what is joystick in computer

A joystick is an input device that allows users to control the movement of an on-screen cursor or other graphical elements. It consists of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. 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. There are different types of joysticks such as displacement joysticks, hand-operated joysticks, finger-operated joysticks, thumb/fingertip-operated joysticks, hand-operated isometric joysticks, etc. . Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks, underwater unmanned vehicles, wheelchairs, surveillance cameras, and zero turning radius lawn mowers. The first joystick was invented at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory by C. B. Mirick and patented in 1926. Joysticks were commonly used as controllers in first and second-generation game consoles, but they gave way to the familiar game pad with the Nintendo Entertainment System and Master System during the mid-1980s, though joysticks—especially arcade-style ones—were and are popular after-market add-ons for any console.