physics

Motion controller

Motion controller is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Motion controller rather than just read about it. In short: In computing, a motion controller is a type of input device that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, or other sensors to track motion. Motion controllers see use as game controllers, for virtual reality and other simulation purposes, and as pointing devices for smart TVs and Personal computers.

Key takeaways

Motion controller belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Motion controller to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Motion controller from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In computing, a motion controller is a type of input device that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, or other sensors to track motion. Motion controllers see use as game controllers, for virtual reality and other simulation purposes, and as pointing devices for smart TVs and Personal computers. Many of the technologies needed for motion controllers are often used together in smartphones to provide a variety of functions, including for mobile applications to use them as motion controllers.

Technologies Motion controllers have used a variety of different sensors in different combinations to detect and measure movements, sometimes as separate inputs and sometimes together to provide a more precise or more reliable input. In modern devices most of the sensors are specialized integrated circuits. The following items are examples of current and historical methods of tracking motion.

Inertial Motion Sensors Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are used to detect the rate of change in rotation using gyroscopes and change in speed using accelerometers. These are often found together on the same integrated circuit and can be used together to provide six degrees of freedom (6DOF) tracking.

Cameras Image sensors are used in conjunction with computer vision and are placed in locations such as on handheld or worn devices or in the environment to detect the relative locations of other devices and the environment, or to detect the movements of any or all parts of a user's body. They may be used in combination with paired light emitters that are tracked directly when seen by the camera, or indirectly through reflections of infrared light.

Magnetometer A magnetic field sensor in a device may be used to detect the direction of the earth's magnetic field, or the direction to a nearby base station.

Mechanical 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. Weighing scales using load cells have been used to detect balance changes and other body movements through changes in weight distribution and momentary fluctuation in measured weight. Unrelated to their use in motion tracking, mechanical sensors continue to see much use in joysticks and other controls that are found on motion controllers and other input devices.

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

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Motion controller

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Motion controller claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Motion controller before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Motion controller ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Motion controller

In research: Motion controller appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Motion controller in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Motion controller is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Japanese inventions, Motion controllers, Physical exercise, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Motion controller outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Motion controller in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Motion controller means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Motion controller out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Motion controller in simple terms?

Why does Motion controller matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Motion controller?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Motion controller.