DSKY Apollo Guidance Computer keyboard replica
By Ben Everard. Posted
This article was originally published as part of HackSpace magazine, which has since been incorporated into Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
We’ll admit, we first liked this project because of how gloriously retro it looks. Then we delved a little deeper, and now we love it even more. Bill Glasford has built a functioning replica of the display keyboard (DSKY) used on the Apollo Guidance Computer, the space-age avionics system used by NASA on its moon-landing equipment between 1966 and 1975.
It’s a beautiful build, comprising two LCD screens, a Raspberry Pi, and three Arduinos, and featuring an array of 3D-printed parts. What’s more impressive is that it runs the assembly code that the original computer ran all those decades ago.
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Introducing the smarter desktop: use cloud apps, thin clients, and get real work done on a Raspberry Pi. Also in the magazine we’re building a digital jukebox, controlling a robot arm, storing…
Ben is the Editor of HackSpace magazine. When not wrangling words, he enjoys cycling, gardening, and attempting to identify wild mushrooms.
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