Knuckles Quick Start

Learn how to set up and start using your Knuckles Dev Kit.

Knuckles Dev Kit

You or your company will receive the Knuckles Dev Kit directly from Valve.

The Knuckles controllers are currently only supported in the SteamVR Beta branch. To opt into SteamVR Beta, open your Steam client and find SteamVR under Library > Tools. Right click SteamVR, select Properties, and select 'beta' from the drop down under the Betas tab.

The Knuckles driver is available upon pairing your Knuckles controllers. See the instructions below to learn how to pair your controllers.

Knuckles Overview

Pairing Knuckles and Downloading the Driver

You will need a Vive Headset (or extra wireless receivers, like from the Vive Trackers) to pair your controllers.

• Make sure your Vive Controllers are turned off
  
• Press the System button to turn your Knuckles controllers on (in the same location as the System button for Vive controllers)
  
• Open SteamVR and go to Menu > Devices > Pair Controller
  

• Ignore the Vive controller pairing instructions screen. Please reference the instructions below to put Knuckles into pairing mode.

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• Make sure the controller has been booted for 3 seconds before performing the pairing gesture
  
• Press and hold the System button and the Outer Face button (button closest to the metal) until you hear a beep to pair. See below:

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• Once paired, you will see a prompt in SteamVR Status to install the Knuckles driver. Click Install and follow the prompts to complete the Knuckles driver installation.

• SteamVR will need to restart in order to complete the installation.
  
• If your Vive controllers were previously paired, they will still be paired to the headset. To switch between Vive and Knuckles controllers, simply turn off the set you do not wish to use.

Put on Knuckles

1. Slip your fingers between the body of the controller and the soft strap
   
2. Tighten by pulling on the looped cord at bottom of the controller
   
3. Loosen by pressing the release button near the bottom of the strap

Finger Tracking Calibration

When the controller is powered on, finger tracking initializes to an uncalibrated state and will be very poor. You must perform a finger tracking calibration before finger tracking will behave correctly.

Note: The need for an explicit calibration procedure should be considered a temporary measure that will only be required for these dev-units.

To perform a calibration:

1. Make sure your controller is cinched comfortably
   
2. Close your hand around the controller for one second–don’t squeeze! Make sure your index finger is resting on the Trigger.
   
3. Quickly open your hand and hold it open for one second.
   
4. The last three calibration events are stored in the controller’s memory, and the median result is used for finger tracking. So, from a cold start, two good calibrations will fill the buffer and finger tracking should begin working.

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A few other things to note:

• You can trigger a recalibration at any time while the controller is on.
  
• You can perform a calibration on a single controller by itself—you do not need to calibrate both controllers simultaneously.
  
• If calibrating both controllers at once, one may calibrate before the other—this is normal. Keep trying with the remaining controller.
  
• A recalibration may be necessary if you significantly change your grip or if a new user picks up the controllers.
  
• Recalibrations will occur automatically over the course of a play session as you reach out to grab items, throw things, etc. This is both expected and necessary, as your skin capacitance will change over time. The intent is for the controller to adjust to these changes automatically after the initial calibration has been performed.

SteamVR Home

One of the first things to try with your new controllers is SteamVR Home. If SteamVR Home detects that you are using Knuckles controllers, you will automatically get the developer five fingered hands.

SteamVR Home a great place to calibrate your controllers. As a reminder, here are the steps:

• Close your hand around the controller for one second–don’t squeeze! Make sure your index finger is resting on the Trigger.
  
• Quickly open your hand and hold it open for one second.
  
• Repeat this until your hand opens and closes normally.

Controller LED States

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• Hold the System button for 3 seconds to power-down
  
• Closing SteamVR will also turn off the controllers

Battery Life

• Knuckles controllers currently have a 3 hour battery life
  
• The controllers charge from a USB micro-B connector at 500mA
  
• They take about an hour of charging to reach full charge.

Troubleshooting

• If the controller is stuck in an unexpected state and will not power off normally, it can be forcibly powered down by holding the System button for 10 seconds.
  
• There is a reset button on the back of the controller, beneath the trigger and within a small hole.

[Mr. Mister]

The things don't need abxy buttons or analog sticks!

I mean, I'm not going to say no to more physical buttons, I just don't feel they're all that necessary... What REALLY needs to happen is the controllers need to get full support in the steam controller configurator. Per Game customization & VR overlay(s) would account for more than just console ports. Everything you get with the Steam Controller in terms of software functionality, you should have for the wands/knuckles. Simple.

they also need backup wrist straps... I don't trust that thing at all... IT looks about as secure as it can be (pretty secure) but until I see some beefcake doing sweaty karate chops, I don't trust it.

Other than that, I'm nothing but stoked.

[Gödelbrot]

please, I want my Steam Games in VR!

https://image.ibb.co/mSLjtQ/controller.png

[mrorange]

so awesome. i want to have one.

[iichiversii]

Looks great, i only wish Valve would replace the touch pads for analog sticks, or have an option to snap on analog sticks over the touchpads or something, touchpads are great for teleporting yes but no where as good as analog sticks for moving around like in FPS games, teleporting in revamped FPS games just ruins it for me, i like to see the touch pad as a componant in the knuckles that locks into place but can be unlocked, removed and replaced with an analog componant, some sort of modular type replacements.

[nadir-seen-fire]

+1 in favour of USB-C. Controllers with internal batteries really need fast charging. For that you'll want to at least support the type of 15V USB-C power that the Nintendo Switch uses. If not the 60W+ used in USB-C laptops.

[Cicero]

Looks cool, can the final product use USB-C though?

[bonds7]

This is really cool, although I am worried about that cord, it seems like it would be easy for it to wear down and snap, or break the part where it puts the most pressure on as you pull. The 3 hour battery limit kind of got me a bit worried, can we attach a battery extender to keep playing while it charges? Overall, it looks cool. This is a step in the right direction, but I hope one day we will get true 1-1 hand and finger tracking.

[MelonHead]

Please add a heart rate sensor. Would love to experiment with some player adaptable AI and fitness apps

[--> REAL GIRL <--]

what if i dont have knuckles

[tommosaur]

@Scellow: I tried a gloves, but it's another thing that gets hot n sweaty.
There are other issues like not as easy to make a "one size fits all" glove.
There is also the issue with gloves where to put buttons and also the issue of with gloves, well, no tactile sensation.
With the knuckles one can feel like holding something and letting go of something.

Don't want to talk all glove and other options down, these are interesting for example: https://youtu.be/Sif7cY8qwjM , more force feedback sensations, but will probably take a while to bring to market.

For now, the upcoming Knuckles already seem like a quite big step forward compared to the previous controllers (which were a revelation when first released in first place).
I imagine these types of knuckles are also what i would like to use in AR use cases in the outside world, too.