Interesting idea and I must admit that I am really pleased with my BS5, especially after the ssd upgrade.

My concern here would be how you would be able to integrate the unit with ML. If possible.

If you go one step further it should be easy enough re-using the internal ML / PL / power management board of the BM5. As far as I remember it's just connected via USB internally.

In general the hardware aspect is not a problem here. That's simple enough. If you want to replace the BM5 it's mainly a question of software. Especially for the UI and ML if you want to continue using it.

Attached a proof-of-concept written in python to read out the BS5 controls. Nothing special. 
It will plot the absolute values for the bar lever and the buttons. Additionally it will show the step count since last read for the front wheel and the volume ring (incremental encoders).

It's not much but I just wanted to put this somewhere as people kept asking me.
The picture shows the result for pressing the GO button and releasing it again. Typically those are all hex values but the library seems to translate them to integers by default...

link

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Excellent. Thanks for sharing.

I thought there was more to it but it seems indeed rather straightforward.🙂