Novint Falcon 3D Game Controller Accessories   Page 1

Reviewer: Don Lynn Article Publish Date: 3/25/2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Game controllers have undergone a lot of changes over the years.  Atari 2600 players had to initially make do with a single button and a joystick.  Those days are long gone.  The original Nintendo had peripherals like the Power Glove, Light Gun, and even ROB the Robot.  Many systems have steering wheels to play racing games.  The Wii controllers are now famous for getting users off their couches and more involved in games.  It is obvious that gamers everywhere are looking for new and exciting ways to become more immersed in their favorite games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Novint has found a unique and exciting way to get players more immersed in their favorite games with the Novint Falcon game controller.  With their 3D Touch and force feedback technology, the Falcon attempts to make games a lot more fun to play than with a regular mouse.  From feeling the weight of items being carried in the controller to the kick of your weapon knocking you back when in a heavy firefight, the Novint Falcon promises to bring the gaming experience to a whole new level.  I’m excited to see whether Novint has accomplished this goal, so let’s get to it. 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT NOVINT:

 

 

 

    Novint Technologies, Inc. (NVNT) is the pioneer of 3D touch for consumer computing. Novint is developing a new category of products that add high-fidelity interactive three-dimensional touch to computing, beginning with our introduction of the award-winning Novint Falcon. The Novint Falcon is a first-of-a-kind game controller that lets you experience realistic 3D touch and force feedback when playing touch-enabled games.

 

    Our sense of touch connects us to the world around us and is an integral part of how we experience things, both physically and emotionally. Games have incorporated increasingly sophisticated graphics and sound design, but none have added realistic touch. In the past, the expense of 3D touch (haptic) hardware made the technology cost-prohibitive, but the Novint Falcon, which is, in essence, a small robot, is designed to be an affordable consumer device. The Falcon allows players to feel weight, shape, texture, dimension, dynamics and force feedback, performing comparably to commercial devices that cost thousands of dollars. Using the Falcon, players feel a character’s actions instead of controlling a game through mouse clicks or meters. Players feel the weight of a basketball as they shoot it towards a hoop – the momentum and impact as they swing a virtual golf club and strike a ball – the recoil of a weapon – or the characteristics of virtual objects and environments, making gameplay more natural and realistic.

 

    Novint is uniquely qualified to bring this revolutionary technology to market. As a leading developer of commercial touch applications, Novint has worked with clients including Lockheed Martin, Chrysler, Chevron, Mobil, Aramco, and Harvard University. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Novint has an exclusive worldwide license to over five years of pioneering research from Sandia National Laboratories, which developed some of the first 3D touch software in the world, and has developed the only low-cost (sub $1000) high-fidelity hardware solution available for consumer or commercial applications.