How Joysticks Work?

Joysticks have an appropriate name, if for no other reason than the fun and enjoyment they put into computer games. In the dark ages of computer use it was often necessary to use “arrow” keys and other methods to produce movement on the screen. With joysticks and some of the newest game-playing systems the motion of a real hand, foot or body creates the action.

In simple terms, a joystick transfers the motion of your hand, something very real, into the digital information needed to make the computer action happen. Digital data, in the form of “1s” and “0s,” creates the movement of action figures and objects very smoothly. With a good joystick the computer user or gamer is able to interact with this virtual world.

How does this happen? Joysticks in computer systems, in electric wheelchairs and even in the most sophisticated jet are electric switches. But they are designed and made in a very specific way. Inside the flexible housing and base is a circuit board similar to circuit boards used in most other applications. Because this is solid-state circuitry the wires and contacts/terminals are stationary. These contact points are connected to the computer and ultimately the display screen by wires that carry the signal from the joystick’s circuit board.

When the joystick is still the contacts and wires going to the computer and screen aren’t carrying signals. But when the stick is moved it pushes on a “button” or otherwise makes contact with one or more terminals, completing the electrical circuit from you to the computer and back again. If a simple object on the screen is supposed to move forward, moving the joystick in that direction completes the circuit by making contact with a specific terminal/contact. It’s also possible to make contact with more than one terminal or “button” and get multiple actions.

This basic design worked well for early games and is still useful in some applications. Other designs have a continuous contact “track” that provides varying levels of resistance when touched by the moving joystick. This varies the signal in a truly analog manner – distance moved translates into strength of signal and movement on the screen. For this to work, the movement has to be converted to digital signal by the internal converter. The distance the stick is moved along the resistant surface translates into a number/value for the computer to work with.

There is much more technical information involved in the working joystick, of course. But this summary forms the foundation for all new designs and uses. Steering-wheel controllers and pedal controls work in much the same way. The physical design of their contacts might be changed but the effect is the same.

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