Can I make an Arduino Uno Rev3 pretend to be a joystick?

Question

I want to create a joystick for my flight simulator and I need to make an Arduino Uno Rev3 pretend to be a joystick when I plug it to my computer.

Answer 1

The Uno doesn't have native USB capabilities. It uses an additional microcontroller (the Atmega16u2) as an USB to Serial adapter. In the default configuration this microcontroller is only programmed for providing a serial interface over USB, not a joystick interface. You can hack your Uno and reprogram the Atmega16u2 for providing a joystick interface (and there are tutorials for how to reprogram the Atmega16u2 online). (Note, that you need a genuine Arduino for this to work, since the cheap clones often only have CH430 chips as USB to Serial adapter)

But I would suggest going the easier way and buying an Arduino board, which itself has USB capabilities without the need of hacking the board, like the Arduino Micro. Then you can simply use one of the joystick libraries on it. This way will be a lot easier for a beginner than doing it with an Uno.