Novint Falcon takes technology from nuclear science to video games

Novint Technologies is showing off their Falcon video game controller at the DEMO conference in Scottsdale, Arizona this week.  If you think it looks more like a scientific instrument than a game controller, you're right.  It was originally developed by Sandia National Laboratories to help perform complex information modeling and has since been used for applications ranging from dental education to geological exploration.  But the folks at Novint say the force feedback device is equally well suited to simulating a golf club swing or hunting down orcs.  It looks like it might run into problems with some games though, seeing as it doesn't have any buttons.  Retail price should be around $100 when it goes on sale early next year.  Only for PC initially, but the company says console versions are a possibility.

[Tyler @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

How is this thing supposed to work? You hold on to the rod-like thing... but that seems like an awkward angle for your wrist, especially if one of it's purposes is to try to emulate a golf game. And do you hold the controller or does it rest on some kind of surface?

[fdisk @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

Am I the only one who sees that this is supposed to plug into the back of your head, all Matrix-like?

[madtracer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

... not your head...

[matt @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

porn games won't ever be the same again. scary.

[crsh @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

it's a controller? i thought it was a a sentry gun that shoots off death rays

[miss pistola @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

i get suspicious of products that only exist as illustrations. where are the damn photos?

[fdisk @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

OK, madtracer, that's just wrong. Probably very true, but very very wrong. . . I hadn't thought about it plugging in _there_

[Carbon43 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

...Adding a new dimension to (insert marketing jargon here)>the interactive gaming experience, (hows that?) it provides both fully analog movement, and intercavital feedback... ;-)

[hapticveteran @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

The Falcon is similar in design to all the other delta parallel kinematic mechanisms licensed out of EPFL in Zurich (http://lsro.epfl.ch/prd/applications.php) . Look at http://www.forcedimension.com for a number of others. I presume that you can reorient the handle within a limited range of motion (with no torque feedback) and the force feedback comes from translating in the x-y-z directions. What is significant is the price. Check out the cost of the Force Dimension devices or those at SensAble (http://www.sensable.com/products/phantom_ghost/phantom.asp). As you would expect, there will be compromises in force magnitude and bandwidth but hopefully it will work well enough for games. Now if they can avoid being sued by Immersion...

[World of Warcraft @ Dec 19th 2005 2:14AM]

ok, so now they just need to add cold and hot feedback on the controller part to really take this to the next level.
casting giant, pyroblastic slime burst - pfwoosh, my hand aggg!
you'll think twice about casting lightning bolts...