Power Output Translator for Analog Trigger Operations

⚠️ Proof of Concept
This project is a technical prototype that reads BLE cycling power and maps it to a virtual gamepad trigger.
It optionally displays a minimalist GUI and binds keyboard keys to gamepad buttons for Zwift Play compatibility. Consider this a dirty mostly AI-made POC! POC video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn5HigpRhmc&t=30s

1. Description
2. Features
3. Requirements
4. Installation
5. Configuration
6. Usage
7. Customization

POTATO reads real-time power output from a BLE home trainer (e.g. Wahoo KICKR), maps it through a tanh curve, and feeds it into the right trigger of a virtual Xbox 360 controller.
It also supports keyboard-to-gamepad mapping and an optional GUI for visual feedback.

• BLE scan and connection to devices matching a partial name (default: "KICKR")
• Real-time parsing of Cycling Power Measurement (UUID 00002a63-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
• Tanh-based mapping: 75% trigger at FTP, never reaches full throttle
• Configurable FTP and power threshold via CLI
• Virtual Xbox 360 controller output via vgamepad
• Keyboard mapping for Zwift Play buttons and D-Pad
• Optional minimalist GUI using Tkinter (ideal for OBS overlays)
• Console or GUI display of current power and trigger ratio

• BLE-enabled home trainer supporting the Cycling Power profile
• Windows PC with ViGEm installed (used by vgamepad)
• Optional: keyboard input for Zwift Play compatibility

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/renoua/potato.git

# Move into the project folder
cd potato

# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

You can pass options via command line:

python potato.py --ftp 230 --device-name KICKR --threshold 20 --gui

Available flags:

• --ftp (float): Functional Threshold Power in watts (default: 230)
• --device-name (str): Partial BLE device name to match (default: "KICKR")
• --threshold (float): Ignore power below this value (default: 0)
• --disable-dpad: Disable arrow key mapping to D-Pad
• --gui: Show a minimalist GUI with power bar and watts display

Run the script:

python potato.py

Once running:

• The script scans for BLE devices and connects to your trainer
• Power notifications are received and mapped to trigger values
• The virtual controller is updated in real time
• Keyboard keys (←, →, Home, Shift, Enter, End, =, Numpad -) are mapped to gamepad buttons
• If GUI is enabled, a small window shows power and trigger bar
• Example console output:

Connected to KICKR  
150 W → Trigger: 0.45  
200 W → Trigger: 0.65

Press Ctrl+C to exit.

• Replace the tanh curve with a linear or exponential mapping
• Add support for other BLE characteristics (e.g. cadence, speed)
• Modify the GUI layout or embed it into streaming software
• Extend keyboard mappings for additional gamepad buttons