Browser-based device configuration over USB

[mkeveney]

I have a project I'm thinking about porting to a Teensy.

It does not require the internet, but it does require a fairly involved first-time setup. I'd like to use a web browser for this. It's OK to require a USB connection, but WIFI or a wired ethernet connection seem like overkill for a one-time setup.

The user-experience I'd love to see is: User plugs the device in, and a web browser pops up with a page served by the device itself. The page interactively updates the device settings over USB.

Also acceptable: User opens a (possibly local) web page which asks permission and then establishes a connection to the device on their local system.

I've had a quick look at WebUSB. It might be the answer, though as far as I can tell, only my second scenario would be supported. Searching WebUSB here found a few posts, but they're a bit out-of-date.

So, what's the status of WebUSB support on the Teensy? ...And the industry in general for that matter?

Or, can you suggest an alternate approach? Seems like I'm probably not the first to want something like this.

-Matt

 

[mkeveney]

This three-year-old post seems to be asking the same question:
https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/59161-Web-App-to-interact-with-a-USB-Connected-Teensy

Some good ideas in there, but not quite what I was hoping for.

 

[jmarsh]

First thing that comes to mind is having the Teensy's USB function as a RNDIS device... basically a network adapter, which could serve up whatever web pages you wanted as well as running DNS (so you could tell the user to open a browser and go to http://xyzdeviceconfig). Not sure there's any prebuilt code to do that though.

 

[brtaylor]

That would be pretty cool and is one of the features I really liked about the BeagleBone Black. I use a web-based configuration tool for a data acquisition system I developed, but it does require the user to plug in the ethernet cable, set a static IP, and then navigate to a specific IP address - which is quite a few steps.