Pimax, the company behind the wide field of view “8K” VR headset, today unveiled a new controller design intended to ship alongside their upcoming VR hardware. Much like Valve’s still unreleased ‘Knuckles’ controllers, the new Pimax controller is designed to strap to your hand for an ‘open-palm’ experience.
Pimax boasts a number of changes from their penultimate prototype; the more compact Knuckles-style design straps securely to the back of your hand, letting you essentially forget the act of actively holding the controller so you can interact in VR more naturally. Like Knuckles, it now integrates capacitive sensors on five major areas of the controller to offer basic five-finger tracking. The company is also promising compatibility for both SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 tracking standards.
Pimax says each button is ergonomically designed to “fall under the right finger, which will make the controller feels like an extension of your body.” The company still plans on offering both thumbstick and trackpad style controllers.
“When developing the new Pimax 8K controller, we listened closely to the needs of our global community to develop an innovative new controller that enables a more comfortable and immersive VR experience. As we continue to innovate, we look forward to collaborating closely with our community,” said company founder and chairman Robin Weng in a press release.
The new controller was designed for the new Pimax “8K” prototype, and followed what Pimax says was an intensive development process.
The unveiling of the controllers comes hot on the heels of some less flattering news; Pimax’s long-awaited “8K” headset is still seeing delays, this time related to a lens design issue which will push the pre-production models out to a supposed May launch and leaving the consumer version still up in the air launch-wise.
Thanks to some pretty substantial outside funding, Pimax has some room to get things right though. The company has garnered a record-breaking $4.2M from their Kickstarter campaign, and since taken on nearly $15 million in Series A funding, giving them more runway to further refine their hardware.
Check out our hands-on with Pimax “8K” from CES this year for a better idea of what the headset has to offer.