Joysticks are simple controller devices that consist of a vertical column that can be moved in a 360° two-dimensional plane, in some ways like the same planar limitations of a computer mouse input device.  Joysticks are often paired with a variety of buttons or switches either on the stick itself or the mounting platform.  The states of these can be read by the computer system attached to the electronics of the joystick.  The most common applications of a joystick are in the aviation industry and video gaming consoles.

 There are two varieties of joysticks available on the market: digital and analog. Digital sticks use on/off switches to denote the location of the column.  A digital 1 is associated with up, down, left, or right, and if the stick is located in between two directions, for instance top-right, then both the right and top switches would be enabled.  This means that most digital joysticks have eight possible position readings, which makes them less precise than the analog variety. For an analog stick, every position that the stick is moved away from the center is associated with a specific setting of two potentiometers, representing a targeted X, Y location on a 2D plane.  Every movement is captured and refreshed, and the potentiometer resistance data is calculated and transmitted to the appropriate device.