x88x's entry for the Novint Falcon Grip Challeng

[x88x]

Well, like all good procrastinators, I put off this writeup until the last night possible...I'm leaving for Defcon in the morning and won't be able to work on this again until after the deadline. So, here goes.



My original inspiration for this design was a combination of joystick, flight yoke, and an ergonomic mouse that I saw many years ago. The main problem I have with most video game controllers (especially the standard Falcon controller...sorry ) is that they all seem to be designed around fitting all the desired buttons on, with only a secondary attention paid to what will be using the device (more often than not a human hand). The problem for designers that try to overcome this is that the more well adapted a device is for the human hand, the uglier it seems to be. The most comfortable mouse I have ever used was a stupidly expensive, ergonomic ball mouse, than was probably made around 1992 (it has a DB9 connector...yeah). I saw this mouse in about 2004, and I had never before, nor after, found a mouse that felt so...natural. The design was quite this one. In fact, I think it may have been an older version of that. For those who can't/don't want to follow the link, basically it was like a small, slightly tilted joystick with a switch on the side that your index and middle finger rested on, and a rocker switch on top, with a concave thumb rest. If you rocked your thumb to one side it would click one button, if you rocked to the other side it would click the other. Then, of course, there was the third button activated by the index or middle finger. Hardly any hand movement is required at all to use the buttons, and the position of your hand is perfect.

To illustrate how perfect the positioning is, try this: Let your arm hang by your side, completely relaxed. Now, holding your hand and wrist in place, bend your elbow up and rest your hand on a table. Now, curl your fingers into not quite a fist. That's what it felt like to hold this thing.

So, the point of all that is, I decided to try and bring the genius of that design to the Falcon.

[build posts to follow shortly]

[x88x]

My first attempt at this was with a chunk of wood from an Ash 2x4 and a set of knives. ...not exactly the fastest thing in the world, but it got the job done...ish...eventually... At the very least, it let me flesh out my design and brainstorm a bit.

The controller then:

Ok, granted, it's not the prettiest thing in the world...or the best formed...or anything.. Anyways, I started wiring the buttons:

..and that was where I got sidetracked by different projects for...oh, about a month or two?

[x88x]

On Monday I finally got the materials I wanted...hurray for air-dry modeling clay.

I left it to dry over night...actually 2 nights...I didn't get much done on Tuesday. ..personal stuff..

So, anyways, I pulled it out tonight, and this is what I had:

Notice the button placement; I spaced the thumb buttons so that they are far enough apart that they can be activated individually by rocking the thumb, but close enough together that they can be activated simultaneously if so desired. The additional two buttons are activated by the index and middle fingers, as the grip is grasped in a pistol-style grip.

[x88x]

Then I started fitting the Falcon attachment to it.

First the post:

I wanted to keep the ball intact, but it looks like that won't be possible.. So, down it goes:

And temporarily fit to the grip:

The grip is designed to attach at about a 45-degree angle, like so:

That's all for now, back to work.

[mofo]

A new challenger enters the ring...
FIGHT!

Nice concept. Reminds me of the handle sci fi movies always have on power things for ships... push and twist to insert radio active fuel cell thingies.

Hope we both finish in time and to the victor goes the spoils!

[d_stilgar]

Way to go! Keep it up! It looks like I'm going to have to move the finish date out another month, but you are doing great!

[x88x]

Awesome, thanks! That gives me another hour tomorrow that I can spend packing/getting ready for my flight. Also, that means I'll have time to actually finish the wiring...that was bugging me, even though I have no unit to test it on. ...hmmm, there is a Falcon at the Best Buy nearish here...I wonder if they would let me test this..

In that case, I'll post some pics in the morning of what I've done since the last post. After that, I should be able to get some work in on the 2nd, but then nothing again until the 10th. 2 days after I get back from Defcon I'm heading up to the Adirondacks on my motorcycle for a family camping trip.

I'll have to finish this fairly soon after that though, or else it'll (hopefully) get lost in the moving confusion. ...I should find out tomorrow what kind of time frame to expect for that.

[x88x]

..riiiight...again with life getting in the way of modding.

So, I put the final touches on this version of my grip. Unfortunately, this more of a mockup than a working prototype for a couple reason. First, I'm fairly certain the force from the Falcon would shatter the modeling clay that I used, second, I'm fairly certain the weight of the thing would throw off the Falcon's servos (clay is surprisingly heavy..who knew? ), and last but not least, none of the switches are actually wired up. ...I did not plan on doing this, but as I started sorting out which leads went to which switches (I kind covered the bundle with clay at one point to hold it in place), I realized that some of them weren't connecting to anything...which means I must have broken some of the connections while I was building them. ..and again, the connections are all covered in modeling clay, so I can't really fix that without breaking it. However, all that is rather a moot point anyways since I don't have a Falcon to test it on.

So, final pictures:
The main body of the grip is basically unchanged from last time, but I finished the mount and placement for the control circuitry. Again, the switches aren't actually soldered on, but hey, that leaves the board untouched for when I make gen2 (which will happen shortly after I actually get a Falcon, if/when that happens).

I'll upload the video momentarily, but I wanted to get this posted quick before midnight and I have the video done but idk how long it'll take to upload (first time using my webcam for actually capturing video).

EDIT:
The video is uploading right now, and will be for a while on my crappy upload pipe.. But, just in case this thread actually gets locked at the deadline, I think this embed will work:

[d_stilgar]

Nice entry and video. Make sure you register at the Falcon Army and upload the worklog there or start a thread linking back here. As far as the rules go for the contest all you have to do is register, but it's nice to do the community thing and share. The people over there are passionate!

[x88x]

I just finished posting it over there (and already have 15 people viewing it ). I didn't think to add a link back here, I'll do that.