News and research

Alpakka 1.0 announcement

4 December 2024  <- Previous

Alpakka 1.0 pre-order

It is still work in progress, but we are now confident to announce a significant update to the Alpakka reference design. While the new main feature is wireless communication, we are using the opportunity to introduce some other significant changes.

The parts for the Alpakka v1 reference design can be pre-ordered now on Input Labs shop, and shipping will start 14th of February 2025.

Completion of remaining features to achieve the 1.0 reference design will be tracked in the roadmap.

Alpakka 1.0 features

Features of the reference design

▸ Wireless connectivity

Being able to play without a cable was by far the most requested feature, and it makes a lot of sense for the people playing PC in the living room / on a sofa. Since low latency was a hard requirement (due to gyro-to-mouse emulation), the connection with the PC is achieved with a wireless dongle (more on that below).

▸ Battery

Now the Alpakka can be powered both via USB or with a battery. The reference design battery is a LiPo 1200 mAh with undervoltage and overvoltage protection, that can be charged via USB. We will provide more details about compatible batteries when the manual is updated.

▸ USB-C

Another highly requested feature, the new reference design now comes with a USB-C connector (but is still USB 2.0 under the hood). So if you still want to play wired (or charge the battery) you can do it with a cable from this decade.

▸ Second thumbstick

The 8-directional switch from the original Alpakka (v0) is replaced with a second thumbstick. We realized that many gamers are afraid to jump into gyro controls without a second thumbstick as a safety net. So we -puts corporate hat on- "listened to the feedback", and figured out a design that still retains the Alpakka DNA, but with the benefits of 2 additional analog axes.

The second thumbstick is still relegated to a secondary role, the aperture and cap are smaller, but it still has 70% of the range compared to the primary thumbstick.

Overall this change will make Alpakka much more usable on genres like twin stick shooters and simulators, and able to do flick-stick gyro *(flick-stick won't be available on the Ctrl app at launch, but should be available via Steam Input).

Marmota module

Marmota is the core module and central piece of the new modular ecosystem of Input Labs. A reusable core that will become the heart and brain for multiple devices: Alpakka v1, Kapybara, wireless dongle (still looking for a funny animal name), community designs/mods, and future Input Labs reference designs.

The Marmota name is a reference to Groundhog Day movie, and how many times we got back to square one while developing wireless.

Interestingly enough, most of the new features of the Alpakka v1 are actually provided by the Marmota module:

• Low latency communication solution.
• USB-C connector.
• Battery charging.
• Connectors for easy plug in/out (without soldering).

Marmota module

Marmota as Alpakka core

Marmota as wireless dongle

Upgrade

A principle of Input Labs is backward compatibility, and we tried our best to make Alpakka v0 upgradable to Alpakka v1.

This is an early compatibility table (the final one will be in the manual):

Kapybara and future plans

Our plans for 2024 were to develop Alpakka wireless and start the Kabybara prototypes afterwards, unfortunately we hit many roadblocks while developing the wireless communication, which delayed the Kapybara even more.

On the bright side, by developing the Marmota module we already solved lot of the basic functionality of the Kapybara.

The plan regarding the Kapybara remains the same: To create a workgroup, and start doing prototypes just after the launch of the Alpakka 1.0.

We will soon write a blog entry for the 2nd anniversary of Input Labs, with a recap of 2024 achievements, and plans for 2025.

Thanks for the support! 🤍
- Marcos and Michael