Batman-Shaped Arduino Game Controller — SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Immanuel Raj – SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu

1. About the Institution

SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), established in 1985, is one of India's top-ranked private universities, located in Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu. Ranked among the top universities in India by NIRF, SRMIST holds NAAC A++ accreditation and is known for its strong engineering programs, innovation culture, and industry collaborations. With over 50,000 students across its campuses, SRM has produced thousands of engineering graduates who contribute to technology and innovation worldwide.

2. About Me and This Project

I am Immanuel Raj, an engineering student at SRM Institute of Science and Technology. As a passionate electronics and embedded systems enthusiast, I undertook this project entirely on my own — designing a fully custom, Batman-shaped Arduino-based PC game controller PCB from scratch.

This project was driven by my interest in PCB design, embedded systems, and making technology more accessible and fun. I designed every part of this project independently — from schematic design to PCB layout — using KiCad EDA software, spending weeks learning and iterating to arrive at the final design.

What makes this project special is the custom Batman-shaped PCB board outline, making it not just a functional controller but also a creative piece of electronics art that showcases what student makers can achieve with dedication and the right tools.

3. Project Overview

The Batman Controller is a fully custom USB HID (Human Interface Device) game controller designed to connect to any PC and work with any game. Built around an Arduino Pro Micro (16 MHz,5v), it features:

- Dual analog joysticks for precise directional control

- 4-directional D-pad for digital input

- 10 tactile action buttons (A, B, X, Y, triggers, bumpers, back, menu)

- Status LED indicator

- Custom Batman-shaped PCB outline (Edge.Cuts)

- Full copper pour ground plane on both layers

- Completely routed 2-layer PCB design

The entire schematic and PCB was designed in KiCad EDA from scratch — no templates or pre-made designs were used. The project took several weeks of learning, designing, fixing errors, and iterating to reach the final manufacturable state.

4. Technical Specifications

Microcontroller - Arduino Pro Micro (16 MHz,5v)

PCB Layers - 2

Board Dimensions - 180mm × 78mm

Board Shape - Custom Batman outline (Edge.Cuts) |

Total Buttons - 14 tactile switches

Analog Inputs - 2 analog joysticks

LED Indicators - 1 status LED

Interface - USB HID (PC Game Controller)

Design Software - KiCad EDA

Surface Finish - HASL

PCB Color - Black

Copper Weight - 1oz

5. Why PCBWay

As a college student with a limited budget, I am unable to afford PCB manufacturing costs on my own. However, I strongly believe this project deserves to be brought to life — not just for myself, but to inspire other students at SRM and across India to take up PCB design and hardware projects.

PCBWay has an incredible legacy of supporting student makers and open-source hardware projects, having sponsored over 13,800 projects worldwide. I believe PCBWay's support would help me:

- Validate my PCB design by testing the manufactured board

- Learn from the real-world manufacturing experience

- Inspire fellow students to design their own custom PCBs

- Share the complete project openly with the maker community

6. Benefits to PCBWay

Through this collaboration, PCBWay will gain the following exposure:

Social Media Visibility: I will post the complete build process, photos, and final result on my social media, tagging PCBWay and crediting them as the sponsor in every post

Open Source Sharing: I will upload the complete KiCad project files (schematic, PCB layout, Gerber files) publicly, crediting PCBWay — making it accessible to thousands of makers worldwide

Student Community Reach: As a student at SRMIST with over 50,000 students, sharing this project will expose PCBWay to a large and active student engineering community

Unique Project Showcase: The Batman-shaped controller is a visually unique and creative project that will stand out on PCBWay's sponsorship page and attract attention from the maker community

Inspiring Future Customers: By sharing this project, other students who see it may choose PCBWay for their own future PCB projects

7. Conclusion

This project represents months of learning, dedication, and passion for electronics design. As a self-taught PCB designer and engineering student, I have put my best effort into creating a functional, creative, and unique controller PCB.A sponsorship from PCBWay would not only help me bring this project to life but would also allow me to share it with the world and inspire countless other students to pursue hardware design. I am fully committed to giving PCBWay complete credit and maximum visibility across all platforms where I share this project.

I am grateful for PCBWay's incredible support for the student and maker community, and I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to collaborate.