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Nintendo DS Wireless in Freefall

Posted by timothy on from the that's-pretty-normal dept.

Nicholas Roussos writes "Wired reports about four skydivers who decided to give the Nintendo DS wireless capabilities a try while they were freefalling. 'The four sky divers proved that an ad hoc network set up using the wireless functions of a Nintendo DS works perfectly at distances of nearly 400 feet while falling 120 miles an hour,' states the article."

33 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Boring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    were part of an experiment this month to discover the outer limits of the wireless capabilities of the DS
    Wow, amazing, so you mean that all that wind doesn't mess the signal up? But seriously, I think that if you got a few people with a couple of two-seater ultralights it might be slightly cooler. Well ok maybe not.

    I'll tell you what would be cool, ultralights with automatic paintball guns, heat seeking nerf missiles, and a HUD. Then have a dogfight, and when Mr. Farmer comes out of his house yelling at you for scaring the bejesus out of his livestock you make a second pass, *thunk* *thunk* *thunk* *thunk*

    Wait, what was this article about again?
    1. Re:Boring... by s20451 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'll tell you what would be cool, ultralights with automatic paintball guns, heat seeking nerf missiles, and a HUD. Then have a dogfight

      I'd like to see the dude who tries to do an Immelman in an ultralight. Or his next of kin.

      --
      Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
    2. Re:Boring... by RM6f9 · · Score: 5, Funny

      There are such things as aerobatics-capable ultralights....
      (to avoid the temptation of flying with a paintball gun)
      Air-to-air paintball would all too often become inadvertent air-to-ground, and how much do we want to wager that Joe Farmer owns a 12 ga. double barrel that is most emphatically *not* firing paintballs?

      --
      Take the 90-Day Challenge! http://rwmurker.bodybyvi.com/
    3. Re:Boring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I would just like to point out that the DS does *NOT* use ad hoc mode at all, but instead, uses infrastructure mode. The first DS into teh game acts as a wireless access point that the other units connect to.

  2. Einstein would be pleased by SiliconEntity · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In this year of the Einstein centenary, these skydivers have managed to rediscover the Principle of Relativity - that it matters not how fast you are moving, the laws of physics are the same. Indeed, if radio waves failed to propagate for skydivers the entire structure of physics would have to be re-created from scratch.

    1. Re:Einstein would be pleased by Rasta+Prefect · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have a question: If the skydivers were travelling near the speed of light, would this still have worked? (note: Ignore the detail that they'd punch a Wile E. Coyote-esque hole into the planet.)

      Yes. Thats the whole point of relativity. Its just as valid to say that they're still and that the earth is moving near C towards them, in which case why wouldn't it work?

      --
      Why?
  3. Please turn off your electronic equipment... by FuryG3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So now when they kick you and your friends off the plane for using wifi while in flight, you'll be all good.

  4. Why should it not work? by imsabbel · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, there is no/little relative velocity, and radio waves are fast (plus there is no ether :D).

    As to the whole thing... I really dont know. Its cool, but it sounds like a real potential for darwin awards ("damn, ill get you. Just a nother round..." *splash*)

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  5. The Video by bscience · · Score: 5, Informative
    There is a torrent serving up the video of the PSP and Nintendo DS tests here:

    http://stashbox.fromtheshadows.tv/

    or the actual torrent:

    http://torrents.fromtheshadows.tv/fts_box1.0.avi.t orrent

  6. Good to read..... by wpiman · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is good to read about some real world applications with todays technology. Usually these articles are so theoretical....

  7. This is really cool... by Smiffa2001 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...though I'd really hate to try it. I get sucked into "the zone" when gaming and computing so tend to ignore most outside stimuli (feel free to correct spelling, etc.). Hope that my parachute would be automatically opening, otherwise...

    1. Re:This is really cool... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well if it does open automatically and you're not paying attention, I would image that while YOU might slow down, the Gameboy wouldn't (well unless it has a little parachute of its own, or you have a really good grip).

  8. So? by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1) Wow. Line-of-sight is line-of-site!
    2) If all 4 of them are falling in the same direction at the same speed, than their velocity is irrelevant; their relative velocity is zero.
    3) What networked games can you actually finish within the 60 seconds before you hit the ground?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  9. An EM Signal at 120MPH? by ColdZero · · Score: 5, Funny

    At speeds like that, how could the speed of light even hope to keep up?

  10. Re:excitement! by Adrilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just don't forget to pause, so you can pull the chute.

    --

    "Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
  11. SPLAT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dude, I fragged you!
    No, dude. I fragged you first!
    No Way! I fragged you first.

    SPLAT!

  12. What about different speeds? by Kainaw · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they are all travelling at the same speed - so what? What if one was still and the other was travelling at 400mph? Could they still communicate? I know, they would be too far apart if the moving one went in a straight line. But, what if it went back and forth? The issue is the simple doppler effect. At what point is it unable to handle wireless communications?

    I only ask because I feel that we will eventually have wireless transmitters in all cars to monitor traffic and assist in directing traffic away from congested areas. At what speed do cars lose effective communication with stationary antennas? Cell phones seem to work just fine at 100mph+

    --
    The previous comment is purposely vague and generalized, but all of the facts are completely true.
    1. Re:What about different speeds? by Grond · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So I looked up the relativistic Doppler effect and plugged in some numbers.

      For a relative velocity of 400mph you get an observed frequency of 2.39999856GHz.

      Now, looking at the 802.11b spec available at the 802 working group site I see that it operates in the 2.4 - 2.4835GHz range.

      So the Doppler effect at 400mph introduces a difference in frequency equal to .0017% of the total frequency range. Unfortunately, I don't know what the tolerances for 802.11b are, but I have difficulty believing that .0017% would cause much trouble.

      Now, backfiguring for a more common 5% tolerance, we get something like 500,000m/s or 1.1 million mph. So, yes, 802.11b probably won't work between passing spaceships. Aside from that, we're probably safe.

  13. Cool. by JackAxe · · Score: 3, Funny

    I won't personally be trying this with my DS anytime soon. If I wanted to pee, besides in my pants while playing my DS, I'll just do it in the bathroom.

  14. Good thing they didn't use the PSP... by solowCX · · Score: 5, Funny

    They might have hit the ground before they booted up the game and loaded the level. ;)

    1. Re:Good thing they didn't use the PSP... by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nah, I'd be more concerned about having enough battery power to play the PSP wirelessly during a 60 second freefall.

      --
      "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
  15. Re:worthless by Adrilla · · Score: 3, Funny

    You don't want those UMD's to come accidentally shooting out at that height.

    --

    "Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
  16. Gotta Get that High Score by StarWreck · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jimmy! PULL THE STRING!!
    *waves hand* Just a second man
    For the love of god! Deploy your parachute!
    I just gotta get the high score, I'm almost there. *SPLAT*

    --
    ... and in the DRM, bind them.
  17. Now, I can sleep by ip_freely_2000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "The four sky divers proved that an ad hoc network set up using the wireless functions of a Nintendo DS works perfectly at distances of nearly 400 feet while falling 120 miles an hour"

    I'm glad they proved it, it was really keeping me up at night.

  18. Yeah... by l00sr · · Score: 5, Funny

    I get pretty bored skydiving too.

  19. Physics/Math test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    1) If Bob is in the baggage car of a train traveling north at 90MPH and Margaret is standing still 10 cars north of Bob, each car being approximately 40 feet long, home much time would pass before Bob crashes into Margaret? Show your work.

    2) If I put two chickens in a bag and give you the bag, how many chickens do you have?

    3) If radio waves from a Nintendo DS travel at roughly 186,000 miles per second, how fast would two parallel trains moving in the same direction have to travel before the conductor in each train could no longer receive signals from the other conductor's Nintendo DS?

    4) If you were in a car travelling at the speed of light and you flashed your high-beams, would anything happen? Assume you're on the New Jersey Turnpike.

  20. Galileo would be pleased.. by rufusdufus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The skydivers experience is consistent with Galilean relativity, Einstein's special relativity wouldnt have much of an effect in this situation.

    1. Re:Galileo would be pleased.. by Jerf · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not the theories of Relativity, the Principle. There is a difference. Einstein's theories of Relativity solved an increasingly important conflict between physicists beliefs that the Principle of Relativity was true (an intuitive belief) and their inability to put solid math around the way the Universe works.

      The first chapter of this work should help. Basically, the principle of relativity is that physics is the same for all inertial reference frames; Einstien put that together with the fact that light appears to travel the same speed for all observers. Galilean relativity doesn't work with that; it has other contradictions inherent in it (it can't answer the Zeno paradox, again, see the linked work), but it takes longer to notice. There are other relativity theories that haven't panned out, either.

      Pardon the pedantry, it's intended to be educational.

  21. Philosophical question... by Pinkoir · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you really have a network when all nodes got just got dropped?

    Hur hur hur...

    -Pinkoir

  22. Solexo-diving... by Dark+Coder · · Score: 3, Funny

    If four skydivers were in space (exo-solar-diving) free-falling from Jupiter toward the Sun with an intent to drop into Earth after a few braking maneuvers (what a rush! Oh wait, you'd barely feel the solar wind, uh?).

    So, once again if four sport-extremists were sol-exo-diving, would that 20 K-mile/per second put a dent in your line-of-sight RF communication channel?

    Yes...barely I leave you to do the math.

    (plus, then, no one can hear you scream in space)

  23. Last Words by 955301 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Skydiver 1: Is it working?

    Skydiver 2: What?

    Skydiver 3: He said, IS IT WORKING?

    Skydiver 4: Mine is up!

    Skydiver 1: Okay, so is mine now.

    Skydiver 2: What?

    Skydiver 3: HE SAID, HIS IS WORKING NOW!

    Skydiver 2: OKAY THANKS!

    Skydiver 4: Start the game already.

    Skydiver 2: What?

    Skydiver 1: Okay Cool, I can see everybody!

    Skydiver 3: .... I feel like I forgot something... my charger .... or ....

    WHUMP!!

    --
    You are checking your backups, aren't you?
  24. Here comes the science by sunami · · Score: 4, Informative

    I hate to break it to you guys, but so long as the people are moving at the same velocity, there isn't any kind of problem. If all of them had been moving at .999 speed of light (in our point of view), there still wouldn't be a difference, because they are all in the same frame of reference, and they would all measure the speed of light from their point of view to be 3.0x10^8 ms^-1. No doppler effect of the radio waves would be created, and no greater time lag would ensue. It's as if they aren't moving, because according to each other, they aren't!

  25. Obligatory Futurama reference by ari_j · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of course [it can't]! That's why scientists increased the speed of light in 2208.