The Chrome Browser Application

[!WARNING] If you run this on a laptop it must be equipped with BLE technology, not the old standard Bluetooth, otherwise it won't work.

On iOS, all browsers must use WebKit, and WebKit does not implement access to BLE devices. On Mac OS, browsers can access BLE.

Firefox does not support access to BLE devices.

This is the most versatile application since it's working on Chrome browser on Windows, Linux, Android, Mac OS but not iOS.

It is also working on "Internet Samsung" and "Chromium" based browsers: Edge, Opera and Brave.

Setting up the "Brave" browser.

This is not needed on Google Chrome, but might be needed on other Chromium based browsers.

For instance to use "Brave" browser you need to modify default settings on the brave://flags page. Search and enable these two settings:

"Web Bluetooth API" and "Local Network Access Checks"

Use the Browser application.

Open this web page

https://reivaxy.github.io/kinetix/

Click on "Connect". You might need to allow access to nearby devices.

A dialog will show up listing nearby Bluetooth devices, select "KinetiX" and click "Pair".

Once the connection is established the command buttons will become enabled, except the ones for features your current firmware does not have. For instance if you have the release from 2026/01/01, the button "Finger tuning" will remain disabled, and if you have one even before that the "Settings" and "FW Upgrade" will be disabled.

Sending commands to position the fingers

Once connected you can send commands to the KinetiX hand by clicking on the buttons, or typing a (valid) command in the input text and click Send.

The input field allows to send commands that do not have a button, for instance if you modified the firmware to add new commands and didn't update the page yet.

Checking the Firmware information

Click the About button to get the firmware information.

The version (1) can help understand why some features are not available.

The options (2) allow you to know if you have a left or right hand firmware, the debug level of messages sent over USB port, and what optional firmware modules are activated.

For instance in this screen capture it's a left hand firmware with the pressure sensor and OLED screen modules enabled.

Modify experimentation settings

[!WARNING] This button is only enabled if your firmware version date is "2026-01-01 14:45:03 - Git commit 296fece3" or more recent.

Click the "Settings" button to open the dialog showing the experimentation settings:

These settings are intended to be used in experimentations you may add to the firmware, without requiring you to go over the trouble of implementing your own setting management system. They are persisted in the onboard Flash memory even if you restart or power off the KinetiX.

There are a few examples using them already, such as adjusting the optional pressure sensor sensitivity threshold, ...

Update the firmware wirelessly

[!WARNING] This button is only enabled if your firmware version date is "2025-12-21 07:31:03 - Git commit 64bc939" or more recent.

The "FW Update" button allows to update the firmware by uploading a new .bin file that you select from your computer or mobile device.

You then need to provide the name of your home Wifi network and its password. Your computer or mobile device needs to be connected to that same wifi network. On an Android device, you can use its own Wifi access point.

Then click Start. On rare occasions (mostly right after one upgrade if you try upgrading again) nothing happens. In this case, do not refresh the page, click on Disconnect, then Connect again, and click "FW Upgrade" again, the form will have kept the binary selected and WiFi parameters.

A progress bar will show the progress of the upload.

Once the upload is complete, the KinetiX will restart itself, so the application will be disconnected, and you need to connect it again.

[!WARNING] Sometimes, at the end of the upload, you might get a frightening message saying upload failed at 99%, it's a little glitch that might be fixed in a future version.

Update the maximum closed or opened positions of each finger.

[!WARNING] This button is only enabled if your firmware version date is "2026-04-04 15:13:11 - Git commit 1a7a2ac" or more recent.

Click on the "Finger Tuning" button to open the dialog allowing to fine tune the maximum opened and closed position for each finger.

Here are a few technical considerations that help understanding these parameters and how they work:

The servo motor commands work by sending them an electric signal encoding an angle from 0 to 180°. But once mounted in the KinetiX, because of various parameters such as the wire lengths, pulleys diameters, finger movement distance, we do not use the full range from 0 to 180°, but a sub range that may differ with each finger.

Also, because of the servo motor positioning in the palm, fingers 2 and 4 are open with angle near 0° whilst other fingers are opened with angle near 180°.

The firmware comes with default values that "mostly work" but which may need to be slightly adjusted.

When you click on the +/- it will modify the max value for the open or closed position. These modification are sent immediately but of course you set the targeted finger is in the targeted position before modifying the values. For instance to get the real effect of decreasing the max open value of the thumb, first set the thumb fully open.

These values are persisted in the onboard Flash memory even if you restart or power off the KinetiX.