Tablet to OSC

Tablet to OSC is a Windows-only utility application that accesses Wacom tablet data and sends it to other software/computers using OSC (Open Sound Control). You can use this data in any OSC-compatible software, such as TouchDesigner (shown in cover), Max/MSP, Ableton, Synesthesia, Resolume, etc.

Tablet to OSC accesses both Wacom pen data and multitouch data. Wacom has a fantastic multitouch API that can accurately track 10 fingers simultaneously with minimal latency (NOTE: you must have a touch-compatible tablet!). For some reason, this raw multitouch data doesn't seem to be available in any other software.

This multitouch data could be useful for a wide variety of purposes — I’m particularly excited about using it to control live visuals. Check out my Instagram for examples of this in action.

Here is a complete list of the OSC messages that Tablet to OSC sends out:

• multitouch data
  • /touch/x/[fingerid] - the x position on the finger (normalized between 0 and 1)
  • /touch/y/[fingerid] - the y position on the finger (normalized between 0 and 1)
  • /touch/isdown/[fingerid] - 1 when the finger is touching the tablet, 0 when it’s not
  • /touch/xdown/[fingerid] - the x position when the finger first touches the tablet
  • /touch/ydown/[fingerid] - the y position when the finger first touches the tablet
• pen data
  • /pen/pressure - the pressure of the pen
  • /pen/x - the x position on the tablet (normalized between 0 and 1)
  • /pen/y - the y position on the tablet (normalized between 0 and 1)
  • /pen/distance - the distance of the pen from the tablet
  • /pen/isdown - 1 when the pen is touching the tablet, 0 when it’s not
  • /pen/xdown - the x position when the pen first touches the tablet
  • /pen/ydown - the y position when the pen first touches the tablet
  • /pen/button/1 - the state of the first button (closest to tip)
  • /pen/button/2 - the state of the second button (closest to eraser)
  • /pen/eraser - 1 when using the eraser, 0 when using the tip

One limitation to note is that the pen data can only be accessed and sent when the window is in focus. Unfortunately, this limitation is baked into the Wacom API and there seems to be no way around it.

Depending on how much support this project gets, I might continue to develop it. Here are some potential to-do items:

• create a mac version
• create a custom C++ CHOP to access all this data in TouchDesigner
• access and send tablet controls over OSC (like express keys)