Iowa engineering students built a custom game controller
Biomedical engineering students at the University of Iowa built Dylan Huntbach a Nintendo Switch controller with oversized buttons and joysticks he can use after a spinal cord injury.
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Video games are how Dylan Huntbach spends long Iowa winters and stays in touch with friends, the University of Iowa College of Engineering reported. A cervical spinal cord injury more than a decade ago limited his hand movement, and many games no longer worked with a standard controller.
Students in a biomedical engineering course designed one that would. The prototype uses oversized buttons, a custom layout, and joysticks, built from acrylic, 3D-printed parts, and a Raspberry Pi. Huntbach tested it on his Nintendo Switch, liked how it felt, and kept it at his home in Waterloo. He said he could play online with friends and try games he had not been able to use. Associate professor Colleen Bringman said the course is built around making a device a real person can take home.
For the classroom
Dylan Huntbach likes video games, especially in an Iowa winter, when they are a way to spend time with friends. A neck injury more than ten years ago made it hard for his hands to use an ordinary controller. Biomedical engineering students at the University of Iowa built him a new one for a Nintendo Switch. It has large buttons, joysticks, and a layout made for his hands, using plastic, 3D-printed parts, and a small computer. He tried it, liked it, and took it home to Waterloo. He said he can play more games online with friends now.
- Why would a regular game controller be hard for some hands to use?
- What would you change on a controller so a friend could play with you?
- How is building a tool for one person different from building one for everybody?
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