How to send keystrokes from one computer to another by USB?

Question

Is there a way to use one computer to send keystrokes to another by usb ?

What i'm looking to do is to capture the usb signal used by a keyboard (with USBTrace for example) and use it with PC-1 to send it to PC-2. So that PC-2 reconize it as a regular keyboard input.

Some leads to do this would be very appreciated.

Answer 1

What you essentially need is a USB port on PC-1 that will act as a USB device for PC-2.

That is not possible for the vast majority of PC systems because USB is an asymmetric bus, with a host/device (or master/slave, if you wish) architecture. USB controllers (and their ports) on most PCs can only work in host mode and cannot simulate a device.

That is the reason that you cannot network computers through USB without a special cable with specialised electronics.

The only exception is if you somehow have a PC that supports the USB On-The-Go standard that allows for a USB port to act in both host and device mode. USB-OTG devices do exist, but they are usually embedded devices (smartphones etc). I don't know if there is a way to add a USB-OTG port to a commodity PC.

EDIT:

If you do not need a keyboard before the OS on PC-2 boots, you might be able to use a pair of USB Bluetooth dongles - one on each PC. You'd have to use specialised software on PC-1, but it is definitely possible - I've already seen a possible implementation on Linux, and I am reasonably certain that there must be one for Windows. You will also need Bluetooth HID drivers on PC-2, if they are not already installed.

On a different note, have you considered a purely software/network solution such as TightVNC?

Answer 2

There is a solution:

https://github.com/Flowm/etherkey

This uses a network connection from your computer to the raspi which is connected to a teensy (usb developer board) to send the key strokes.

This solution is not an out-of-the-box product. The required skill is similar to programming some other devices like arduino. But it's a complete and working setup.