In his quest to make gaming accessible to all, Ben walks viewers through the design process for two types of Xbox controller mods-a split controller and a single-hand controller.
ENGADGET: Ben Heck splits and condenses a pair of Xbox 360 controllers for the disabled
What's more, the bot has been outfitted with a new hand controller that the company says has been modeled after video game controllers, supposedly reducing the amount of training needed to operate the robot.
For the first mod, Ben increases mobility during game play by using ribbon cable and a replicated version of the original circuit board to sync a full-size, left hand controller with a half-size, right hand controller.
ENGADGET: Ben Heck splits and condenses a pair of Xbox 360 controllers for the disabled
In the hand the controller feels light, and it feels comfortable.
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"My dad played back then, and I would start to cry if I didn't have the controller in my hand, so he'd give me the controller, " De Leon recalls.
U.S. video game sector retail sales fell 9% in December from a year, according to market research firm NPD, and the total would have been even lower had it not been for the new Kinect hand- free motion controller for the Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360.
Holding a controller in each hand, players throw punches into the air to control the on-screen action.
With a Move controller in each hand (no navigation peripherals here), we stretched our arms all the way out, and then back in to chin, for calibration.
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On the second mod, Ben reconfigures the original controller by moving all play buttons to one side and the analog stick to the back, allowing gamers to use one hand and leg to manipulate the controller.
ENGADGET: Ben Heck splits and condenses a pair of Xbox 360 controllers for the disabled
The infrared sensors of the rotary controller automatically detect an approaching hand and the system reacts by displaying menu options even before it is touched.
Normally the Microsoft device can only scope body and full mitt movements, but the research company was able to track individual fingers with a Kinect or similar sensor, plus its custom software, allowing a user's hand to become a more finely tuned controller.
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"I get a lot of requests from viewers who have a limited range of motion asking me to split standard controllers in half or downsize a controller so it fits in one hand, " said Ben.
ENGADGET: Ben Heck splits and condenses a pair of Xbox 360 controllers for the disabled
The Controller settings menu, on the other hand, is new, allowing users to remap the game's controls to their liking.
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According to company CEO Michael Buckwald, who I caught up with recently for the NextMarket podcast, the Leap Motion controller can identify the sub-millimeter tremor or jitter in our hand that is unique to each of us.
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The rear of the controller juts out a bit on either side, conforming nicely to the hand.
Where the Moga felt a bit constricting and prone to causing hand cramps over long use, the Moga Pro feels as natural as a regular game console controller.
He goes on to say that he can barely hold a controller to playtest the game, and when he does so, often has to play entirely with one hand.
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