Steam Controller vibration motor hacks: Play music, drive it like a RC car, and even make it return to its charger automatically - Liliputing

Skip to contentValve’s new Steam Controller is a $99 game controller that went on sale in May (and quickly sold out). It has all the usual features like dual analog sticks, a D-Pad, ABXY buttons, and shoulder triggers. It also has some unusual features like two touchpads that make it easier to play some PC games.There’s also an active community of independent developers who are leveraging the Steam Controller’s hardware in ways that Valve probably didn’t expect. For example, you can find open source tools that leverage the controller’s vibration motors to let you play music or make it move.For music, there’s a tool called SteamHapticsSinger that was originally designed for the old Steam controller from 2015, but which has been updated to work with the new version. It’s a program that lets you load a MIDI file and then play it on the controller.Taking inspiration from that app, another developer decided put the Steam Controller haptics to another purpose. Steam Controller RC is a web app that lets you drive a Steam Controller like a remote control car, using a computer keyboard as a controller for… the controller.And then a different developer kicked things up a notch by building a service that allows a Steam Controller to return to its charging puck automatically, sort of like the way a robot vacuum does.In this case, you’ll need to open the Steam Controller Auto-Charge web app, give it access to your camera, and make sure that the Steam Deck and charging puck are both within view. Then the web app will then use computer vision to detect their relative locations and send commands to your Steam Controller directing it to change direction and move toward the charging puck until it’s positioned properly to receive a charge.Is this practical? Not really. If your Steam Controller and charging puck are already on your desk and within view of a webcam, it seems like it’d be at least as easy to just pick it up and place it on the charger with your hands. But it’s a pretty nifty demonstration of what’s possible.via Tom’s Hardware (1)(2)