Monday, January 25 12:00 AM ET

Company Develops Game Controller for Everyday Tasks

By Brian Briggs follow me on Twitter.

Cupertino, CA - People playing video games may have tremendous map-reading skills, but they're beginning to lose basic muscle coordination for the simplest of tasks like pushing elevator buttons or driving a car. Cybercontrol, a California-based game controller company, hopes to offer a solution.

The company plans to make a game controller that not only works with your gaming console, but also interacts with everyday electronics. Cybercontrol CEO Celia Wang explained, "Say you enter an elevator, but you lack the coordination to hit the right button. Just use the directional joysticks on the Cybercontrol 3000 to move to the right floor then press the button on the controller to select the floor."

Currently, the Cybercontrol 3000 only works with a limited amount of real-life objects, but Wang hopes to expand its presence. "We're working with many manufacturers to build in our technology into their devices. We hope to see a day when people can spend a day without ever putting down one of our controllers."

Widespread adoption could be a boon to gamers who have trouble navigating life outside the gaming world. Carl Dendrite, a gamer in Milpitas, California, said, "I try not to leave the house, but sometimes it's unavoidable. The Cybercontrol 3000 makes the world much friendlier to a gamer like me."

Cybercontrol is also working with Ford on making future models of the manufacturer's car compatible with the company's system. "People used to driving cars in games like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed will find it much easier to operate a vehicle without all those confusing controls," said Wang.

The company is planning to release a similar control system for text messaging, so don't be surprised to see a sign in your next elevator that says, "Text your floor number to 34897."

Cybercontrol is a privately held corporation.