Cerebrum

A Mouse and Keyboard Sharing Tool

For some backstory, this was a project that I started in order to dive deeper into learning the capabilities of JavaFX. I stumbled upon the Robot class that simulates basic user input and sought to have some fun with it.

Cerebrum is a Java-based portable tool that utilizes the Netty API to create a low latency, network-based, mouse/keyboard sharing tool. It is named Cerebrum as it coordinates mouse/keyboard input between multiple devices like the brain coordinates functions in the body.

If you modify the code you can attempt to connect more than 10 devices. I merely set the limit at 10 to keep the settings slider intelligible.

The main purpose is to allow for a user to be able to connect other computers together and eliminate the need for extra keyboards and mice.

If you know how to port forward, you can ALSO use this as a remote desktop software if paired with a 3rd-party screen-sharing application.

Main Features

1. Easy to use, simple GUI.
2. Able to control up to maximum of 10 simulataneous devices.

Requirements

• Java 10 Runtime or Higher
• ~18 MB of Disk Space
• Optional: Knowledge of Port Forwarding

Installation

Please check the target folder then download and double-click Cerebrum-1.0.jar to run.

How to Use

If you are using the software locally:

1. Decide what computer will be the host and what port you would like to use.
2. Run the software on said computer and click Connect. The settings menu will load.
3. In the Settings Menu:
   • Check the Host CheckBox.
   • Type Server in the IP Address section.
   • Enter your desired port in the Port section.
   • Slide the bar to the desired number of computers you would like to connect.
   • Click Save.
4. Once the Connection Status becomes a blue check, run the software on the remote devices and click Connect. The settings menu will load.
5. In the Settings Menu:
   • Enter in the IPv4 of the host in the IP Address section.
   • Enter your previously chosen port in the Port section.
   • Click Save.
6. Wait a few seconds, and you should see a translucent cyan window pop up on the host with the title being either your device name or an IP Address. This window is the control panel for that respective device.

   Ensure that you scale this window to match that of the remote device.

   In this control panel, all keyboard and mouse data performed on this window will be sent to the respective remote device. That is to say, clicking anywhere on the panel will correspond to a click on the respective remote device at that location (if scaled properly).
7. Once finished, Click Disconnect to stop the server or click on the names of each device on the Live Connections window to disconnect them.
   
   

If you are using the software remotely: aka using this as a remote desktop

1. Follow the same steps described above, but ensure that the host is port-forwarded and that the client enters the external IP Address of the host.

Notes for the current release

• OS-Exclusive Key Combinations (ie. CTRL+ALT+DEL) are not functional.