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How the Wiimote Works

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the little-tiny-marios dept.

The New York Times' 'How it Works' series touches on a remote with a twist: the Nintendo Wiimote. The article describes the micron-sized machines that make it work, displays cut-away graphics of the little white marvel, and rounds out the discussion with a breakdown of where the tech came from. From the article: "The controller's most-talked-about feature is the capacity to track its own relative motion. This enables players to do things like steer a car by twisting the remote in the air or moving a game character by tilting the remote down or up. 'This represents a fabulous example of the consumerization of MEMS,' the tiny devices known as micro-electro-mechanical systems, said Benedetto Vigna, general manager of the MEMS unit at STMicroelectronics, a leading maker of the accelerometers embedded in the controllers. (Nintendo itself declined to talk about the controllers' inner workings.) He said the motion sensors, using the technology that activates vehicle air bags, can accurately sense three axes of acceleration: up and down, left to right, and forward and backward."

14 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    can accurately sense three axes of acceleration: up and down, left to right, and forward and backward. Wait, isn't that six axes? Oh, I guess it's just Sony that likes to make shit up.
    1. Re:Wait... by jizziknight · · Score: 2, Funny

      *WHOOSH*

      You might want to have your sarcasm detector checked.

      --
      Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.
    2. Re:Wait... by Daemonstar · · Score: 2, Funny

      But naming the SIXAXIS the SIXDIRECTIONS just doesn't have the same appeal.

      --
      I don't reply to Anonymous posts; if you have something to say to me, identify yourself or I won't reply.
    3. Re:Wait... by EnglishTim · · Score: 2, Funny

      I agree, but calling it threeaxesandthreedimensions doesn't get you a snappy palindromic name.

    4. Re:Wait... by blincoln · · Score: 4, Funny

      I agree, but calling it threeaxesandthreedimensions doesn't get you a snappy palindromic name.

      That's why they should have called it something super-awesome like Axis of Threevil.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
  2. Air bags? Perfect! by Zero+Degrez · · Score: 5, Funny

    This just in.

    Nintendo is using their wiimote technology to determine when the wiimote flies from the users hand, and will now deploy an airbag before striking your HDTV.

    Please return your wiimote for the new version with the wiirbag.

    1. Re:Air bags? Perfect! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You mean "Wiibag", surely. Or "ColostoMii Bag".

  3. only three axis? by abigsmurf · · Score: 4, Funny

    The sixaxis must be twice as good! Either that or Sony failed geometry...

    1. Re:only three axis? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 2, Funny

      SIXAXIS rolls off the tounge a lot better than SIXDEGREESOFFREEDOM

      But the latter might be more appealing to people whom like to watch FOX News etc. "The Wii gives you motion tracking, but does it give you FREEDOM?"

      Then again, Americans might object to getting their freedom from Japan...

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  4. simplified "how it works" by Speare · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought the Wiimote worked like this:

    If you see a monster, throw the Wiimote directly at the monster. Depending on your aim, the monster will die in a shower of bright sparks and crackly noises, or the monster will hurl various objects back at you such as books, chunks of plaster, ceiling fan blades, or your little brother's eyeball.

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    [ .sig file not found ]
  5. Imagine the possibilities by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2, Funny

    independent researchers have shown that there is a strong link between very high voltages coming from the accelerometers and the state of inebriation (and perhaps low IQ) of the player...

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  6. No disassemble!! by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1, Funny

    So did they actually use tools to open the Wiimote up carefully? Or did they fling it with all their strength at an HDTV to get both an article, and piece of the class-action?

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    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  7. Re:Not troll by Lectrik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Time is very dumbed down, and uses slang my middle school English teacher wouldn't allow. That's for non-technical articles.


    That's not very nice. I mean they named you as "Person of the Year" after all, didn't they?
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  8. Re:Not troll by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 2, Funny

    Me? I thought they named you!

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    Apology to Ubuntu forum.