The Willow Joystick is a cost-effective, low force joystick that can be used for adaptive gaming or computer access. This joystick is intended for users with very low strength or range of motion. The joystick only requires about 25 grams of force to operate, and has a range of motion of ± 7.5° or about ±5 mm.
The Willow Joystick has a variety of options for customizing it for the user:
- Swappable Toppers: there are 7 different topper designs, including one that can be used with heat moldable polymer for a custom fit.
- Wrist Ramps: there are several wrist rest options for supporting the user's arm.
The Willow is made up of the Willow Joystick and the Willow Hub. The Joystick is the primary user interface and contains a low-force Hall-Effect joystick. The Hub has a display that provides a graphical interface for independently adjusting settings, as well as it provides the connection to the host device and up to three external assistive switches with 3.5 mm jacks.
The Willow is compatible with a range of host devices that can support a USB Mouse, a USB Gamepad and/or a Bluetooth Mouse. Compatible devices include PC and Mac computers and laptops, Android, iOS, and Windows smartphone and tablets, and the Xbox Adaptive Controller. As a USB joystick, the Willow is not compatible with the Sony Playstation Access Controller.
The joystick has adaptors for both ¼-20 mounting arms and RAM-B ball mount arms and has an optional nonslip base for use on a table. There is also a modifiable wrist ramp to help raise a user’s wrist while using the joystick.
The device is comprised of off-the-shelf electronics and hardware, a custom PCB and 3D printed parts. The overall cost of materials (including materials required in bulk) for a single build is about $180 (plus shipping). In larger quantities, the cost of materials is closer to $135.
The Willow Joystick is Open Assistive Technology (OpenAT) and is certified as Open Source Hardware by the Open Source Hardware Association under the OSHWA UID CA000062. Under the terms of the open source licenses, the device may be built, used, and improved upon by anyone.
This design is part of the OpenAT Joystick Project, a collection of open source designs for digital access and adapted gaming.
This is an open-source assistive technology, so anyone is free to build it. All of the files and instructions required to build the device are contained within this repository. Refer to the Maker Guide below for detailed build instructions.
You may also submit a build request through the Makers Making Change Assistive Device Library Listing to have a volunteer maker build the device. As the requestor, you are responsible for reimbursing the maker for the cost of materials and any shipping.
If you have the skills and equipment to build this device, and would like to donate your time to create the device for someone who needs it, visit the MMC Maker Wanted section.
The Maker Guide contains all the necessary information to build this device, including tool lists, assembly instructions, programming instructions and testing.
The Bill of Materials lists all of the parts and components required to build the device.
All of the files and individual print files can be found in the /Build_Files/3D_Printing_Files folder.
Reference the Assembly Guide section of the Maker Guide for the tools and steps required to build the device.
As open source assistive technology, you are welcomed and encouraged to improve upon the design.
| Document | Version | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Design Rationale | 1.0 | Willow_Joystick_Design_Rationale |
| Maker Guide | 1.0 | Willow_Joystick_Maker_Guide |
| Bill of Materials | 1.0 | Willow_Joystick_Bill_of_Materials |
| User Guide | 1.0 | Willow_Joystick_User_Guide |
| Changelog | 1.0 | Changelog |
Copyright (c) 2025 Neil Squire Society.
This repository describes Open Hardware:
- Everything needed or used to design, make, test, or prepare the Willow Joystick is licensed under the CERN 2.0 Weakly Reciprocal license (CERN-OHL-W v2) or later .
- All software is under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
- Accompanying material such as instruction manuals, videos, and other copyrightable works that are useful but not necessary to design, make, test, or prepare the Willow Joystick are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (CC BY-SA 4.0) .
You may redistribute and modify this documentation and make products using it under the terms of the CERN-OHL-W v2. This documentation is distributed WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, INCLUDING OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Please see the CERN-OHL-W v2 for applicable conditions.
Source Location: https://github.com/makersmakingchange/Willow-Joystick
The Willow Joystick was designed by Makers Making Change / Neil Squire Society. The hardware and firmware for the Willow Hub is based on the LipSync Hub designed by Makers Making Change / Neil Squire Society.
The documentation template was created by Makers Making Change / Neil Squire Society and is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license. It is available at the following link: https://github.com/makersmakingchange/OpenAT-Template
The Willow incorporates several commercially available open source hardware components:
- Adafruit TLV493D Triple-Axis Magnetometer - STEMMA QT / Qwiic. The PCB design is available under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license at https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-TLV493D-PCB.
- Adafruit 128X64 monochrome OLED Display Board. The PCB design is available under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license at https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-128x64-Monochrome-OLED-PCB.
- SparkFun Qwiic Adapter Board (DEV-14495). The PCB design is available under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license at https://github.com/sparkfun/Qwiic_Adapter.
- SparkFun RJ11 Breakout Board (BOB-14021). The PCB design is available under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license at https://github.com/sparkfun/RJ11_Breakout.
The Willow firmware utilizes the Arduino development platform, an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino is developed and maintained by the Arduino community, and the project wouldn't be possible without their contributions. Arduino is a registered trademark of Arduino AG. For more information about Arduino and to contribute to the community, visit the official Arduino website at www.arduino.cc. The Willow Firmware code uses several libraries:
- Adafruit_BusIO by Adafruit
- Adafruit_GFX by Adafruit
- Adafruit_Sensor by Adafruit
- Adafruit_SSD1306 by Adafruit
- ArduinoJson by Benoit Blanchon
- TLV493D-A1B6 by Infineon Technologies
Designers:
- Brad Wellington, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
- Stephen Moyer, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
- Josie Versloot, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
- Tyler Fentie, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
- Jake McIvor, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
- Milad Hajihassan, Neil Squire Society / Makers Making Change.
Makers Making Change is a program of Neil Squire, a Canadian non-profit that uses technology, knowledge, and passion to empower people with disabilities.
Makers Making Change leverages the capacity of community based Makers, Disability Professionals and Volunteers to develop and deliver affordable Open Source Assistive Technologies.
- Website: www.MakersMakingChange.com
- GitHub: makersmakingchange
- Instagram: @makersmakingchange
- Facebook: makersmakechange
- LinkedIn: Neil Squire Society
- Thingiverse: makersmakingchange
- Printables: MakersMakingChange
For technical questions, to get involved, or to share your experience we encourage you to visit our website or contact us.