Singapore start-up Wraek has unveiled the world’s first force-pad controller, called the Tactonic Pad, that comes in the form of a keyboard wrist rest.
The Tactonic Pad (US$119) works like a joystick for the palm and is manoeuvred through the gentle pushes of your palm. So, instead of having fingers hitting the W, A, S and D movement keys of the keyboard, the force-pad maps directional force of your palm to execute movements on the PC.
This force-pad controller makes for a more intuitive gaming experience, as it frees up your fingers from the WASD movement keys and lets you concentrate on hitting other keys for changing weapons or other macros.
Not to mention, in some games like League of Legends, the Tactonic Pad can be used for panning the camera instead of using the mouse to do so. It also comes with RGB lighting at its four corners that will indicate the direction you are moving.
The force-pad controller is compatible with any keyboard, as it connects to a PC or Mac via a USB-C cable. But accompanying the Tactonic Pad, Wraek is also launching its own keyboard called the Tactonic Keyboard (US$149). It is a tenkeyless hotswappable keyboard that offers three options of Gateron switches. It also features RGB backlighting with colour options of up to 16.8 million.
The two products can work individually or combined via magnets to function as one. The Wraek Tactonic Pro bundle – consisting of the keyboard and the force-pad controller – will cost US$259. But you can get it at US$169 on Kickstarter with a 35% discount. The Wraek Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign will start on Jan 27, 0100hr, Singapore time.
Wraek is founded by three NUS (National University of Singapore) current and former students – Ryan Siah, Chik Cheng Jie and Chen Pinzhang – who met through NUS Entrepreneurship Society. Formed two years ago, the start-up has raised S$300,000 via an angel investor, government funding, friends and family.
