# Inside the PS5 Controller

By Jorden Simmons

Topic: Machines

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/WNDynvFfGJeb)

## Guide

### 1. Meet the controller

This is the PS5 DualSense controller\. Every press, lean and squeeze becomes a tiny electrical message that tells the game what you want\. Drag the left stick or tap a face button to play the little game on the TV\.

It weighs about 280 grams and is 16 cm wide\.

### 2. A button is a squishy switch

Under each button sits a soft rubber dome\. Press it and the dome squashes until it touches metal contacts on the circuit board, which lets a small current flow\. The chip notices and the character jumps\.

Tap any of the four face buttons yourself\.

### 3. Sticks measure a lean

A stick tilts on a little cradle called a gimbal\. Two sensors turn with it, one for left and right, one for forward and back, and each gives a smooth number instead of just on or off\. That is how a character can creep or run\.

Drag the left stick and watch both sensors turn\.

### 4. The brain and the radio

All the wires lead to one main chip, the brain of the controller\. It reads every control many times a second and sends the news to the console by Bluetooth radio\. The battery feeds it power the whole time\.

The battery stores 1560 mAh, enough for several hours of play\.

### 5. Tilt to aim

A motion sensor chip feels the controller tilt and turn\. Inside it are microscopic parts that shift slightly when it moves, so games can let you aim or steer by tilting\. Slide to tilt the controller\.

### 6. Triggers that push back

Each trigger has its own tiny motor\. It turns a worm gear and a geared arm that presses against the trigger, so a game can make it feel loose, stiff like a bowstring, or stuck\. Pick a feel, then drag the R2 trigger\.

### 7. Feel the rain

Inside each grip is a haptic actuator: a magnet that a coil pushes back and forth very fast\. Because the game controls exactly how it moves, it can feel like raindrops, sand or a heartbeat, not just a rumble\.

### 8. Everything together

Buttons close circuits, sticks and sensors measure, and the chip sends it all by radio\. The game answers with light, sound, motor pushes and buzzes\. Try any control again and follow the message from your fingers to the screen\.

Drag empty space to turn the view\.