Connecting a bluetooth keypad to an ESP32

I have an esp32 running esphome quite close to my work desk at home - but not on my desk.
As I would like to have the ability to control quite a few things when working, I was thinking it would be cool to have around 20 buttons nicely labeled sitting on my desk, somehow wirelessly sending messages back to my home assistant.

An idea was born:
Can’t I just buy a simple bluetooth numpad, connect it to the esp32/esphome via bluetooth and then depending on the button I press fire different actions on my esp32?

After some googling I found ways to have the esp32 emulate being a bluetooth keyboard, thus connecting to a PC and sending keypresses, but not the other way around - having a realy keyboard connect to the esp32.
Does anyone know of a way to do what I am looking for? Would be really cool!

1 Like

Hi bbadaboom,

I had exactly the same idea. The only post I found about this issue is yours - strange. Nobody seems to have tackled this issue. Did you find a solution in the meantime?

Best,
The Smart Home Maker