Valve's wild VR controller solves a big problem with virtual hands
Valve thinks it's solved the problem of tracking individual finger movements in virtual reality.
The so-called "Knuckles" controller doesn't look much different from what's out there, but it benefits from a number of innovative design tweaks.
The Oculus Touch and HTC Vive "wands" do a great job of tracking hand gestures, but not so much with precise finger movements. Both rely on buttons, but it's an imperfect solution: buttons can't track finger movements, for one, and you've also got to always maintain some kind of grip on the controller (so you don't drop it).
Another problem with the current controllers: there aren't enough buttons to accommodate every finger.
As we've now learned, the Knuckles controller takes all of those issues into account. It hasn't been released yet, but developer kits are starting to ship out and Valve has posted some documentation online to help content creators get started -- and to give us plebs a look at what's coming.
On the surface, Knuckles looks a little like the Touch controller. Your hand slides in around a pistol-style grip, with a sensor-equipped half-circle of plastic wrapping around the outside. The big difference: knuckles straps directly to your palm.
This extremely low-tech feature -- it's just a strap! -- makes VR mic drops possible. Observe:
Notice how the hand completely releases the controller grip and yet it doesn't fall to the floor. This is what progress looks like, friendos.
Knuckles is also equipped with scads of capacitive sensors that track a number of different things: where your fingers are positioned on each button, grasp/ungrasp gestures, and individual axes for your index, middle, ring, and pinky finger movements. That last one is key: the controller basically treats each of your fingers like a fleshy joystick.
These diagrams offer a good sense of the button placement and overall layout.
According to Valve's documentation, the dev kit version of Knuckles includes a built-in battery that lasts for around three hours and recharges via USB Micro. Just be sure to note that this isn't necessarily an indication of how the finished product will work; dev kits often evolve as products are finalized.
How long this will take to finish is another question entirely. All of these new Knuckles details come from developer-oriented documents; the company has yet to publicly discuss any plans for a retail launch.
All I'd say is: stay tuned. Valve often works in mysterious ways, but it's now clear that these controllers are closer to being finished than not.
Topics Gaming Virtual Reality
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
