();

Vibration Control

PadActParam actparam;

// Small motor (high frequency)
actparam.small_motor = 1;  // 0 or 1
actparam.large_motor = 0;  // 0-255
ioPadSetActDirect(pad_number, &actparam);

// Large motor (low frequency)
actparam.small_motor = 0;
actparam.large_motor = 128;  // Half intensity
ioPadSetActDirect(pad_number, &actparam);

// Stop vibration
actparam.small_motor = 0;
actparam.large_motor = 0;
ioPadSetActDirect(pad_number, &actparam);

kbtest - Keyboard Input

Location: samples/input/kbtest/ Demonstrates USB keyboard input handling.

What It Demonstrates

Keyboard initialization
Key press detection
Modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt)
Key repeat handling

camera - PlayStation Eye

Location: samples/input/camera/ Shows how to capture video from the PlayStation Eye camera.

What It Demonstrates

Camera initialization
Frame capture
Video format selection
Frame buffer management

gemtest - PlayStation Move

Location: samples/input/gemtest/ Demonstrates PlayStation Move motion controller tracking.

What It Demonstrates

Move controller initialization
Motion tracking
Button input
LED color control
Vibration feedback

Building Input Samples

Build All Input Samples

cd samples/input
make

Build Individual Sample

cd samples/input/padtest
make

Run Padtest

Build and load

make
ps3load padtest.self

Connect from PC

telnet <PS3_IP> 2002

View output

Controller information and button states will be sent to your terminal

Common Input Patterns

Poll vs Event-Based

Most PS3 input is poll-based. Call ioPadGetData() every frame in your main loop to get the latest controller state.

Button Press Detection

static int last_cross = 0;
if(paddata.BTN_CROSS && !last_cross) {
    // Button was just pressed
}
last_cross = paddata.BTN_CROSS;

Analog Deadzone

#define DEADZONE 20

int stick_x = paddata.ANA_L_H - 128;
int stick_y = paddata.ANA_L_V - 128;

if(abs(stick_x) < DEADZONE) stick_x = 0;
if(abs(stick_y) < DEADZONE) stick_y = 0;

Multiple Controllers

PadInfo padinfo;
PadData paddata[MAX_PADS];

ioPadGetInfo(&padinfo);
for(int i = 0; i < MAX_PADS; i++) {
    if(padinfo.status[i]) {
        ioPadGetData(i, &paddata[i]);
        // Process controller i
    }
}

Best Practices

Initialize Early

Call ioPadInit() during application startup before entering your main loop

Check Connection Status

Always verify padinfo.status[i] before calling ioPadGetData()

Limit Vibration

Don’t vibrate continuously - it drains battery and is uncomfortable

Handle Disconnection

Controllers can disconnect during gameplay - handle gracefully

Pad API Reference

Complete controller API documentation

Keyboard API

Keyboard input functions

Camera API

PlayStation Eye camera reference

Move API

PlayStation Move controller API

Sample Projects

Available Input Samples

padtest

kbtest

camera

gemtest

gemsample

padtest - Controller Input

What It Demonstrates

Implementation

Pad Data Structure

Controller Input Patterns

Basic Setup

Vibration Control

kbtest - Keyboard Input

What It Demonstrates

camera - PlayStation Eye

What It Demonstrates

gemtest - PlayStation Move

What It Demonstrates

Building Input Samples

Build All Input Samples

Build Individual Sample

Run Padtest

Common Input Patterns

Best Practices

Initialize Early

Check Connection Status

Limit Vibration

Handle Disconnection

Pad API Reference

Keyboard API

Camera API

Move API

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Sample Projects

​Available Input Samples

padtest

kbtest

camera

gemtest

gemsample

​padtest - Controller Input

​What It Demonstrates

​Implementation

​Pad Data Structure

​Controller Input Patterns

​Basic Setup

​Vibration Control

​kbtest - Keyboard Input

​What It Demonstrates

​camera - PlayStation Eye

​What It Demonstrates

​gemtest - PlayStation Move

​What It Demonstrates

​Building Input Samples

​Build All Input Samples

​Build Individual Sample

​Run Padtest

​Common Input Patterns

​Best Practices

Initialize Early

Check Connection Status

Limit Vibration

Handle Disconnection

​Related Documentation

Pad API Reference

Keyboard API

Camera API

Move API

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Available Input Samples

padtest - Controller Input

What It Demonstrates

Implementation

Pad Data Structure

Controller Input Patterns

Basic Setup

Vibration Control

kbtest - Keyboard Input

What It Demonstrates

camera - PlayStation Eye

What It Demonstrates

gemtest - PlayStation Move

What It Demonstrates

Building Input Samples

Build All Input Samples

Build Individual Sample

Run Padtest

Common Input Patterns

Best Practices

Related Documentation