This Handy Control Box Works with All of Your Video Conferencing Software

The COVID-19 vaccine looks very promising, but it is being rolled out fairly slowly and we will likely be subject to our current pandemic constraints for quite a bit long. That means that video conferencing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and you’re going to have to keep dealing with all that that entails. Namely, making sure that your microphone is muted and that your camera isn’t recording when you stand up without any pants on. One way to streamline that process is to use a control box for your meetings. Memestra designed this handy control box that works with a variety of video conferencing software and has provided instructions so that you can build your own.

Memestra’s OneBox is able to control Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and GoToMeeting with the provided code. It is also easy to add commands for other software if you’re using something else. The exact functions depend on what software you’re using, but OneBox gives you hardware buttons for controlling your camera, the microphone, and screen sharing. An additional mode button lets you end the meeting or swap the profile to match whichever software you’re currently using. You also get LED indicators for your camera status, mic status, and if you’re sharing your screen. OneBox works by sending keyboard shortcuts to your computer, so it might not work with the browser-based versions of some video conferencing programs.

OneBox is built around an Arduino Pro Micro 5V board, which is programmed to show up as a standard USB HID keyboard when it is plugged into your computer. Pushing a button tells the Arduino to send the keypress combination corresponding to the shortcut in the software you’re currently using, according to the selected profile. The LED indicators are “dumb” and do not receive any feedback from the software. The Arduino code just keeps track of when you have pressed the buttons, so you need to start each meeting with them in the “off” states. The Arduino, LEDs, buttons, and other components are soldered onto through-hole PCBs. The PCBs are also soldered together to form a box that acts as the device’s enclosure. That allowed Memestra to add some nice silk-screened icons and a legend onto the enclosure. If you participate in a lot of video meetings, then you should seriously consider building your very own OneBox.