Over the course of today and tomorrow Valve is hosting its Steam Dev Days event, open to any Steam developer. News has been filtering out from the conference with one of the most interesting being a prototype virtual reality (VR) controller.
Several images have been tweeted by Twitter user @downtohoerth that showcase the new two part design. The controller has a section that goes around the back of the hand which is then attached to a small palm sized unit with a directional pad and a trigger. The devices are said to have 21 sensors, presumably for tracking, but one interesting piece of info is that the controllers can detect grabbing motions, thus enabling users to pick up virtual objects with much more realism. This also allows objects to be thrown without actually throwing – and damaging – the device.
The images certainly show a very rough and ready prototype, with few other details being released, certainly nothing from Valve just yet. But the design does show a morphing of traditional controller design with that of VR and data gloves, such as Manus VR, whereby allowing users to interact with virtual worlds in new immersive ways.
As and when further details are revealed to these new prototypes, VRFocus will let you know.