Joystick

Joystick design:
1 Handle
2 Foundation
3 Button "Fire" (trigger)
4 Additional buttons
5 automatic fire switch
6 Gas / thrust
7 Mini joystick (hat switch, "hatka")
8 Suckers (mount)

This is an article about a joystick - a specific type of gaming device. For other devices, see Game Controller.

A joystick (born joystick - “aircraft control stick”) is an information input device, which is a handle swinging in two planes. By tilting the handle forward, backward, left and right, the user can move something around the screen. On the handle, as well as in the platform on which it is mounted, buttons and switches for various purposes are usually located. In addition to the X and Y coordinate axes, it is also possible to change the Z coordinate, due to the rotation of the handle around the axis, the presence of a second handle, an additional wheel, etc.

The joystick was widely used in computer games, mobile phones. In English, the word “ joystick ” refers to any swinging control knob, in Russian, the meaning is narrower: in addition to a computer controller, a “joystick” is colloquially called a miniature electric knob - unlike the traditional mechanical one.

Types of joysticks

By the number of degrees of freedom and, accordingly, the planes in which the position of the controlled object can change, the joysticks are divided into:

• one-dimensional (controlling the movement of an object either up and down or left-right)
• two-dimensional (object control in two planes)
• three-dimensional (control of the object in all three planes)
• also joysticks are mistakenly called gamepads (for example: PS3, Xbox.)

1980s one-touch gaming joystick

Joystick technology

Optical joystick (Microsoft SideWinder Precision Pro) Inside:
1. Optical sensor
2. Two lasers on the handle (X, Y and rotation)
3. Laser wheel (gas / thrust)

Joysticks can be divided into two types:

• discrete - sensors of such joysticks can take two values: “0” or “1”, on / off, etc. Each push produces one control pulse and shifts the cursor one position (long press leads to auto-repetition of the command), the range Cursor offset is unlimited and is determined only by the number of clicks. Joysticks of this type are considered obsolete in PCs, but are widely used in simple game consoles, mobile phones and other devices.
• analog - for those, the output signal changes smoothly from zero to maximum, depending on the angle of the handle's deflection: the more the handle is rejected, the greater the signal level. The range of movement of the cursor is limited by the stroke of the joystick and the resolution of the applied sensors. After calibration, similar joysticks can be used to indicate the absolute position of the cursor.
  There are several technologies of analog joysticks.
  • Potentiometer and analog-to-digital converter. Advantages: no special requirements for mechanics. Disadvantages: demanding on the quality of the power supply and the ADC, while the sensor itself is not sufficiently durable. It is interesting that in the game port the ADC is located in the computer, and not in the joystick.
  • An encoder is an optical sensor similar to those used in computer mice (a gear wheel, while rotating, crosses the beam from the LED to the photodiode). Advantages: a very clear move, the sensor is almost eternal. Disadvantages: in order for the sensor to have a sufficient number of discrete steps (approximately 500 steps per revolution of the steering wheel, or 150 per movement of the joystick from edge to edge, or 100 per pedal stroke), an expensive high-precision encoder or a quality gearbox (multiplier) is needed.
  • Strain gauges. Used in laptops, in some aircraft. In the gaming devices did not receive the spread: strain gauges are practical only when the joystick is securely bolted to the table.
  • Optical Matrix These joysticks act like an optical mouse and combine high accuracy with high reliability. Disadvantage: applicable only for devices with a small pen stroke.
  • Magnetic sensors - magnetoresistive and Hall effect. Those and others are reliable and durable; They became widespread only when they began to have diagrams in the sensors that compensated for the assembly tolerances and mechanical play.

Previously, PC joysticks were connected to it via the game port, then the transition to the standard USB interface completely occurred.

For a long time, game consoles have connected joysticks through a specialized connector specific to each manufacturer, so the joystick for one console did not fit the other or the PC. Currently, joysticks have a standard USB interface, so they can be connected both to a set-top box and to a personal computer.

Swing Assembly Device

Analog sensors are uniaxial and biaxial. If the sensor is single-axis, the handle is mounted on the gimbal: for example, the carriage swings left-right, and the handle on it is up and down. The swing of the handle relative to the carriage and the carriage relative to the base is fixed by sensors.

Biaxial sensors (usually magnetic and optical) consist of a magnet fixed to the handle (laser) and a fixed tracking chip. In addition to the gimbal, can be used ball joint.

With discrete joysticks, a hinged knob closes the contacts in the four extreme positions. The hinge can be any: cardan, ball, and even - in the cheapest models - a combination of projections and cuts.

Additional controls

• Toggle automatic fire - makes the main shooting button (usually under the index finger) was constantly “pressed”. Used mainly in scrolling.
• A mini-joystick (hat switch, in popular terms "hatka", "hat") - allows you to compactly place 4-8 rarely used buttons; It is also convenient for managing menus or switching views (forward, backward, sideways).
• Slider, wheel or separate throttle controls the engines.
• Pedals or rotary knob - for steering control. The pedals are more comfortable; the handle turning around its axis is a cheap substitute for pedals. In some expensive joysticks (some models of Saitek), the player, having bought additional pedals, can fix the knob.
• Additional wheels / sliders, found in expensive joysticks and designed to control various additional parameters of simulator (for example, screw pitch)

3D joysticks

These devices allow you to control the movement of the controlled object in three planes. Found the greatest application in computer-aided design and three-dimensional modeling, but now they are also penetrating the game industry. There are many different prototypes, but commercial products are produced by only a few firms, in particular:
Force Dimension http://www.forcedimension.com/
Novint Technologies http://home.novint.com/
3Dconnexion manipulators from http://www.3dconnexion.com/

HOTAS

Full joystick with RUS (right) and RUD
(the kit also includes pedals that are not shown)

HOTAS (an abbreviation of English Hands on Throttle and Stick ) - a set of pedals and two knobs with buttons, designed to fully control the flight simulator. The kit simulates the controls of a real aircraft - the aircraft control stick (RUS) and the engine control lever (RUD).

This section is not complete. You will help the project by correcting and adding it.

Origin

The word joystick in relation to the swinging control stick is already found among the first aviators: for example, Robert Loren (1910) writes: ^[1]

So that he does not accidentally take to the air, the central lever - in a different way “cap” or “joystick” - is pushed forward and tied.

Where this word originated remains a mystery ^[1] . One of the versions: the pen was named George stick , after the name of one of the inventors, Arthur George ( en ) ^[2] , the pilots later renamed it joystick . According to another version, the pen was named Joyce stick , in honor of the American James Henry Joyce ^[1] . For the third - just for the joy of flying ^[3] (at about the same time the word joyride appeared ). Various subcultures called the “joystick” “shoal” with marijuana ^[4] and penis ^{[3] [4]} . But the first mention of the “joystick” in the sense of “penis” dates back to 1916 ^[3] - so probably the origin of the word is purely aviation.

In 2001, a Confederate submarine was raised near Charleston, South Carolina, in which a swinging handle was used to control the rudders. ^[1] This is considered to be the first use of the swinging node; It is not known for certain how this pen was called. The first electric joystick is attributed to the Nazis - in 1943, the Henschel Hs 293 rocket was put into service, which was controlled by a joystick (“joystick”, knüppel ). Massive use of joysticks began in the 1960s — model-controlled aircraft models and electric wheelchairs.

Notes

see also

• Game controller
• Computer mouse)
• Touchpad

Links