The STEM motion controller is taking virtual reality a step further with the Oculus Rift. It is a wireless, modular system that can detect movements in a more sophisticated way compared to controllers like the Wii Remote or the Kinect.

Sixense CEO Amir Rubin said that the STEM base can communicate with five STEM units, and inserted into controllers or attached to the body to track its movements.

Developers have recognized STEM's potential for several different kinds of projects and donated by the hundreds to Sixense's Kickstarter, which has doubled its $250,000 goal with 17 days remaining.



"We didn't want to jinx it, so we didn't have any stretch goal content ready," he said. "When we hit the goal in three hours we had to rush to make new stuff."

Designed to work as a motion controller for compatible PC and mobile gaming, it works best with virtual reality.

"We would not have pursued making our own controller if it wasn't for the success of the Oculus Rift. Instead we'd keep licensing to third parties like Razer, which we will still do," Rubin said. "Our goal is to have our wireless STEM controller release in tandem with the Oculus Rift."

Already, there are projects that incorporate the STEM SDK. For example, Sixense is working on a different games-in-house as well and one of them is MakeVR, which works with the controllers to give anyone the ability to model 3D objects that can be used for printing.