Motion controller

Mechanical sensing methods using potentiometers, Hall effect sensors, and incremental encoders have historically seen use as the basis for motion tracking but they have since mostly been replaced for that purpose by MEMS and other types of integrated circuit technologies.

These sensors are used to track mechanical connections between a control element and a static object such as an arcade cabinet.

Ultrasonic triangulation and mercury switches were seen in optional peripherals for home video game consoles in the 1980s.

[citation needed] The Sega Activator was based on the Light Harp invented by Assaf Gurner.

It was released as an optional accessory for the Mega Drive (Genesis) in 1993 and could read the player's physical movements using full-body motion tracking.

[4] Motion controllers became more widely distributed with the seventh generation of video game consoles.

[7] Other systems used different mechanisms for input, such as Microsoft's Kinect, which combined infrared structured light and computer vision, and the Razer Hydra, which used a magnetometer.

The consoles also had support for some devices in the previous generation of motion controllers depending on individual games.

Its 6DOF sensors were made available for use by games published on Steam, and options available to users allowed the use of its gyroscope as a pointer control.