Share The Latest News Valve has announced that they’ve begun shipping the Knuckles EV2 motion sensor controllers to developers on their platform. Since the first iteration, the motion sensor controllers have seen a lot of changes and improvements. The Knuckles now features thumbsticks and many other features that are quite different from the EV1.3. Valve Knuckles EV2 Improvements The tracking fin now provides better tracking, and there’s more room for larger hands around the handle. The handle has been sculpted to be more comfortable for a wider range of hand sizes (we are targeting hands in the 5th to 95th percentiles). The strap can now be adjusted for different hand sizes, and it’s made with an easy-to-clean anti-microbial material. The top input surface has been reconsidered to ensure that both small and large hands can access all of the inputs. Finger tracking Pick up and squish Test button reach Moondust trailer The thumbstick is a welcomed feature that many developers have reached out about. Now it is featured on the new iteration. The track button on the EV2 is a nother new input. Track Button It can be “the big button” for your game It’s a natural place to rest your thumb It’s still a trackpad – detect thumb ‘Y’ position (and a surprising amount of ‘X’) Beneath the track button is a force sensor which can detect a range of force from light touch to a full press. This allows a lot more capabilities in game and experiences for dynamic performance. Cap Sense Cap sense now features auto-calibration and much higher fidelity finger tracking. All of the buttons and thumbstick have cap sense capabilities which allows for more tracking throughout the controller. Force Sensors The new force sensors now allow for a much wider range of inputs. This includes: Analog – Detect a ramp of pressure from a light touch to a hard squeeze Digital – Both the Grip and the Track Button can behave as a digital input. Simply choose a force threshold for activation and fire a haptic to mimic the behavior of a mechanical button Multistep – Combination of the above Disabled – if your content does not need this functionality, this sensor can of course be ignored. The Knuckles EV2 looks to have a lot of improvements suggested by feedback from the developer community.<doc-sep>A new generation of the Valve Knuckles controllers are rolling out to developers with thumbsticks added on. The touchpad is reduced to a small strip on the updated controllers. Among the changes: Improved industrial design and ergonomics Updated input set and layout Improved strap fit and feel for more hand sizes New sensors, enabling new interactions Improved battery life, USB-C charging port Added support for SteamVR Tracking 2.0 The new “force sensors can be used in conjunction with capacitive sensors to enable higher fidelity interactions. With these two sensors working together, we can detect the full range of the hand position – from completely open, to holding the controller lightly, to gripping it tightly. This helps us understand user intent and makes things like ‘pickup and throw’ with Knuckles EV2 much improved.” Here are some videos showing the new controllers in action: As part of the roll-out, a new tech demo called Moondust set in the Portal universe will be available to “hundreds” of developers receiving the new controller prototypes.<doc-sep>Valve released details about its second-generation Knuckles prototype controllers, which feature improved ergonomic and structural design, a thumbstick instead of a trackpad, and new force sensor inputs. Valve first introduced the Knuckles controller prototype at the company’s Steam Dev Days conference in October 2016. The early prototype controllers featured a small hand grip that included the input buttons from the Vive controllers. They were also equipped with a unique clasp that allowed you to let go of the controller without dropping it, which opens up the door for hand gesture inputs. At the conference in 2016, Valve already had working Knuckles controllers, and Cloudhead Games demonstrated a build of The Gallery that supported the new input device. Valve also began shipping prototype controllers to select developers within months of the conference, which suggested that the consumer version of the controllers wouldn’t be far behind. In June 2017, Valve released new details about the Knuckles controllers, including documentation to help developers prepare their games for the new input device. We were under the impression that Valve would soon launch the consumer version of the controller, but here we are a year later, and we still have no idea when the Knuckles controllers are coming. We should have known that Valve would be operating on Valve-time. At least we now have an idea of the progress that Valve made in the last 12 months. Big Improvements By sending prototype controllers (internally called EV1.3) to developers, Valve learned that its initial product design didn’t live up to expectations, so the company went back to the drawing board and reworked the controllers' industrial design. The latest iteration of the Knuckles controller, now called EV2, is a completely different device from the old model. In Valve’s words: “While it's still recognizable as Knuckles, very little of EV 1.3 was left untouched.” Valve improved the ergonomics of the Knuckles EV2 controllers with a newly sculpted handle and a redesigned hand strap that, along with multiple adjustment upper strap attachment points, mean the controller can accommodate a wider range of hand sizes. It also includes a quick release button so that you can quickly release the safety strap. The new Knuckles design also features a reconfigured button layout to better support people with large or small hands. The old Knuckles layout included the buttons and trackpad found on the Vive controllers, but the new design more closely resembles Oculus’ Touch controllers. The top of the controller now includes A, B, and system buttons, and in place of the trackpad, it features a small thumbstick and track button combo. Version EV 1.3 of the Knuckles controller included capacitive touch input along the grip, which enabled developers to create interactions with finger input. The Knuckles EV2 controllers include the capacitive sensors, and they also include analog force sensors, which means developers can create interactions that react to the strength of your grasp. That should allow for more sophisticated and natural interactions within games. Image 1 of 3 Image 2 of 3 Image 3 of 3 The new controllers also feature a larger 900mA battery that offers up to six hours of continuous use. Valve also indicated that the new controller features SteamVR Tracking 2.0 sensors. Developer Resources Valve still isn’t talking about the consumer release of the Knuckles controllers, but the company is about to ship hardware to developers, and it's offering documentation for those who want to support the upcoming device. The company also released a Knuckles EV2: Quick Start guide, a Throwing Mechanics guide, and a tutorial that explains how to use the Unity plugin with SteamVR input. Developers get access to the Moondust demo, too, which is currently the only piece of content to support every Knuckles EV2 feature. Valve also provided documentation about the demo's development to help give curious devs an idea of what making games that support the new Knuckles will be like. Here's to hoping Knuckles EV2 will be better received than EV 1.3 so we can get our hands on the controllers sooner than later.<doc-sep>
Start transforming your game’s economy and increase your bottom line. Get the free guide now. Elevate your enterprise data technology and strategy at Transform 2021. Valve has been working on Knuckles virtual reality controllers for quite some time, and it finally appears to be inching towards a public release. The company announced today that it’s now shipping Knuckles EV2 development kits to SteamVR developers, including substantially redesigned versions of the motion and finger-sensing controllers, as well as Moondust, a Portal-inspired demo that shows off Knuckles’ improved functionality. Compared with the prior Knuckles EV1.3 release, the new controllers feature comfort-enhancing improvements to the industrial design, ergonomics, and strap design, all designed to support hand sizes between the 5th and 95th percentiles. Thumbsticks have been added to the controllers, the trackpad has been turned into a Track Button with force detection, and another force sensor has been added to the grip. The force sensors can work with capacitive sensors to enable fine hand motion detection, including grabbing, pinching, crushing, and other gestures. “With these two sensors working together, we can detect the full range of the hand position — from completely open, to holding the controller lightly, to gripping it tightly,” Valve said. “This helps us understand user intent and makes things like ‘pickup and throw’ with Knuckles EV2 much improved.” Image Credit: Valve Under-the-hood changes also enable Knuckles to support SteamVR Tracking 2.0, offer up to six hours of battery life, and charge via USB-C. A full charge now takes an hour and a half at 900mAh, assuming the USB port supports that speed. Valve also debuted Moondust, a tech demo taking place in the Portal universe — including conspicuous Aperture robot branding. “With moon-based conversion gel stores running dangerously low, Aperture looks to the stars for a new source of the valuable portal conductor. Take control of a giant robot on the moon, spearheading the Aperture Lunar Resources Initiative.” The demo includes several segments: Crush moon rocks to a fine powder with your powerful hands, taking advantage of the high-fidelity force sensors on Knuckles EV2 Practice driving a moon buggy, utilizing the joystick and the rest of the new inputs of Knuckles EV2 Assemble a space station in orbit, with fine interactions driven by all 10 fully tracked fingers Enjoy some target practice in the throwing range, with the most natural throwing VR can offer Knuckles has been under development for well over a year at this point, with developers receiving early units since mid-2017. As the name hints, the goal has been to enable PC app and game developers to take advantage of advanced finger tracking, while including conventional game-style buttons and hand tracking sensors that will work across multiple VR applications. The Knuckles EV2 controllers and Moondust are available now to registered SteamVR developers. No public release date has been confirmed as of yet.