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The Mechanics of Motion Sensing

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ride-that-dragon dept.

Dr. Eggman writes, "The AP has a short technology piece on the mechanics that go into the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii and PS3 controllers. It also details some of the past uses of the technology and gives a nice overview of just how far the technology has come from the earliest missile-guidance sensor equipment."

5 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Other applications by MankyD · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It would be cool to incorporate this type of controller into a portable device. You could have portable laser-tag like games with real-time mapping
    While it would definitely be cool, you can't really use accelerometers as location devices. Accelerometers and, to a lesser degree, odometers both do a pretty terrible job of keeping track of where an object is located. That's why the Wii also includes a sensor bar.

    They'll generally give you pretty good readings for a single movement, like 'the object just moved 1 meter forwards', however as soon as you turn or travel a long distance, they suffer from drifting, skidding, and general measurement errors.

    A different sort of tech would be needed for mapping. You can do some research into Robotics, such Markov Localization, for some more information. GPS and related techs are better for real time location reporting.
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  2. Re: You missed the point by Duggeek · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I know where you can BUMP and NUDGE to affect the gameplay... an actual PINBALL game!!!

    It's always irked me to see some hand-held P.O.S. that touts "realistic pinball action". (...action ...action ...ction ...tion)

    If I want to play pinball, I'll play pinball.

    However, if I want to ride a dragon... well I can't really do that now, can I?

    THAT is why the new controllers are so incredible; they give a new, visceral edge to creative gaming... rather than try to "come full circle" with a gaming platform that's already been around- and around- and around again.

    I'll grant you that someone will ultimately make a pinball-sized cabinet with two HD screens on it that uses the very implementation you describe. It will be neat, but it won't be real.

    You'll get a two-fold "wow factor" out of me when you can manufacture a true-physics pinball game that truly does something no other pinball game has done before. (Remember the face in "Fun House"? Now, that was some awesome innovation, back in its day.)

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  3. Oh CNN by bunions · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sony Corp.'s "Sixaxis" controller for the PS3 also has an accelerometer. The six axises the name refers to are the three dimensions of space, plus three axises of spin. The company hasn't revealed who makes the chip.


    Axises?? How can you mispluralize one of the most entertaining plurals around? Axes, dammit.
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  4. Re:Very odd by the.Ceph · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Consumer gear is often behind military tech. Perhaps you have heard of velcro, or GPS, or the internet.

  5. Position sensing with the wiimote by bVork · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I found this absolutely fascinating video that shows exactly how the sensor bar detects the Wiimote's position - and how you can possibly hack up your own "sensor bar": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTGSkYRDpWY