The invention relates to a direct drive with internal sensors to detect linear, planar and/or rotating movements which operate according to the step motor principle, or to the usual rotary step motors. Hall-effect sensors are arranged inside the iron cores of the magnetic systems, the signals of which are used to control the magnetic current and/or to determine the position x, y, alpha. In this way, the maximum power levels are controlled by precisely those types of winding currents which result in exactly those magnetic currents required by the reference variable, which in turn improves dynamics. Since the magnetic current measured is related to the number of gear tooth overlaps, the position between the active unit and the passive unit can be determined to the micrometer. Owing to the numerous resulting parameter improvements, the application of magnetic current and detection of positions by means of internal sensors are in principle suitable for all step motors in the cost-benefit range ranging from open timing chains to traditional control mechanisms. Magnetic current application and detection of positions by internal sensors are also of particular interest to direct drive systems with a large positioning range, such as planar hybrid step motors mounted on air bearings in which neither phase-rotation indicators nor incremental length measuring systems can be used for position detection because of the two-dimensional movement of the active unit.