Using gaming controllers for anything other than gaming ?

Wondering if anyone has experimented with using controllers (PS/xbox/other) to do anything other than gaming ?

48 points · 50 comments · view on lemmy.world

50 Comments

mocha_lotsofmilk@lemmy.world · 103 pts · 2y (2 replies)

I heard they are great for killing billionaires in experimental deep sea rigs

Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 10 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Controllers in shoddily constructed deep sea rigs don’t kill people, billionaires piloting with controllers in shoddily constructed deep sea rigs kill people!

tetris11@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 2y

and so does microsoft , woo woo wooo

ColdWater@lemmy.ca · 28 pts · 2y (2 replies)

They use it to control a submarine

johannesvanderwhales@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Not for long, though.

monsterpiece42@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 2y

For sale: Logitech submarine controller, lifetime warranty.

Hello_there@fedia.io · 23 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Operating parts of multi million dollar navy ships, according to articles. Not joking

ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2y

Because they’re designed for controlling and people are familiar with them/can learn easily

Also helps standardize when taking bids from multiple companies

fogstormberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I wonder how many spares they keep around

KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

And if you always get the shitty broken one until you're a corporal.

bionicjoey@lemmy.ca · 21 pts · 2y (2 replies)

The Steam Deck and Steam controller have touchpads which make them totally usable as a mouse for normal PC usage like web browsing

NinjaCheetah@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2y

DualShock 4 and DualSense touch pads do this too! They even support multi touch so you can do left/right/middle click by using multiple fingers.

neoman4426@fedia.io · 2 pts · 2y

Hell, not optimal by any means but I even had a serviceable for light usage setup using analog sticks and a mapping program before Steam Input came out. Much better with the trackpads

bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de · 17 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Disneyland uses Steam Decks to remote control droids in Star Wars land.

Vilian@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 2y (1 reply)

ukraine was doing the same but to kill russians lol

KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

"These blast points, too accurate for Russians"

Interstellar_1@pawb.social · 10 pts · 2y

They can be quite useful in hobbyist robotics

intensely_human@lemm.ee · 9 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Actually yes.

I worked on a crew building pole barns in Colorado. For anyone unaware you basically dig a bunch of holes, set wooden columns in them and pour concrete around them, then hang the rest of the structure off those columns.

We had a dude that swore by the xbox 360 controller. We tried to get him to use a framing hammer to drive his nails but he would only use that 360 controller.

We also did a lot of acid. If you see a weird barn in Colorado, look for the microsoft logo pressed into the wood next to the siding nails.

jsomae@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)

So he literally, physically hammered the xbox controller into the nail?

intensely_human@lemm.ee · 4 pts · 2y

He hammered the nails into the boards

Anarki_@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 2y

They are the OG electric vibrators for people who can't buy vibrators.

CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 2y

In college I was on the robotics team. We used several different controllers to drive various robots. I made a little tank steering robot that was remote controlled from a PC with an Xbox 360 controller. I later rebuilt it to use a Raspberry Pi and added a pan/tilt mount for the camera controlled from the controller's D-pad. We also used a Wiimote to control our competition robot, using the accelerometer for steering which was pretty cool. This was in like 2010 when motion controls were still a relatively new and cool thing.

SuperSynthia@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Several modular synth modules use joysticks for control over parameters, but one of the coolest I’ve seen is one from Delptronics that uses a wii nunchuck controller to send out control voltage. Hagiwo I believe also has a similar DIY design.

Ginger666@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

You can use one for quadrophonic mixing also

SuperSynthia@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

Yes! Yes you can! Vectoring synthesis voices is also cool!

Contingencyfork@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y

I do recall a gaming controller being used to pilot the titan submersible that is now on the ocean floor. May their souls rest in peace.

Honytawk@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 2y

All a controller is is just some buttons on a wire in a portable form factor.

If you want to use it for Excel, you can.

I used one on a Raspberry Pi to drive a self build remote car wirelessly.

DetachablePianist@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 2y

In Ghostbusters 2 they rigged up a Nintendo joystick to drive the statue of liberty through the streets of NYC. Does that count?

OuterRem@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 2y

We had a subcontractor drive a wired camera mounted drone through the sewers with it. Some use LIDAR or SONAR instead of just cameras. Game controllers are pretty common for these.

zout@fedia.io · 3 pts · 2y

Some guys I used to know used them to make music, as some sort of midi controller.

wazzupdog@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 2y

I have one of mine configured as media controls when I'm wandering around the house (8bitdo controllers ftw)

numbermess@fedia.io · 3 pts · 2y

I am working on getting my XBox controller to work with a Raspberry Pi/Astroberry setup to control my telescope.

Perfide@reddthat.com · 3 pts · 2y

Hacksmith on youtube uses playstation controllers for remote operation of their giant mechs.

hperrin@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y

I used to use a mini game controller for artwork. Like up on the dpad would zoom in the canvas. I had buttons for undo, redo, switch to eraser, rotate the canvas, flip it, etc.

KeepFlying@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y

I think it was med students who use controllers to control flash card decks for studying.

Also as PowerPoint remotes.

vortexal@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 2y

On a very old computer of mine, the "y" key was completely missing and I couldn't replace it because the contacts were broken so I just use JoytoKey and a USB SNES controller.

I've also used a similar setup for navigating some image boorus but, for obvious reasons, I wont specify anything further.

runner_g@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 2y

I've seen some people on YouTube use them to control their CNC.

FeelThePower@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 2y

playstation and Xbox controllers make good Kodi/XBMC remotes for a laptop connected to a TV.

Ginger666@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Fire up halo 1

Get in the gunner seat of warthog

Tape right trigger down

Profit

Wootz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

OP asked for uses other than gsming.

Ginger666@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 2y

Thats cumming

Cumming is not gaming

Daxtron2@startrek.website · 1 pts · 2y

Instructions unclear, Xbox controller stuck up my ass

ludrol@bookwormstory.social · 2 pts · 2y

I would also add VR controllers to the list and I had used them for painting.

mesamunefire@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

We used a ps4 controller as a mouse on our tv/media center. Its wired/Bluetooth and comes in as a mouse on our Linux box. No setup, just connect and it works.

SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

Scrolling around LibreELEC to get to my gaming folder

magnetosphere@fedia.io · 2 pts · 2y
[ removed ]
maynarkh@feddit.nl · 1 pts · 2y

I use my flight sim gear as a fidget toy, hope that counts.

toototabon@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 2y
Aggravationstation@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 2y

Haven't actually done it yet but I'm going to buy myself a Teensy for my birthday next month, set up headless M8 on it and control it through my Steamdeck.

Goun@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 2y

Iirc (on the phone now,) cameractrls allows panning and zooming with a gamepad.

FullOfBallooons@leminal.space · 1 pts · 2y

Some digital artists use Switch JoyCons for shortcuts in Clip Studio and other painting programs.