SplitFish details PS3 force feedback tech
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Feb 2nd 2007 at 8:25PM }
See, whatcha do is, take a big ole' fish, split that sucka, stuff a buncha SixAxis parts in his belly, sew 'im back up, smash a couple buttons thru his eyes, then glue the rest of 'dem necessities on -- and BAM! You should get 'bout two minutes of force feedback...
As it turns out, SplitFish's SensorFX technology isn't quite as sophisticated as we imagine above. The Edmonton tinkerer explains that its version of force feedback uses no moving parts, but is capable of delivering a range of sensations throughout different locations of the controller -- okay, but can you also eat it once the "battery" is dead? SensorFX apparently features two distinct modes, one for games that already support force feedback, and one for games that don't; yes folks, it just takes a guess, and rumbles away.
SplitFish also confirms that it has not yet previewed its latest technology for Sony, as Sony spokesman Dave Karakker indicated earlier this week. SplitFish made no further assumption about the possibility of SensorFX being incorporated into a future version of Sony's SixAxis, but did reveal plans to work with both game publishers and hardware manufactures (maybe Nintendo and Microsoft want in too, maybe) in an effort to gain multi-platform support for its patent-pending force feedback invention.
[Via press release]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sanjay @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:32PM
they should use it might help them
sanjay @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:33PM
funny pic
Deckart @ Feb 2nd 2007 10:52PM
How can force feedback be implemented without moving parts? Isn't movement, you know, kind of the idea?
Nushio @ Feb 2nd 2007 11:23PM
Hasn't Sony played Warioware twisted? That thing uses Gyros and Rumble.
Same with the Wiimote.
Enough with the lame excuses Sony, just pony up the cash and be a man. Pay Immersion.
Dustin @ Feb 3rd 2007 1:57AM
My only guess is that it "rumbles" your hands with pulsing low-voltage electrical impulses via your skin. This would be the only way I could think of to get a tactile stimulus without movement.
oneijack @ Feb 3rd 2007 6:03PM
What if you put in tiny woofers? Not something to make noise but if it worked like a speaker it could get enough movement to vibrate. Maybe Sony so be talking to the sex toy industry. They've been making things that vibrate for years ;-)
sockatume @ Feb 5th 2007 5:58AM
I recall a company pimping an idea like that early in the PS2's lifespan. They were interviewed in OPS2 magazine back in the day, discussing analogue sticks which would loosen, tighten etc. in the same manner as a full-sized analogue flight stick, or perhaps triggers which gave variable resistance.
Hilariously, that company was Immersion Corporation. I can see another lawsuit brewing.