The short answer is yes, a hardwired USB connection is made possible via the DE1 USB-C adapter, a small board installed between the machine and its internal Bluetooth module. This physical cable connection bypasses the collision and dropout issues of wireless signals, offering a highly stable, interference-free link for real-time control. Although we will not be programming native real-time controls ourselves, next-generation software like Decent.app (currently in developer preview) and the community-developed app Decenza fully support this USB-C interface across Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. When utilizing this hardware, the adapter automatically cuts power to the Bluetooth module the moment a USB-C device is plugged in. However, due to how the machine boots up, users must remember to always unplug the USB-C cable before flipping the machine's rear power switch on, reconnecting the cable only after the DE1 has fully booted to prevent it from getting stuck.
We refuse to natively program active, real-time pressure or flow adjustments over Bluetooth because it introduces an immense number of software bugs. Our data chart feeds information to the tablet 10 times per second. If a user tries to continuously swipe their finger across the screen to manually shift flow variables over a wireless connection, the sheer volume of data events will completely crash the feed. When the data feed drops out, critical automation features—such as ending a shot precisely on a targeted weight or volume—will fail to trigger, ruining the espresso extraction.
Years ago, we integrated an experimental feature into the software called "airplane mode" that leverages the tablet's built-in accelerometer. When enabled, a user can lift the tablet completely off the machine and tilt it through the air to steer the extraction variables in real-time. For example, tilting the tablet in one direction would dynamically speed up the shot, while tilting it another way would slow it down. The underlying software logic for this motion control is already written and active; it simply requires toggling the "airplane mode" variable to true within the code.
Due to shifts in our audience during the pandemic, our user base has expanded to include a massive number of programmers and technologists eager to experiment with our platform. To support them, we have implemented a new, straightforward firmware command structure focused strictly on basic parameters ("set pressure" and "set flow"). This turns advanced features like real-time gesture or motion control into an excellent weekend project for independent developers. By finalizing a standardized app extension mechanism, we will allow these community-made features to run across all visual skins without modifying our official, core software branch.