Introducing the: X-GUN

[Ugo]

I started The X-GUN as a Modern Generation Lightgun. It's currently a prototype.
© 2022 Ugo Odukwe. Ugo Solutions LLC.

Bluetooth
- Bluetooth Connection for the ultimate wireless gameplay experience.
- Transmits data at 60fps with Bluetooth.
- Easily connects to Smartphones, PCs & Tablets.

INFRA RED & GYROSCOPE AIMING
INFRA RED AIMING (Ideal for Classic and Arcade style games)
- Use a traditional IR Sensor Bar (Wii type or Aimtrak type)
- Use an IR Emitting Box. 2 Boxes placed in the Top-Left & Bottom-Right of your display for accurate aiming.
- Use 4 IR emitting boxes at the corners of your display for ultra accurate aiming.

GYROSCOPE AIMING (Ideal for Modern First-Person shooters)
- Uses the built-in gyroscope to move cursor.
- No IR sensors needed.
- A HOLD button for realigning or centering the cursor.

PRESSURE SENSITIVE TRIGGER BUTTON
- The Trigger button recognizes the amount of pressure you apply to it.
- When using the X-GUN as a stylus, The harder you pull the trigger, the wider your brush stroke.
- Lots of other cool possibilities.

MOTION SENSOR
- Detects when you shake the X-GUN. (This can be used to shake off a Zombie that grabbed you)
- Detects swing or forward thrust motion. (This can be used as a melee attack)
- Custom algorithm that helps improve the aiming accuracy and also detects if the X-GUN is being held sideways for cool Gangstar-Thug'ish aiming.

VIBRATION & HAPTIC
- Haptic vibration sensation that mimics recoil effect, reload effect, snap trigger effects, heartbeat effect and many more.
- Vibration feedback for some serious rumbling.

BUTTONS
- A & B buttons
- Reload button (Also used for waking up the X-GUN from sleep)
- Analog joystick. Clickable.
- Trigger (Pressure sensitive)

RBG LED
RBG LED for displaying various in-game conditions and status.

OPERATING SYSTEMS
- Windows, Linux, PS5, macOS, iOS, Android, and MAME.
- XBOX Series S/X coming soon

[MotownC]

Impressive feature set. Not crazy about the form factor but it's a prototype so won't worry too much about that. Any noticeable lag? Or video of gameplay? And with vibration and haptic included - any chance of recoil? What are the plans for the project? Nice work.

[Ugo]

Impressive feature set. Not crazy about the form factor but it's a prototype so won't worry too much about that. Any noticeable lag? Or video of gameplay? And with vibration and haptic included - any chance of recoil? What are the plans for the project? Nice work.

Thanks Motown.

Yes, this is just a prototype. The final design will be slightly better looking.
As for the recoil, i don’t have any plans on adding it. The solenoid increases the total weight significantly. The current Haptic feedback feature gives you a relatively similar sensation.

It runs at 60fps when using the Gyroscope for mouse/cursor pointer. It runs at 55.55fps when using the IR camera.

I’m currently processing and awaiting Copyright and trademark. The long term goal is to mass produce. The short term goal is to increase public awareness and get feedback from people.

[Xiaou2]

I think some of the features sound cool...

 But as for you saying that Haptics feel like a Solenoid... thats a load of Crapola.

 Anyone thats fired a T2 gun,  Time Crisis Gun,  and or a REAL firearm... knows very well the MASSIVE
difference in FEEL, compared to a phone or analog controllers weak Haptics effects.

 Thats why Racing Sim people spend big money, on expensive Force Feedback Steering Wheels,
Motion Sim Chairs, Realistic pressure Pedals, and realistic Gear Shifters.   Because a standard Gamepads
analog sticks, and fake Haptics... are not even close to being good enough.

 NOBODY cares about the WEIGHT of the GUN.  A real gun would likely weight a Lot more.  Just as nobody
in the ARCADES, ever cared about the weight of the guns.   And let me tell you.. if the Coils stopped working,
people were very VOCAL about them getting fixed, ASAP.  (I used to manage two different Arcades, for a total
of 3 yrs,  in the 90s)

 People are more than willing to deal with a heavier weight,  a separate power supply line,  and a higher cost,
to get the REAL ARCADE FEEL.   Run a Poll,  and find out for yourself.

 Haptics could be cool as an ADDED effect.. but the option to use the real COIL for the guns feedback, should
be the standard default.


 Also, I have to ask... if the realtime Gyro, can combine with the IR sensors, to help keep the accuracy of the
gyro data, at a much higher level of precision?   I recommend adding that as an option.

 I also wonder, if it detects 3d positioning accuracy... for use in VR games?

 Finally... it looks like it might be Battery Powered.  I strongly am Against this.  Rechargable batteries only last
a few years... and they always seem to lack power, when you want to use them.

 There should be a cord, or cord use option.   AND... that cord should be more Robust than the typical Weak
USB-C cords  (which would break internally, with a short amount of time / use)

 EDIT:

 See you have mentioned BluTooth.   Not so good.

 Any wireless device Ive used, tends to last about 3 to 5 yrs, before the internal Radio fails.
 As for the connection speeds, I have concerns about data-processing and communication delay Lag.
Lag is a real issue with time-sensitive shooters.. such as  "Shooting Gallery" for the Sega Master System.
(Zombie shooters are garbage, and dont require any real accuracy at all)

 I also have to ask... does the Cursor have to be displayed?   If there is no option to turn it off... then thats
a 100% deal breaker.  Its basically "Cheating",  and a lot of people, cant stand it.   We play shooting games
for the challenge of Aiming accuracy.  We dont want a laser scope helper.

[Ugo]

I think some of the features sound cool...

 But as for you saying that Haptics feel like a Solenoid... thats a load of Crapola.

 Anyone thats fired a T2 gun,  Time Crisis Gun,  and or a REAL firearm... knows very well the MASSIVE
difference in FEEL, compared to a phone or analog controllers weak Haptics effects.

 Thats why Racing Sim people spend big money, on expensive Force Feedback Steering Wheels,
Motion Sim Chairs, Realistic pressure Pedals, and realistic Gear Shifters.   Because a standard Gamepads
analog sticks, and fake Haptics... are not even close to being good enough.

 NOBODY cares about the WEIGHT of the GUN.  A real gun would likely weight a Lot more.  Just as nobody
in the ARCADES, ever cared about the weight of the guns.   And let me tell you.. if the Coils stopped working,
people were very VOCAL about them getting fixed, ASAP.  (I used to manage two different Arcades, for a total
of 3 yrs,  in the 90s)

 People are more than willing to deal with a heavier weight,  a separate power supply line,  and a higher cost,
to get the REAL ARCADE FEEL.   Run a Poll,  and find out for yourself.

 Haptics could be cool as an ADDED effect.. but the option to use the real COIL for the guns feedback, should
be the standard default.


 Also, I have to ask... if the realtime Gyro, can combine with the IR sensors, to help keep the accuracy of the
gyro data, at a much higher level of precision?   I recommend adding that as an option.

 I also wonder, if it detects 3d positioning accuracy... for use in VR games?

 Finally... it looks like it might be Battery Powered.  I strongly am Against this.  Rechargable batteries only last
a few years... and they always seem to lack power, when you want to use them.

 There should be a cord, or cord use option.   AND... that cord should be more Robust than the typical Weak
USB-C cords  (which would break internally, with a short amount of time / use)

 EDIT:

 See you have mentioned BluTooth.   Not so good.

 Any wireless device Ive used, tends to last about 3 to 5 yrs, before the internal Radio fails.
 As for the connection speeds, I have concerns about data-processing and communication delay Lag.
Lag is a real issue with time-sensitive shooters.. such as  "Shooting Gallery" for the Sega Master System.
(Zombie shooters are garbage, and dont require any real accuracy at all)

 I also have to ask... does the Cursor have to be displayed?   If there is no option to turn it off... then thats
a 100% deal breaker.  Its basically "Cheating",  and a lot of people, cant stand it.   We play shooting games
for the challenge of Aiming accuracy.  We dont want a laser scope helper.

Thanks Xiaou2 for this well detailed feedback.

As for the Recoil feature, I'm now looking into adding a Recoil Solenoid into the X-Gun. The vibration and Haptics will remain but mostly be used for notifications and confirmations.

When it comes to combining the Gyro and IR. The Gyro is currently used to determine which angle you're holding the X-GUN to recalculate Up/Down/Left/Right edges. I've tried using the Gyro to improve the IR sensors, it worked but I wasn't satisfied with the result. I will definitely revisit that feature. Because this is something that can differentiate the X-Gun from others.

The X-Gun is designed to be fully wireless (Bluetooth). Yes, you can plug in a USB-C cable. Currently, the USB-C cable is for battery charging and Firmware upgrade. I can potentially add the option to allow the USB cable to be used for gameplay as well. Don't worry, that USB-C header I'm using is very tightly snug, i even struggle unplugging it at times.

I haven't really noticed any substantial lags with the Bluetooth. The X-Gun has Bluetooth BLE 4.2 which transmits up to 1Mbps. The X-Gun transmits with the Host PC/Smartphone every 16ms. Roughly 60FPS. (The IR Camera is the only bottleneck).

Battery wise, I'm currently running 5V 2,500mAh litho. This particular battery is spec'd to slightly go over 3yrs.

For the Cursors, The X-Gun is just a Mouse (Shaped like a gun). So it's up to the User and the Game/Application they're using to toggle the Cursor ON/OFF.

[pbj]

You’re going to be renaming this gun as soon as the X Arcade catch wind of it.

[Ugo]

You’re going to be renaming this gun as soon as the X Arcade catch wind of it.

The official filed name is "XENAS GUN". X-Gun is the shortened name.

[Zebidee]

Nobody has legal right to claim trademark or copyright over X-*wildcard*. "X" is used prolifically in business and in literature and pop culture. That would be taking things too far.

However, given this, it might be worth thinking about how to make your product (and its branding) differentiates itself from others in the market.

[pbj]

   ok, bro.  We don't all live in the jungle.

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:vvyht3.3.1

 

[Zebidee]

"This search session has expired. Please start a search session again by clicking on the TRADEMARK icon, if you wish to continue."

I know what you are saying though. Even though nobody can claim copyright "X-*wildcard*", a simple search for the term "X-GUN" on your favourite search engine will get you dozens of hits, including toy guns, games and gaming peripherals. Too confusing and does not differentiate the product 

Ugo, The Xenas really does look like a great project and I'm looking forward to seeing it develop. We need more lightguns

[Ugo]

"This search session has expired. Please start a search session again by clicking on the TRADEMARK icon, if you wish to continue."

I know what you are saying though. Even though nobody can claim copyright "X-*wildcard*", a simple search for the term "X-GUN" on your favourite search engine will get you dozens of hits, including toy guns, games and gaming peripherals. Too confusing and does not differentiate the product 

Ugo, The Xenas really does look like a great project and I'm looking forward to seeing it develop. We need more lightguns

Thank you Zebidee, I appreciate it a lot. I will be posting more as the project continues.