Smart Controller Actuation Tracking for Wear Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Videogame controllers' user input devices, such as buttons and thumbsticks, experience mechanical wear and failure over time, leading to unexpected malfunctions during gameplay, which can disrupt performance and require premature replacement.
Innovation Solution
Smart user input devices equipped with sensors and memory to track actuations, estimate remaining life, and provide visual or audible indicators for users, allowing for timely replacement before failure occurs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mechanical components are used in videogame controllers, then the controller can perform various input functions (buttons, thumbsticks, joysticks, etc.), but the components will wear down and fail over time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously monitoring component wear and predicting failures before they occur. The controller tracks usage patterns, detects anomalies in component performance, and alerts users proactively, allowing replacement before the component actually fails during gameplay.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by monitoring component performance in real-time and providing users with information about component health status. Usage data is collected, analyzed, and fed back to the user through visual or audible indicators, enabling informed decisions about when to replace components.
2Reliability
If components are replaced immediately upon failure, then gameplay disruption is minimized, but waste increases and replacement timing is reactive rather than proactive
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables preliminary replacement by predicting component failure before it occurs. Users can replace components proactively based on predicted lifespan and usage patterns, rather than reactively after failure occurs, thereby avoiding waste while ensuring gameplay continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides self-service by automatically tracking component usage, detecting wear patterns, and calculating remaining lifespan without requiring user intervention. The controller monitors itself and presents replacement recommendations, freeing users from manual monitoring while optimizing replacement timing.
3Loss of information
If the controller monitors and tracks component usage data, then remaining life can be estimated, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves multi-functionality by using the existing controller's processor and memory to perform monitoring and analysis tasks. The same hardware that handles game input processing is also utilized for tracking component usage, detecting wear patterns, and calculating lifespan, thereby avoiding addition of separate dedicated monitoring hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller performs self-monitoring using its existing computational resources. The processor analyzes usage data from sensors already present in the controller (such as those detecting button presses, joystick movement, or thumbstick rotation) to determine component health, eliminating the need for external monitoring devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of the disclosure describe smart controls for video game controllers that may track and store information related to their use (e.g., actuations) over time to keep track of their expected remaining life. The smart controls may removably couple to a video game controller and be replaced by other smart controls. In implementations, a smart control may include: an actuation component; a sensor to detect actuation of the actuation component in response to movement of the control; a memory to store information associated with the detected actuation; and a casing to house the sensor and memory.