Compute Deck is an open-source portable Linux computer and cyberdeck platform. It features a BlackBerry Q10 physical keyboard, dedicated power management with LiPo charging, an RP2040 coprocessor serving as an I2C keyboard bridge, and a Linux compute module.
Warning
Revisions 1 and 2 of this project were built and verified around a Raspberry Pi Zero / Zero 2 W form-factor header.
The project is currently undergoing a major hardware architecture update to migrate from the Pi Zero header to an integrated Rockchip RK3566 SoC directly on the board.
- Physical Keyboard Integration: Uses a BlackBerry Q10 keyboard connected using a 24-pin Hirose BM14B connector.
- Dedicated RP2040 Coprocessor: Offloads the keyboard control from the processor, supporting debouncing, key remapping, and layer management.
- I2C Slave Keyboard Bridge: Communicates with the host system via I2C at address
0x1F, sending keycodes to the main processor. - Power Management Subsystem: Integrated IP5306 power bank SoC managing single-cell LiPo battery charging, 5V boost conversion, power routing, status LEDs, and soft-latching power control alongside an AMS1117-3.3 regulator.
- Linux Host Virtual Keyboard Driver: Python user-space daemon using Linux
/dev/uinputandevdevto translate the RP2040 I2C keycodes into full USB keyboard input with support for modifiers.
compute-deck/
├── firmware/ # RP2040 Coprocessor Firmware (Pico SDK C/C++)
│ ├── CMakeLists.txt # CMake build configuration
│ ├── main.c # Keyboard matrix scanner, layer logic & I2C slave handler
├── hardware/ # KiCad PCB & Schematic Design Files
│ ├── footprints/ # Custom KiCad component footprints
│ ├── symbols/ # Custom KiCad schematic symbols
├── host/ # Host Linux Software & Services
│ ├── keyboard_driver.py # Python I2C polling daemon & uinput event injector
│ ├── q10-keyboard.service # Systemd service unit for boot startup
- Raspberry Pi Pico SDK configured in your environment (
PICO_SDK_PATH). cmake- GCC ARM Cross-compiler (
arm-none-eabi-gcc)
cd firmware
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)- Short the
BOOTSELjumper on the board using tweezers or other conductive object while plugging in USB to enter the RP2040 into bootloader mode. - Drag and drop
q10_keyboard.uf2onto the mountedRPI-RP2USB storage drive.
The host driver in host/ runs on the Linux compute host (e.g. Raspberry Pi OS or Linux kernel with /dev/uinput enabled).
Enable the hardware I2C interface on the host SBC:
sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-smbus
pip3 install -r host/requirements.txtAdd your user to the i2c and input groups:
sudo usermod -aG i2c,input $USERRun the driver manually to verify key injection:
python3 host/keyboard_driver.pyTo launch the keyboard driver automatically at boot:
sudo mkdir -p /opt/q10-keyboard
sudo cp host/keyboard_driver.py /opt/q10-keyboard/
sudo cp host/q10-keyboard.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now q10-keyboard.serviceThe physical layout follows the BlackBerry Q10 matrix mapping:
- Shift: One-shot modifier. Pressing Shift capitalizes the next key typed, and then automatically clears.
- Alt: Accesses numbers and secondary symbols printed on keycaps (e.g., Q ->
#, W ->1, E ->2). - Sym: Accesses extended navigation and punctuation symbols (e.g., Q ->
Esc, W ->Up, A ->Left, S ->Down, D ->Right, T ->Tab). - Mic Key: Mapped as Super. Supports tap-or-chord timeout (
0.4s). - Ctrl: Left Control key with chord support.
Production files generated for JLCPCB are stored under hardware/production/