Taking stock of the next generation of virtual reality controllers

Virtual reality is already available in many places, such as casinos in shopping malls, but it mainly exists in virtual reality helmets.

Virtual reality is all the rage right now. But unlike the so-called "VR revolution" of the 1990s, this time it's going to be much more real. The devices involved are always amazing, like Oculus Rift, Morpheus, Vive and even Google Cardboard.

But none of the big-name VR headsets have officially hit the market yet. Developers seem to realize this, and over the past few months, they have released demos and hinted at more exciting, more realistic VR experiences to come.

Virtual reality controllers have also been mentioned frequently recently. It is obvious that virtual reality device developers want to do more with the control methods and increase the sense of reality as much as possible.

Here is a review of the controllers for several popular virtual reality helmets:

Oculus Touch

The Oculus Touch controllers were announced just before E3 in June. They have a half-moon design that tracks your hands as you play VR experiences. There are three buttons on each controller: a clickable thumbstick, a trigger button for your index finger, and buttons for the remaining three fingers. This combination of buttons lets you do things like point, give a thumbs-up, and grab items. The controllers are small, very light, and very easy to use.

However, while developing this control technology, Oculus is also looking to the future and constantly acquiring technology startups to create a virtual reality environment that can be completely controlled by hands without controllers. In July, it acquired Pebbles Interfaces, a company specializing in hand tracking technology. The startup has been developing a controller-free system for the past five years, trying to integrate the user's actual hand movements into the virtual reality environment.

By utilizing a custom optical and sensor system and related algorithms to detect and track hand and finger movements, Oculus believes that this technology "will open up new ways of human-computer interaction in virtual reality in the future and revolutionize the way people communicate in the virtual reality world."

HTC Vive

The HTC Vive will be officially launched in 2015, but its controllers are still bulky and need to be improved.

From the various demos, the HTC Vive controllers are fine to use. Their manufacturer even describes them as ergonomic. However, as you can see in the picture above, they are not light at all and look bulky.

They're decent for usability, with a trigger button for your index finger and a prototype trackpad each. They also have pressure-sensitive grips, but there are no demos taking advantage of that feature yet.

This controller is satisfactory in all aspects, the only thing it lacks is that it is not light enough.

Project Morpheus

There's nothing wrong with the Project Move controller itself, but it's hard to believe that a well-known consumer electronics company like Sony would use an outdated controller from 2009 to control a new-age device like Project Morpheus in 2016.

As with the spatially aware PS4 DualShock control pad, Sony seems to be playing it safe with Project Morpheus' input method.

The good news is that the Japanese company is experimenting with other controller solutions. In the World War Toons demo, we saw a modified version of the PlayStation Sharp Shooter gun. Sony also showed off special sensors that can be installed on bicycles for static indoor VR cycling.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.