1. Overview

1.1. Hardware

etee hardware consists of one eteeDongle and two eteeControllers (left and right hand). Optionally, etee trackers can be attached to eteeControllers for VR use.

An eteeDongle connects to a computer through a serial port, while the eteeControllers connect to an eteeDongle through BLE communication.

The eteeControllers use TG0’s sensing technology to provide tactile data. This tactile data tracks the movement and pressure from all five fingers, and provides additional inputs such as trackpad XY positional data. In-built IMU sensors also allow for the detection of the eteeController translation and rotation. These tactile and IMU data are included into a data packet, which is sent by the eteeControllers to the eteeDongle. This packet can then be accessed through serial communication with the eteeDongle. Data packets from each eteeController are streamed at a rate of approximately 100 packets/second.

1.2. Sensor Data

1.2.1. Tactile Data

Tactile sensors can be found in the eteeControllers’s main body, trackpad, and LED slider. If an etee tracker is attached, an additional proximity button can be accessed.

eteeController tactile sensors

The finger tracking sensors are located in the eteeController’s main body. For each finger, the eteeController detects two different levels of pressure, as well as touch and clicks. At the top of the device, there is a tactile trackpad. The eteeController estimates the XY position of a thumb on the trackpad and can also measure pressure and detect touch and click events. At the front of the main body, there is a LED light which also acts as a tactile sensor. If a tracker is connected to the eteeController, an additional proximity sensor can be used, located in the area around the tracker button. You can also retrieve the state of the system button (i.e. power button) located at the bottom of the device.

Gestures detected by the eteeController

Multi-finger gesture detection is also provided by the device as grip, pinch and point gestures.

For more information on the retrievable values for each sensor or gesture, see 5.1.1. Tactile Data or 5.1.2. Gestures.

For more information on how to retrieve these values, see 4.2.1. Data Getters Functions.

1.2.2. Inertial Measuring Units (IMU) Data

The IMU data consists of acceleration, angular acceleration and magnetic flux density data from the eteeControllers. This data is used by the library to estimate the spatial orientation of the eteeControllers through the calculation of quaternions and Euler angles.

For more information on the retrievable values from the IMU sensors, see 5.1.3. Inertial Measuring Units (IMU).

For more information on how to retrieve these values, see 4.3. How IMU Data Is Processed.

1.2.3. Device and Battery State Data

Device state data includes information such as eteeController handedness (i.e. right or left) and battery data.

For more information on the retrievable values from the IMU sensors, see 5.1.4. Device State or 5.1.5. Battery State.