Sixense TrueMotion
Encyclopedia
The Razer Hydra is a motion
and orientation
detection game controller
developed by Sixense Entertainment, a company founded in 2007, in partnership with Razer USA. It uses a weak magnetic field
to detect the absolute position and orientation of the controllers with a precision, as stated by its developers, of 1 mm and 1°; it has six degrees of freedom
. The current release is wired, but a wireless version is in development.
The game controller has been showcased many times with different video games and 3D modeling applications, most prominently Portal 2
, Left 4 Dead 2
, World of Goo
, Call of Duty: Black Ops
and Half-Life 2
.
A partnership with Valve (including Steam) was announced, and said company appears as a partner, alongside Razer and Intel. No word has been said by the game developer but they helped Valve modify Left 4 Dead 2 and other Valve games to be played with the Razer Hydra Motion control, and an official SDK is available for download in Steam's 'Tools' page.
It was subject to a demo under the name Sixense Truemotion and tested to a close focus group
of PlayStation Underground Members in August 2008, where its full functionality in various types of games was shown.
It is now called the Razer Hydra and was released through Steam and Razer's official website on June 16, 2011 for US$139.99. It is being sold in a bundle with Portal 2
, which has exclusive content for those with the controller. Support for many other games is either implemented or planned. According to a forum post from December 2010, Sixense is also working on musical control with the controller.
Motion detection
Motion detection is a process of confirming a change in position of an object relative to its surroundings or the change in the surroundings relative to an object. This detection can be achieved by both mechanical and electronic methods...
and orientation
Orientation (geometry)
In geometry the orientation, angular position, or attitude of an object such as a line, plane or rigid body is part of the description of how it is placed in the space it is in....
detection game controller
Game controller
A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
developed by Sixense Entertainment, a company founded in 2007, in partnership with Razer USA. It uses a weak magnetic field
Magnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
to detect the absolute position and orientation of the controllers with a precision, as stated by its developers, of 1 mm and 1°; it has six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom refers to motion of a rigid body in three-dimensional space, namely the ability to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right combined with rotation about three perpendicular axes...
. The current release is wired, but a wireless version is in development.
The game controller has been showcased many times with different video games and 3D modeling applications, most prominently Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
, World of Goo
World of Goo
World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game by 2D Boy, an independent game developer consisting of Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, both former Electronic Arts employees, released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and WiiWare...
, Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
and Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
.
A partnership with Valve (including Steam) was announced, and said company appears as a partner, alongside Razer and Intel. No word has been said by the game developer but they helped Valve modify Left 4 Dead 2 and other Valve games to be played with the Razer Hydra Motion control, and an official SDK is available for download in Steam's 'Tools' page.
It was subject to a demo under the name Sixense Truemotion and tested to a close focus group
Focus group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
of PlayStation Underground Members in August 2008, where its full functionality in various types of games was shown.
It is now called the Razer Hydra and was released through Steam and Razer's official website on June 16, 2011 for US$139.99. It is being sold in a bundle with Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, which has exclusive content for those with the controller. Support for many other games is either implemented or planned. According to a forum post from December 2010, Sixense is also working on musical control with the controller.