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"Meet the video game controller that fights back. Engineers at the University of Utah have designed a console controller with thumb-sticks that lightly pull and push on your fingers to more realistically simulate actions and experiences. They say the technology can enhance common gameplay scenarios such as shooting a gun, casting a fishing line or riding a wave. \n\u201CI\u2019m hoping we can get this into production when the next game consoles come out in a couple of years,\u201D William Provancher, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, says in a campus press release. \nProvancher's device features a red \"tactor\" positioned in the middle of each thumb-stick. The tactors stretch the skin of players' thumbs to give directional cues and feedback. So if you're playing a fishing game and get a bite, Provancher says, \"as the fish jerks the line, you can feel the tactor jerk under your thumb.\" Or, if you're playing a racing game and run into a wall or pole, the tactor jerks back to register the impact. \nProvancher and fellow researchers found in a study that gamers were able to use the tactors effectively while holding the controllers at a variety of angles. The innovative device currently has a patent pending.  \nBut Provancher's console controller is more than simply fun and games \u2014 it can lay the groundwork for more serious applications in future years. \"By placing skin-stretch feedback in a game controller, it creates a nice testing environment for understanding human perception and cognition,\u201D he says.\nWhere do you see this technology leading? Let us know in the comments. \nThumbnail image by Markus Montandon, University of Utah\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/03/07/video-game-tactor-controller/>