Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left.

Miniature finger-operated joysticks have been adopted as input devices for smaller electronic equipment such as mobile phones.Ī gamepad (also called joypad or control pad), is a type of game controller held in the hand, where the digits (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks, underwater unmanned vehicles, wheelchairs, surveillance cameras and zero turning radius lawn mowers.

The joystick has been the principal flight control in the cockpit of many aircraft, particularly military fast jets, where center stick or side-stick location may be employed. A popular variation of the joystick used on modern video game consoles is the analog stick.

Joysticks are often used to control video games, and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer. A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling.