Input for Windows Mixed Reality
Input for Oculus

Input for OpenVR controllers

For the Unity Editor to support OpenVR tracked controllers, the Unity VR subsystem presents VR controller inputs as separate joysticks. Use the UnityEngine.Input class to access the axis and button values.

OpenVR’s Unity integration doesn’t refer to any specific hardware when presenting axis and button states. This page provides the axis and button mappings for the three types of controllers supported by OpenVR: HTC Vive, OculusA VR platform for making applications for Rift and mobile VR devices. More info
See in Glossary
Touch, and Valve Knuckles Controllers.

Naming convention and detection

When properly configured and connected, any OpenVR-compatible controllers are internally named as either OpenVR Controller - Left or OpenVR Controller - Right. Access this name through the list returned by UnityEngine.Input.GetJoystickNames(). When available, these controllers appear highlighted in green in the SteamVR status menu when tested with Steam. To access this menu you must have both Steam and SteamVR installed and running on your machine.

Steam VR status menu
Steam VR status menu

You can test the availability of these controllers by periodically checking for their presence in the list of joystick names through script. When the controllers turn off, or when you remove their batteries, an empty string replaces their name in the list returned by UnityEngine.Input.GetJoystickNames(). When the controllers turn on again, their name reappears in the list of returned joysticks.

Unity input system mappings

This section provides diagrams for each type of controller supported by OpenVR devices, along with information on the internal Unity input mapping for each controller button.

HTC Vive controllers

The diagram below displays the different inputs available on HTC Vive controllers for use in VR applications.

HTC Vive controller inputs mapping (Image courtesy of developer.viveport.com)
HTC Vive controller inputs mapping (Image courtesy of developer.viveport.com)
1 Menu Button
2 Trackpad
3 System button
4 Status light
5 Micro-USB port
6 Tracking sensor
7 Trigger
8 Grip button

Oculus Touch controllers

The diagram below displays the different inputs available on Oculus Touch controllers for use in VR applications.

Oculus Touch controller input mapping (Image courtesy of developer.oculus.com)
Oculus Touch controller input mapping (Image courtesy of developer.oculus.com)

Knuckles controllers

The diagram below displays the different inputs available when using Knuckles controllers in VR applications.

Valve Knuckles Controller input mapping (Image courtesy of steamcommunity.com)
Valve Knuckles Controller input mapping (Image courtesy of steamcommunity.com)

The table below lists controller inputs for each OpenVR-supported controller, their interaction types, Unity axis and button IDs, along with the value range for each axis.

HTC Vive Controller Oculus Touch Controller Valve Knuckles Controller Interaction Type Unity Button ID Unity Axis ID Unity Axis Value Range
Left Controller Menu Button (1) Button.Three Left Controller Inner Face Button Press 2
Right Controller Menu Button (1) Button.One Right Controller Inner Face Button Press 0
Left Controller Outer Face Button Press 3
Right Controller Outer Face Button Press 1
Left Controller Trackpad (2) Button.PrimaryThumbstick Left Controller Trackpad Press 8
Right Controller Trackpad (2) Button.SecondaryThumbstick Right Controller Trackpad Press 9
Left Controller Trackpad (2) Button.PrimaryThumbstick Left Controller Trackpad Touch 16
Right Controller Trackpad (2) Button.SecondaryThumbstick Right Controller Trackpad Touch 17
Left Controller Trackpad (2) Axis2D.PrimaryThumbstick Left Controller Trackpad Horizontal Movement 1 –1.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Trackpad (2) Axis2D.PrimaryThumbstick Left Controller Trackpad Vertical Movement 2 –1.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Trackpad (2) Axis2D.SecondaryThumbstick Right Controller Trackpad Horizontal Movement 4 –1.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Trackpad (2) Axis2D.SecondaryThumbstick Right Controller Trackpad Vertical Movement 5 –1.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Trigger (7) Axis1D.PrimaryIndexTrigger Left Controller Trigger Touch 14
Right Controller Trigger (7) Axis1D.SecondaryIndexTrigger Right Controller Trigger Touch 15
Left Controller Trigger (7) Axis1D.PrimaryIndexTrigger Left Controller Trigger Squeeze 9 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Trigger (7) Axis1D.SecondaryIndexTrigger Right Controller Trigger Squeeze 10 0.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Grip Button (8) Axis1D.PrimaryHandTrigger Left Controller Grip Average Squeeze 11 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Grip Button (8) Axis1D.SecondaryHandTrigger Right Controller Grip Average Squeeze 12 0.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Index Finger Cap Sensor 20 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Index Finger Cap Sensor 21 0.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Middle Finger Cap Sensor 22 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Middle Finger Cap Sensor 23 0.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Ring Finger Cap Sensor 24 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Ring Finger Cap Sensor 25 0.0 to 1.0
Left Controller Pinky Finger Cap Sensor 26 0.0 to 1.0
Right Controller Pinky Finger Cap Sensor 27 0.0 to 1.0

Note: Any hardware features not listed in the table above are not exposed through the OpenVR API and are therefore not exposed through Unity’s input system.

Important controller differences

When developing applications to support OpenVR devices, it is important to note certain differences in input event triggers and response rates for buttons on all three controllers.

Unity Touch Input events differ for each platform controller:

  • The Event SystemA way of sending events to objects in the application based on input, be it keyboard, mouse, touch, or custom input. The Event System consists of a few components that work together to send events. More info
    See in Glossary
    generates Input Touch events for the triggers on HTC Vive controllers when the user begins squeezing the trigger.
  • The Event System generates Input Touch events for the triggers on Oculus Touch and Valve Knuckles controllers when Unity Input detects a touch - no trigger squeeze is necessary.

The grip trigger differs between platforms:

  • The HTC Vive controllers each have two grip buttons but both map to the same axis. The value for these buttons is 0.0 when not pressed and 1.0 when pressed (intermediate values between 0.0 and 1.0 are not possible).

  • The grip on the Oculus Touch Controller is an analog trigger with a range from 0.0 to 1.0 (intermediate values are possible).

  • The grip on the Valve Knuckles Controller is a weighted average of the input values for each of the individual finger touch sensors.

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Input for Windows Mixed Reality
Input for Oculus