Gyroxus

The Gyroxus is a full motion video game controller and part of the genre of video gaming known as "extreme gaming". Gyroxus was developed by 4th Motion, LLC, located in Santa Barbara, CA.
Design
Video gamers sit in the seat of the Gyroxus, use their hands on the specially adapted controller, and use their bodies to bank left and right, pull back, and lean forward.
In most video games, a gamer's character is controlled by moving the left thumbstick of a standard butterfly-style game controller. Pushing the thumbstick forward and back moves the character forward and back, and moving it side to side creates similar motion of the character. With the Gyroxus, however, the gamer controls his or her character's movement with the whole body. This gives the gamer a greater feeling of involvement with the video game character, since he or she feels the same motions as the character is going through on screen.
The Gyroxus requires no special tools to set up and can be easily dismantled and stored. The Gyroxus will work with almost any game on Xbox 360 or PS3, and will also work on a Windows computer with any arcade style game that uses a standard Xbox controller, and it comes with customized controls for the various gaming platforms. In 2009, a new version of the Gyroxus was released, with a design including a longer leg rest and new game pads.
Red Bull Air Races
The Gyroxus was the official gaming controller of the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and was the official gaming controller of the 2009 Air Races, where race attendees could test the Gyroxus using the MS Flight Simulator of that city's actual air race route.
Set-up
The Gyroxus is made up of two basic parts; the seat and the base. The seat is suspended on the base by four cables at an angle which gives the impression that the pivot point is several feet below the bottom of the seat. This lower pivot point makes the gamer's head move more in relation to the movement of the seat in order to increase the sensation of motion. There is a control arm mounted to the seat, and a connecting rod mounted between the seat and the base. This connecting rod is firmly attached to the seat, but at the base it is mounted through a bushing which allows it to slide up and down as the seat is moved. By moving the control arm, the gamer uses the connecting rod to leverage the seat against the base, causing the seat to move in the direction in which the control arm is moved. A sensor mounted to the seat reads the X and Y movement and sends those X/Y coordinates to the controller, which in turn sends them to the game. The device operates in real time.
There are no motors, power cords, or hydraulics, or any other type of power assist. All of the motion is done by the gamer, moving the seat as described above. The only cable is the USB cable used to attach the Xbox controller to the console. The PS3 controller is wireless and uses a small USB transceiver to connect to the console.
The Gyroxus comes with a controller for either Xbox 360 or PS3. Both of the controllers have an on/off switch and a switch that changes between the left thumbstick or the Gyroxus. On a standard controller, the left and right thumbsticks are spring-loaded so that they return to a "hard center" position; the console registers this hard center position when it is first turned on. Since the Gyroxus is a full-motion control, it has no "hard center" and therefore the console cannot read the center position on startup; the gamer will need to do a simple calibration when turning on the console.
The Gyroxus is shipped ready assembled except for attaching the backrest, which slides into place, and the footrest, which is held in place with two bolts and knobs on each side. There is also a footrest, four feet in length, to give the Gyroxus a wider footprint and greater stability. The control arm is held in place by a bicycle seat style quick-release clamp, and is adjustable forward and backward in the bracket. The hand controller is also held onto the control arm in the same manner and is also adjustable. The backrest slides into one of the six slots at the rear of the seat. This adjustment allows the user to find their center of gravity in the Gyroxus.
Specifications
Dimensions:
* Width: 26.25" (66.7 cm)
* Length: 48" (121.9 cm)
* Height: 30.75" (78.1 cm)
* Weight: 41 lbs. (18.6 kg)
Maximum weight of user: 280 lb (127 kg)

Recommended age: 12 years and older

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu