Here is the basic design of Project K. (The premise for its inception is here.) Many details, such as button aesthetic, button tech, and layout; have been purposely left absent. You are looking at the first design iteration, not those that followed. The views shown are not expressively detailed.
***If you wish to see the most recent and detailed iteration of Project K, please fill out the NDA and submit it to our offices.***
The Project K patent itself is one of 'Design', in formality. It was submitted to the USPTO office in the second half of 2010. (An inside USPTO connection has stated that first action on all new patent applications is currently at least 10 months.) Components of current console controllers are used within this device, and are presently patented by their respectful companies. So, a 'Utility' patent could not be filed for Project K.
The primary point of focus for Project K is to allow full control of all game genres when gaming with Xbox Kinect. Also, the design sought needed to be lightweight, of small footprint (shorter than a 4.3" smartphone), accommodating to all hand sizes, offer dual/single mode functionality, open/closed hand operation, and wireless.
Again, a few major details are absent. But, this is the gist of the design. Once the first prototype has been constructed, I will post real world images.
Please let me know what you think in the comments. Would you consider using a device such as Project K for gaming? I hope you like what you see!
LEGEND
1. Top Cap - Houses primary analog control input, chipset and silicon, bumper input.
2. Handle - Houses rumble motors, accelerometers, A/B/X/Y Buttons, security strap, trigger input.
3. Bumper location.
4. Trigger location.
5. A,B,X,Y Button location - 2 Buttons Per Device. A/X, B/Y configuration. Full compliment of current 360 controller buttons and analog sticks available in dual/paired mode. Paired mode offers a traditional control scheme for core gaming titles.
6. Built-In Security Strap - Allows secure open and closed hand operation. For open-hand operation, imagine placing your hands palms out in front of you and fingers spread open. For closed-hand operation, imagine gripping a ski pole handle.
7. Base Cap - Houses power button, rechargeable battery, charging connector, Dual/Single mode pairing button/sensor.
8. Front fascia with LED illumination to report controller position and pulse information to Kinect sensor.
Did you make this yet..
ReplyDelete@Anonymous who said: "Did you make this yet.."
ReplyDeleteA functional prototype is in the works. I have a 3D Printed version set to be completed by the middle of February.
Reach out to me at projectkkx@hotmail.com
Be wary of ending up with a device that doesn't give the full 3D orientation of the player's hand. If you're just using accelerometers, you won't get all 6DOF.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you may be overcomplicating your button setup. An important notion in the design of the computer mouse is that there are 3 abstract actions you do in any kind of virtual environment: navigation, selection, and interaction. Everything else is contextual. In the 2D plane of a computer screen, the ball/laser does navigation, the left button does selection, and the right button does interaction.
In a 3D virtual environment, we are in fact navigating in a 2D navigation plane (like the computer mouse does) because of our body's orientation constant of "up" vs "down". Infants (and consequently, adults) have exactly two abstract functions for everything: selection (picking up the toy) and interaction (pushing the button on the toy). All other interactions are contextual.
@Maginomicon Thank you again for your input. It is duly noted.
ReplyDeleteActually, I simplified the button layout considerably. I must admit that I could possibly remove at least one button (bumper) and place a gesture as a stand-in. But that decision isn't feasible for all game types.