Manufacturers : Computers : Input devices : Joystick

Joysticks are used for a variety of purposes in a variety of different circumstances. For example, a joystick may be used as a computer input device or as a mouse replacement for playing computer games; as a control stick for controlling the movements of mobile or stationary equipment, such as self-propelled wheelchairs for the handicapped, excavators and robots; as a slide for mixing board potentiometers; for parameter modification in machine control; and for manual entry of variable scale magnitudes. Computer joysticks are widely used in computer games for controlling movements of a cursor or object on a screen. A typical computer joystick usually controls object movements in two dimensions through use of a control stick and controls object movements in the third dimension through use of either a button at the top of the control stick or a finger controlled sliding wheel. A computer joystick comprises a housing for accommodating electronic and mechanical components, a vertical control stick rotatable within a fixed angle for controlling movements of the cursor on the video screen, and two optical sensors installed at the bottom of the control stick for detecting the displacement of the control stick in different directions and converting the displacement into a corresponding displacement signal. A joystick typically includes a lever which can be moved in at least two dimensions (X and Y) and analog circuitry which provides an analog signal to the computer indicating the exact two-dimensional position of the lever. In some cases, there is a third dimension (Z, or out of plane) and even a fourth dimension.