The Matrix Is a "Rugged," RP2040-Powered CNC-Milled Macropad with Customizable RGB Key Lighting

With per-key RGB LED lighting shining up through translucent silicone keycaps, the Matrix impresses.

Gareth Halfacree
1 year agoHW101

Australian electronics firm Zoid Technology has designed a "rugged" macropad which offers a per-key customizable RGB LED backlighting system for jogging your memory as to which of the four buttons does what: the Matrix.

"A rugged macropad with a per-key customizable ultra-bright RGB backlight, Matrix is a powerful tool for streamlining repetitive tasks with pre-programmed keystroke sequences," Zoid Technology writes of its device, which offers a simple 2×2 key layout. "Matrix is also perfect for those occasions when you need just a few extra buttons."

When the company says "rugged," it means it: the Matrix's enclosure is machined from aluminum and anodized in black, while the buttons themselves are made from durable translucent silicone — allowing the RGB LEDs located underneath to shine up through the whole of the key cap, rather than simply around it as with traditional plastic caps.

The pad is built around a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller with 2MB of QSPI flash, and comes pre-programmed with a fork of the open-source QMK firmware — meaning it can be configured for single-key operation, macros, emulate a joystick or mouse, or act as a MIDI controller. The firmware also includes what the company calls an "extensive library of lighting effects" for the per-key RGB LEDs.

More information on the pad is available on the Zoid Technology website, while fully-assembled Matrix pads can be purchased from the Seven Crumbs Tindie store for $85 each. The QMK fork's source code, meanwhile, is on GitHub under the reciprocal GNU General Public License 2.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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