Dynamically enabling or disabling controls of a controller
A handheld controller may include controls that are actuatable by a user. The handheld controller may further include one or more sensors that are configured to detect an object in proximity to certain controls, and/or that sense a grip or position of a hand on a handle portion of the controller. Based on data from a sensor(s), certain controls may be enabled and/or disabled. The sensors may therefore be used to determine which controls are being used or are intended to be used, and/or which controls are likely accessible or inaccessible to the user based on sensor data, and to cause one or more controls of the handheld controller to be enabled and/or disabled accordingly.
1. A controller system comprising:
one or more processors;
a controller comprising:
a controller body having a front surface;
a first control disposed on the front surface and within a particular half of the front surface, the particular half comprising a left half of the front surface or a right half of the front surface;
a sensor disposed in or on the first control and configured to detect an object in proximity to the first control; and
a second control disposed on the front surface and within the particular half of the front surface; and
non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
receiving, from the sensor, data indicating that the object is hovering over the first control; and
causing the second control to be disabled based at least in part on the data.
2. The controller system of claim 1 , wherein:
the acts further comprise determining, based at least in part on the data, that a value sensed by the sensor satisfies a threshold indicating that the object moved over the first control; and
the causing of the second control to be disabled is based on the value satisfying the threshold.
3. The controller system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first control comprises at least one of a joystick or a directional pad; and
the second control comprises a trackpad.
4. The controller system of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller further comprises a display;
the first control comprises a trackpad;
the acts further comprise changing a mode of a user interface presented on the display to a mouse mode based at least in part on the causing of the second control to be disabled; and
in the mouse mode, movement of the object on the trackpad causes corresponding movement of a pointer on the display.
5. The controller system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first control is positioned on the front surface at a first distance from a side edge of the controller body; and
the second control is positioned on the front surface at a second distance from the side edge of the controller body, the second distance less than the first distance.
6. The controller system of claim 1 , wherein:
the controller body comprises:
a handle portion; and
an array of sensors spatially distributed across the handle portion;
the acts further comprise receiving, from the array of sensors, second data indicating a position of a hand on the handle portion; and
the causing of the second control to be disabled is further based on the second data.
7. The controller system of claim 6 , wherein:
the controller body has a top edge, a bottom edge, a left handle portion, and a right handle portion;
the handle portion is at least one of the left handle portion or the right handle portion;
the second data indicates that the position of the hand is closer to the top edge than the bottom edge;
the first control is positioned on the front surface at a first distance from the top edge; and
the second control is positioned on the front surface at a second distance from the top edge, the second distance greater than the first distance.
8. A method comprising:
receiving, by a processor, data from a sensor associated with a first control disposed on a particular half of a front surface of a controller body of a controller, the data indicating that an object is hovering over the first control, wherein the particular half comprises a left half of the front surface or a right half of the front surface; and
causing, by the processor, a second control to be disabled based at least in part on the data, the second control disposed on the particular half of the front surface.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein:
the method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the data, that a value sensed by the sensor satisfies a threshold indicating that the object moved over the first control; and
the causing of the second control to be disabled is based on the value satisfying the threshold.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first control comprises a joystick, the method further comprising changing a mode of a user interface presented on a display of the controller to a selector mode based at least in part on the causing of the second control to be disabled, wherein, in the selector mode, movement of the joystick causes a selector to toggle between user interface elements presented on the display.
11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving, from an array of sensors spatially distributed across a handle portion of the controller body, second data indicating a position of a hand on the handle portion,
wherein the causing of the second control to be disabled is further based on the second data.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the handle portion is at least one of a left handle portion or a right handle portion;
the second data indicates that the position of the hand is closer to a bottom edge of the controller body than a top edge of the controller body;
the first control is positioned on the front surface at a first distance from the top edge; and
the second control is positioned on the front surface at a second distance from the top edge, the second distance less than the first distance.
13. A controller system comprising:
one or more processors;
a controller comprising:
a first control;
a sensor associated with the first control and configured to detect an object in proximity to the first control; and
a second control; and
non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
receiving, from the sensor, data indicating that the object is hovering over the first control; and
causing the second control to be disabled based at least in part on the data.
14. The controller system of claim 13 , wherein:
the sensor comprises a capacitive sensor disposed in or on the first control; and
the data comprises capacitance data indicating a change in capacitance based on the object moving over the first control.
15. The controller system of claim 13 , wherein:
the acts further comprise determining, based at least in part on the data, that a value sensed by the sensor satisfies a threshold indicating that the object moved over the first control; and
the causing of the second control to be disabled is based on the value satisfying the threshold.
16. The controller system of claim 13 , wherein:
the first control comprises at least one of a joystick or a directional pad; and
the second control comprises a trackpad.
17. The controller system of claim 13 , wherein:
the controller further comprises a controller body having a front surface; and
the first control and the second control are disposed on the front surface of the controller body and within at least one of a left half of the front surface or a right half of the front surface.
18. The controller system of claim 17 , wherein:
the first control is positioned on the front surface at a first distance from a side edge of the controller body; and
the second control is positioned on the front surface at a second distance from the side edge of the controller body, the second distance less than the first distance.
19. The controller system of claim 13 , wherein:
the controller further comprises:
a controller body having a handle portion; and
an array of sensors spatially distributed across the handle portion;
the acts further comprise receiving, from the array of sensors, second data indicating a position of a hand on the handle portion; and
the causing of the second control to be disabled is further based on the second data.
20. The controller system of claim 19 , wherein:
the controller body has a front surface, a top edge, a bottom edge, a left handle portion, and a right handle portion;
the handle portion is at least one of the left handle portion or the right handle portion;
the second data indicates that the position of the hand is closer to the top edge than the bottom edge;
the first control is positioned on the front surface at a first distance from the top edge; and
the second control is positioned on the front surface at a second distance from the top edge, the second distance greater than the first distance.