What's better than touchscreen controls? The designers of the Super Angry Birds slingshot controller -- a desk-mounted catapult with TNT detonation cube attached to fulfill all your Angry Birds needs -- think they know

Two postgraduate students at the Copenhagen Institute of Interactive Design whipped up a clever little add-on for the bird-flinging game, with which they can control the angle and power of each shot, activating each bird's special power by means of a TNT plunger.

Andrew Spitz and Hideaki Matsui are both established designers in their own right, and Spitz has made contact with Angry Birds developer Rovio with a view to turning the prototype into consumer-grade reality.

Unusual game peripherals have a long tradition, from the humble pong pad and joystick to steering wheels, light guns, drum kits, power gloves and dance mats.

Perhaps the Super Angry Birds slingshot has more in common with smaller accessories such as the iCade, a miniature arcade cabinet for iPad which actually started life as an April Fools Day joke, or the clip-on Guitar Grip for the DS's Guitar Hero: On Tour -- whatever the case, it's certainly more high tech than the cardboard "tapping box" that came with many copies of Wii party game Let's Tap.

See the Super Angry Birds tangible controller in action at: soundplusdesign.com/?p=5428