This week I worked on ordering the parts and reading up on the BLE programming protocol for the Seeed XIAO nRF52840. I placed an order for 16 microcontrollers through the order form, which are on schedule to get here next week. Additionally, I did research on the BLE protocol and the role of devices in communication. I found that the microcontrollers would be best used in peripheral mode, with a specific GATT (Generalized Attribute) and service for each key. Each key should also only have notify and read permissions.
I believe that I am on schedule to begin programming the basic single key interface with the computer next week when the parts hopefully arrive. In the meantime, I will be continuing to work on the starter code so that once the board gets here, I can begin programming and debugging right away.
For next week, I hope to program a single microcontroller with the ability to determine whether or not a key is pressed and send that data over BLE.