DIY - iPad Joystick

I love my iPad.  I can do just about anything on it.  But when it comes to gaming, you just can't beat the precision of physical controls. You can find joysticks on the market, but why spend 25 bucks when you can make something just as good at home?  So, after weeks of tinkering and testing, I've got a working model that I made with common household items for less than $5.

I hope you enjoy building it and playing all the joystick controlled apps on your iPad.

Step 1: Gather Materials

You'll need the following items to build your iPad Joystick:

   1. A Nerf dart (with a suction cup end)

   2. A chess piece (a bishop is the best)

   3. A bouncy ball

   4. Scotch Brite non-scratch cleaning sponge (most any scratch resistant sponge should work)

   5. Aluminum foil (8" x 8")

   6. Scissors

   7. A hot glue gun

Optional:

   1.  A single hole punch

Comments

[TSC]

Awesome great job!

[PapaHex]

I really do like this structable. The thing is, when I saw the thumbnail for it, I thought it was a homemade bong lol. Still cool as hell and I will definitely give this one a try.

[wolpert101]

Wow this is really great! I'm gona make this as soon as I can. This is so much cheaper and cooler than the ones on think geek. Keep up the good work! ;)

[Akaii]

Cool. Can you explain how or why it works?

[Gerome42]

Sure!
The iPad has a capacitive touch screen. It can sense your touch because when it's on it has a small electrastatic field around it, that is disturbered when your finger (which conducts the electricity) hits it. Then it takes the information of where the field was distorted and converts it in to where you pressed.

[Gerome42]

The joystick just conducts the electricity into your finger because the sponge and tin foil are both conductive.