My electronic geek friends and I are trying to build a new type of controller for my daughter with special needs. Does anyone out there have the specs of what the controller outputs to the XBOX? I want to design one from the ground up so any info would be great.

Thanks!!

Good luck. Controllers and memory cards require a special security chip to be in place on the device before the 360 will work with them.

Well yeah, but why not run the new controller THROUGH the old one. For example, with one of the buttons, wire it up to complete the circuit ON the old controller when the button is pressed on the NEW controller. Or, with the sticks and triggers, wire them up to do the same.
Do you know what I mean, it seems difficult to explain but I can at least imagine it in my head. So, this way, you are using the 360 controller and all the connections for the buttons/sticks/trigger, they are just wired up to different buttons/sticks/triggers.
Does that make senese?

And to the topic starter, good luck with this if you decide to try my route, it probably won't be too easy. And deadparrot is right, you can't just build one from scratch.

*sigh*...

rather then arguing about it why not just give the guy what he wants?

Xbox 1 controller: http://euc.jp/periphs/xbox-controller.ja.html
Xbox 360 Wired Controller: http://www.free60.org/wiki/Gamepad

and while we're on the subject, wired controllers don't have a security chip in them, that was speculation before launch and has been found to be not true... just read the link above if you don't believe me... no where does it mention any security and it even goes on to how you can get the controller working on open source platforms.

I would assume then, since the 360 controller does not have a security chip (news to me Twisted, thanks), that maybe you could reprogram the chips in the Xbox controller to make it a 360 one, or maybe vice versa? Or does the 360 have many more components in in than the Xbox one?
(Sorry, I'm not too good with very technical things)

EDIT: Probably even replacing some components of the Xbox controller to make it USB2.0 and output in the same manner that 360 controllers do.