Games

6DOF joystick crams a cockpit's worth of controls into one hand

6DOF joystick crams a cockpit's worth of controls into one hand
Sublight Dynamics has unveiled a prototype of a one-handed joystick with six degrees of freedom
Sublight Dynamics has unveiled a prototype of a one-handed joystick with six degrees of freedom
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Sublight Dynamics has unveiled a prototype of a one-handed joystick with six degrees of freedom
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Sublight Dynamics has unveiled a prototype of a one-handed joystick with six degrees of freedom
The 6DOF joystick is designed for use in games about space flight, such as Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen and Overload
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The 6DOF joystick is designed for use in games about space flight, such as Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen and Overload
Sublight Dynamics is currently funding the 6DOF joystick through Kickstarter, where it's already raised over US$17,000 of its $40,000 goal
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Sublight Dynamics is currently funding the 6DOF joystick through Kickstarter, where it's already raised over US$17,000 of its $40,000 goal
The 6DOF joystick packs 32 different inputs in the form of buttons, levers, triggers and dials
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The 6DOF joystick packs 32 different inputs in the form of buttons, levers, triggers and dials
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It almost goes without saying that flying aircraft or spacecraft is tricky – even in games. The third dimension really complicates things, and traditional controllers or joysticks can only really provide half the puzzle. Now, a small startup called Sublight Dynamics has unveiled a prototype for a one-handed joystick with six degrees of freedom.

If you’re driving a car (in real life or in a game), you’re only worrying about two degrees of movement: you can go forwards/backwards, and left/right. But once you leave the ground behind, movement becomes far more complex. Suddenly, you have up/down to contend with too, as well as three rotational axes – pitch, roll and yaw.

Controllers that combine all six degrees of freedom (6DOF) have eluded enthusiasts. But now, Sublight is showing off a new design for a 6DOF joystick that can be used with one hand, and comes packed with an array of other buttons, levers, triggers and dials.

Sublight Dynamics is currently funding the 6DOF joystick through Kickstarter, where it's already raised over US$17,000 of its $40,000 goal
Sublight Dynamics is currently funding the 6DOF joystick through Kickstarter, where it's already raised over US$17,000 of its $40,000 goal

Rather than sitting on a flat surface, the 6DOF joystick is designed to clamp on the edge of a desk. There, a user can simply push or pull the handle in the desired direction – up, down, left, right, forward, backward, as well as tilting and turning it to make use of the rotation axes.

The joystick is kitted out with various force sensors that tell it which direction it’s being moved in. That design choice apparently makes input changes smoother and small adjustments easier. Plus that means there are no bearings or other parts that can wear out. It’s designed to be operated with one hand, whether you’re a lefty or righty thanks to a swappable palm rest.

To fit a cockpit’s worth of commands into one hand, the 6DOF joystick is fitted with no less than 32 customizable inputs. That includes a dual-stage main trigger, forward bump trigger, thumb button, three two-way levers that your index fingers can reach, a two-way pinky trigger, two four-way sticks, an eight-way stick, and two analog knobs.

All of these inputs are completely customizable in Sublight’s own settings program, which lets players tweak things like sensitivity, output curve shape, dead zones, axis inversion and axis output order. Interestingly, these settings are stored on the joystick itself, so you won’t have to re-enter everything if you plug it into someone else’s computer.

The 6DOF joystick packs 32 different inputs in the form of buttons, levers, triggers and dials
The 6DOF joystick packs 32 different inputs in the form of buttons, levers, triggers and dials

The joystick outputs via USB, and can apparently work natively with any PC program that supports six axes of analog input. So far, the team has tested it mainly with games like Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen and Overload. Besides gaming, Sublight says the 6DOF joystick could be useful in robotics and VR.

For now, Sublight Dynamics is funding the 6DOF joystick through Kickstarter, where it’s already raised over US$17,000 of its $40,000 goal, with 27 days remaining on the campaign. Pledges start at $985 for the joystick, an arm rest plate and a left-handed palm rest, or $1,050 for all that plus a clamp.

That is admittedly expensive, but the team says that this is a limited first run of only 65 units, which will be assembled by hand and undergo individual testing. If this is successful, a second, much larger run is planned to take place later next year, where the price is expected to drop. Backers of this campaign will get 50 percent off the next batch, if they were to order a second one.

If this first run does come to pass, shipping is planned for March 2020. Check out the 6DOF joystick in action in the video below.

Sublight Dynamics 6DOF Joystick Early Access

Source: Sublight Dynamics

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3 comments
3 comments
Chris Coles
Still needs foot pedals for rudder movement.
dave be
"Controllers that combine all six degrees of freedom (6DOF) have eluded enthusiasts. "

Kinda. There are controllers with 6d0f, just not game controllers. I have a 3dexplorer spacemouse that has 6dof for use in cad and design programs. It even works great in other software like photoshop and web browsers. It CAN be used in a game but the form factor isnt that great.

That said.. $1000 for a joystick.. no way.
Daniel Danielsen
Worth noting that the $1000+ asking price for the initial, hand built dev-unit run is not indicative of mass-production consumer-unit pricing. At $150 you can 'pre-pay' 50% of a consumer unit, which while being said to be a discount, should be more indicative of the final unit pricing.