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https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController

Support hand controllers for Oculus, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, Daydream, GearVR, and more by adding VRController to your existing Three.js-based WebVR project.
https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController

daydream gamepad gear-vr javascript oculus threejs vive vrcontroller webvr webxr windows-mixed-reality

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Support hand controllers for Oculus, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, Daydream, GearVR, and more by adding VRController to your existing Three.js-based WebVR project.

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        



THREE.VRController

==============================================================================



![THREE.VRController](https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController/raw/master/VRController.jpg "THREE.VRController")



__Support hand controllers for Oculus, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, Daydream, 

GearVR, and more by adding VRController to your existing 

[Three.js](https://threejs.org/)-based 

[WebVR](https://webvr.rocks/) project.__

VRController wraps the [Web Gamepad API](https://www.w3.org/TR/gamepad/), 

handles [gamepad browser quirks](https://medium.com/@stew_rtsmith/webvr-controllers-and-chromiums-gamepad-api-6c9adc633f38),

emits a controller instance (an extended `THREE.Object3D`) upon gamepad 

discovery, handles controller updates for position and orientation—including

3[DOF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_freedom_(mechanics)) rigs

via the `OrientationArmModel`—and watches for updates on axes and button 

states—emitting corresponding events on the controller instance.

(Pretty great, right?!)



VRController includes explicit support for

[Oculus Rift + Touch](https://www.oculus.com/rift/),

[HTC Vive](https://www.vive.com),

[Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-mixed-reality),

[Google Daydream](https://vr.google.com/daydream/),

and has implicit support for

[Samsung GearVR](http://www.samsung.com/GearVR)

and similar devices. Is your company developing new hand controllers? Send

them my way and I’ll add support for it. 😉



VRController is compatible with Three.js __r87__ which is the first version to

use the new `renderer.vr` object and was originally submitted to

[Three.js](https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js/) as

[pull request #10991](https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js/pull/10991)

on Saturday, 11 March 2017. Note: that pull request is no longer maintained.



Requirements

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Virtual Reality rig with 3DOF or 6DOF controllers such as the

[Oculus Rift + Touch](https://www.oculus.com/rift/),

[HTC Vive](https://www.vive.com/),

a [Windows Mixed Reality](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-mixed-reality) rig,

[Google Daydream](https://vr.google.com/daydream/),

[Samsung GearVR](http://www.samsung.com/GearVR), or similar devices.

2. WebVR-capable browser. For the latest list of browsers

that support WebVR—as well as download and setup instructions—see

[WebVR Rocks](https://webvr.rocks/).

3. Working knowledge of [Three.js](https://threejs.org/).



Try it now!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Already on a VR rig with a WebVR-capable browser? Just point your browser to

[https://stewdio.github.io/THREE.VRController/](https://stewdio.github.io/THREE.VRController/)

to experience this code in action.



Do it yourself

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Add our

[VRController.js](https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController/raw/master/VRController.js) file to your existing Three.js project and use our

[index.html](https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController/raw/master/index.html)

example file as your guide for the following steps.

2. Add a `THREE.VRController.update()` function call to your animation loop.

3. Add a listener for the `"vr controller connected"` global event. This is

how you will receive the controller object instance—which is an extended

`THREE.Object3D`. This means you can add it to your scene, attach meshes

to it, and so on.

4. When you receive the controller object instance you must give it some

additional information depending on the type of controller. For 6DOF (room

scale) rigs you must provide a standing matrix, easily obtained from your

`WebGLRenderer` instance in Three.js __r87__ and above. This will look similar to:

`controller.standingMatrix = renderer.vr.getStandingMatrix()`.

For 3DOF (seated) rigs you must provide a reference to the camera so the

controller can use the headset’s live position and orientation to guess where

it ought to be: `controller.head = camera`. There’s no penalty for providing

the controller instance with both `standingMatrix` and `head` properties as

we do in the

[example](https://github.com/stewdio/THREE.VRController/raw/master/index.html).

5. Explore the available touch, press, and trackpad events by assigning

`THREE.VRController.verbosity = 1`.

You’ll now see a flood of verbose comments in the JavaScript console as you

interact with your controller. To access controllers directly from the console

explore the `THREE.VRController.controllers` object. To get a snapshot of all

controller data try `THREE.VRController.inspect()`.



Run locally

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For security reasons you can’t run a WebVR experience by just dragging the

`index` file onto a browser tab. You have to run an actual server. The easiest

way to do this on your own desktop machine is to start a simple Python server.

Open up a

[command line prompt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command-line_interface),

navigate to wherever you’ve stored this code package, then type the

following command depending on the version of

[Python](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)) you have

installed.  



Python 2: `python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000`  

Python 3: `py -m http.server 8000`  



In your browser you can now navigate to

[http://localhost:8000/](http://localhost:8000/) to see the demo running

locally. You can shutdown the local server by returning to the command line

and hitting Control + C.



Notes on Chromium’s Gamepad API

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re building WebVR experiences and targeting the

[WebVR build of Chromium](https://webvr.info/get-chrome/) you may want to read

my Medium post about its quirky behavior and how VRController compensates for

it: [WebVR controllers and Chromium’s Gamepad API](https://medium.com/@stew_rtsmith/webvr-controllers-and-chromiums-gamepad-api-6c9adc633f38).



Space Rocks!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

![Space Rocks](https://github.com/moar-tech/spacerocks/raw/master/media/space-rocks.jpg "Space Rocks (WebXR)")



Looking for a more complex, fleshed out example of VRController in action?

Play [Space Rocks](https://spacerocks.moar.io "Space Rocks (WebXR)") now at 

[https://spacerocks.moar.io](https://spacerocks.moar.io "Space Rocks (WebXR)")

You can read more about it on 

[Medium](https://medium.com/@stew_rtsmith/space-rocks-webvr-d4035d0ac429)

or check out the 

[code repository](https://github.com/moar-tech/spacerocks).

Look for VRController-related bits in

[`/scripts/player.js`](https://github.com/moar-tech/spacerocks/blob/master/scripts/player.js).



And for the full technical breakdown, including multi-channel haptic 

feedback, button handling, and attaching visuals to controllers, see

[Space Rocks—WebXR tech deep dive](https://medium.com/@stew_rtsmith/space-rocks-technical-deep-dive-9bf67fb8a467).



[![Space Rocks technical deep dive](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*TjqlHICRPMCzR68SggeW-g.jpeg "Space Rocks—WebXR tech deep dive")](https://medium.com/@stew_rtsmith/space-rocks-technical-deep-dive-9bf67fb8a467)