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The Wii's MEMS Inventor on Future Technology
eldavojohn writes "IEEE Spectrum is running an article on the inventor of the motion sensor that the Wii uses. The microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gives Wii its core ability to sense motion in the controller. What's really interesting is where Benedetto Vigna wants to take this technology. He has plans to make the sensor smaller and tougher, and hope to place it inside of things like shoes, textiles, and medical devices to aid in data collection. He continues, 'Then I want to make a three-dimensional gyroscope, to measure rotation around three different axes. Today, such products are quite big, a cube 10 centimeters on a side. We want to do this in less than a 30-millimeter cube, to serve as an image stabilizer in cameras and to track a person's position in the intervals when he can't get a GPS signal.'"
Having used the Wiimote for a couple months now I am definitely not looking forward to any other devices using similar technology. The Wiimote is very laggy and fin control is sorely lacking with the device. For simple party games it is no big deal because you are usually rapidly flailing your arms around, but for real games the inconsistencies of the Wiimote are frustrating.
Heh
How could it be used to track position? I thought the MEMS inside the WII Controller needed constant calibration with the main unit. If you walking around in the forest what is your fixed frame of reference?
Application of this could be interesting especially in places when a little bit of lag does not hurt anything. I have a hobby of photography and a good digital image stabilizer is would be the best thing since sliced bread.
"All you need is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." -- Mark Twain
I have not played with a Wii yet, but knowing something about robotics I can say that if they manage to get a 3D sensor set working, and cheaply, it will advance a gazillion projects. Knowing how and when to place mechanical effectors and movement of devices is a terribly difficult problem generally. This type of sensor will help do that very effectively.
This can be used in conjunction with other sensor systems to do things like create a lawnmower robot that doesn't just wonder around till you turn it off. Being able to manage calculation of 3D space is very intensive, but doing so lets us get one step closer to the robot maid and other cartoon dreams of days gone by.
Its not just for games. Most of the semi-successful DARPA grand challenge vehicles used a similar device for navigation support. The reality of a car that drives you (in Soviet Russia) to work without any intervention from you is getting very close. Inertial navigation (AFAIK) relies on 3D motion tracking to determine the motion in between points of absolute (or relatively absolute) positioning data. So, in between GPS readings, inertial navigation estimates where the robot/car/vehicle is in relation to previous GPS readings. I've seen robots do this already, its just not cheap enough for everyone. A small R/C sized robot can travel 1/2 mile and return to its starting point with high accuracy despite obstacles using inertial navigation. This can be applied to a lot of systems.
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It is integrating your velocity to estimate where you are between GPS solutions. Navigation and guidance systems for high velocity (read military) devices do this already out of necessity. However, it would also be useful for low velocity situations where you have a spotty GPS signal. In that situation it doesn't have to be perfect to be usefull, especially if the display indicated the approximate error in the estimation by drawing a circle for your position rather than a dot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stabilization
10cm on a side? The Analog Devices ADXRS150 is a relatively accurate MEMS gyro in 1cm x 1cm. Three of those give you a 3D gyro platform more than good enough for flight stabilization or image-stabilizing a camera. I've done both with them.
They aren't up on par with inertial-navigation-grade systems using fiber-optic gyros, so their drift tends to make them unusable for long-term navigation. You wouldn't fly a cruise missile or an ICBM on them. But for sensing motion, or for aiding navigation in conjunction with accelerometers or a GPS, they're just fine. And they're available now.
is that you?
are very small. That is why miniature helicopters suddenly became popular. Certainly not 10cm on a side anymore.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
for most people a 30 mm cube vs a 10 cm cube must be like a 1:1000 comparison
although roughly it's only 3 times as small
I have been working on identifying activities (with some success :-) ) of humans using accelerometers placed in clothing, so I believe that the vision of Vigna is something that is quite realizable! I hope to see this technology successful...
Someone should tell him about the solid-state gyros already in use in aircraft instruments. Six years ago at Oshkosh I played with an all-electronic artificial horizon instrument. IIRC, it uses those funky crystals which exhibit piezo-type effects when rotated in space. The entire unit, including LCD, CPU, power supply, backup battery, and of course the three solid-state gyros, was a cylinder about 3"x3"x12".
Even in its infancy, the device was massively, hilariously more reliable than the steam-powered mechanical gyros that are currently standard fare for General Aviation.
And that was six years ago.
All this time, I've been thinking (quite wrongly) that the Wii's controller used these same devices.
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
Before someone catches me on this, MEMs devices like this measure acceleration, not velocity like my previous post implied. Same priciple though, just have to integrate twice. The 6-axis part is important as measuring your rotation in addtion to linear acceleration enables you to keep track of what direction you are pointed.
The Crista Inertial Measurement Unit is a very small three axis inertial sensor that provides high resolution digital rate and acceleration data via serial interfaces. It uses MEMS gyroscopic rate sensors and accelerometers mounted on orthogonal axes to provide 300 /sec rate and 10G acceleration data.
Small (2" x 1.5" x 1", 37g )
http://www.cloudcaptech.com/crista_imu.htm
I have a Gyration gyroscopic mouse. It is a great piece of kit, great for controlling the mouse pointer on a projection screen when you're giving a demo of something on a projector and want to be free from having to move a mouse around on a desk. The accuracy is really impressive, much better than I was expecting it to be.
Unlike the accelerometers in the Wii, this gyro detects rotation, which is much closer to what you want for a pointing application. I think it's giving you what you get from the Wii's IR "sensor bar" thing.
I haven't entirely dismantled it yet - I removed some screws but there must have been something else holding it together that I couldn't see. Anyway, I could see a metal can about 15x15x15 mm. It is also just about possible to hear a high-frequency buzz if you hold it to your ear.
google(gyration mouse) for more info.
Now imagine if they could make the positioning accelerometers small enough for something like a PicooZ/Havoc, Helix, or Micro Mosquito. Then they could make 'em self stabilizing and able to hold position, and you could fly without constantly adjusting/trimming. Of course some people think the constant small adjustments are part of the fun, but with micro-stabilization one could make toys go exactly where you want them to without any practice.
Who knows, maybe one day there'll be a living-room-safe (as in small enough to only nerf off of anyting breakable) 3D capable helicopter. Although I got to admit that a simple 2-channel one exists now is pretty remarkable. (And fun for freaking out the cat.)
FTA "Then I want to make a three-dimensional gyroscope, to measure rotation around three different axes. Today, such products are quite big, a cube 10 centimeters on a side."
There are such devices now that are compact and capable, such as...
http://www.microstrain.com/3dm-gx1_specs.aspx
I worked with this device last summer implementing a vehicle flight path recorder. It not only has 3 rate gyro's but three 5 mG accelerometers, a compass and processor that implements navigational processing and outputs earth-frame quantities via a serial connection.
Size: 42 x 40 x 15 mm
Since they are always imagining "interesting" uses for new technology, I wonder how the porn industry will implement this technology?
There's already adult websites made exclusively for Wii navegation...
Links to the Analog Devices pages:
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Accelerometers:
http://www.analog.com/en/subCat/0,2879,764%255F80
(Mostly 1 or 2 axis; the only 3-axis one is the one used in the Wii. It costs $5.45.)
Gyroscopes:
http://www.analog.com/en/subCat/0,2879,764%255F80
(All available parts are 1 axis. Costs from $30.)
Here's the fun stuff. This not-yet-available part:
http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0%2C2877%2CADIS1635
combines a 3-axis gyro with a 3-axis accelerometer, and is close to what the author is referring to; it's a cube about 23mm on each side. It looks like a great product, if the price is right.
Application of this could be interesting especially in places when a little bit of lag does not hurt anything. I have a hobby of photography and a good digital image stabilizer is would be the best thing since sliced bread.
Please stop spreading the myth that "digital image stabilization" is a valid technology. It's nothing but snake oil by digital camera companies desperate to compete in a flooded market, and an attempt to trick consumers who don't know better (and screw with the results presented by "product selectors".)
REAL image stabilization uses a servoed prism inside the lens; the image is optically stabilized by sensing movement and adjusting the prism to correct. Current systems from Canon can compensate between 2 and 3 stops; dunno about Nikon's, but it is probably about the same. The systems work gloriously well, though they only compensate for movement of the LENS, not movement of the subject. A slow exposure will still be a slow exposure; if the subject is waving, their hand is going to be blurry. There's no substitute for light, sensor sensitivity (and low noise at high sensitivity), and maximum aperture (how "fast" the lens is. Smaller f-stop numbers are wider, and hence faster.)
FAKE "image stabilization", which Olympus (among others) are pushing- it only cranks up the sensitivity of the sensor to shorten exposure time. This only results in shorter exposures- and a LOT more noise, especially since most consumer cameras have tiny little sensors (the smaller each sensor pixel, the less light it collects, and the more it needs to be electrically amplified.) You can do this on *any* digital camera with adjustable ISO!
Please help metamoderate.
After all, motion-sensing is only a gimmick.
Check these out. Full six-axis IMUs for just a very few hundred dollars.
I about wet my pants when I saw these. The last time I had checked, a few years ago, solid-state gyros (from Systron Donner, maker of the GyroChip line) were $1000 apiece.
Thad Beier
I love Mondays. On a Monday, anything is possible.
This guy needs to spend 5 minutes googling for IMUs (intertial measurement units).
For instance, this unit:
http://www.memsense.com/products/mag3.asp
There are a million of these out there...
Has three axes of accelerometers, three axes of rate gyros and a three axis magnetometer... all in a package that is
(this is offended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
Let's see, DS Lite almost always sold out in Japan. America has a low amount of handhelds that stay on the shelf. Wii is impossible to find in both countries with out a LONG wait outside.
Yeah, they should produce more games because the hype about the system and the titles they already have released and are releasing this year are a amazing. Barren? OH that's right when you compare it to the 360 or Ps3 it's.... wait it's still not barren it just has a lot less of the average crap on it. Yet the games that came out so far are really impressive.
Hmm yeah, Nintendo let's see you crank out the million of lackluster titles the other guys are producing, because I sure rather have a huge boat load of games that all play the same than innovative gameplay. It's obvious your console and handheld isn't already selling on it's own. Come on.
TFA: ...Today, such products are quite big, a cube 10 centimeters on a side. We want to do this in less than a 30-millimeter cube...
% 2C00.html and many others for years.
Not sure island they have been living on, but this was actually available in the end of the previous century.
Analog Devices and others have been selling the ADXRS150 http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0%2C2877%2CADXRS150
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
Memsic has a solid state accelerometer, no moving parts, uses a hot air bubble.
A two axis unit is 5x5x2mm.
These are what is used to sense a free fall and part your hard drive heads on laptops.
No moving parts, but the tradeoff is the current for the micro heater.
IIRC, Mario Party comes out this week. That will cause a significant disruption in the american economy, as droves of people stay home and play with their Wiis. Nintendo must space such releases out, in order to safeguard our nation.
The motion sensors aren't the unique part of the Wii. Sony's controller has the equivalent motion sensors. The unique part of the Wii is the combination of the motion sensors with the IR bar tracking to give you a non-drifting reference.
By themselves, the motion sensors will get further and further off position. For example, if one turned right 90 degrees and then returned, the motion sensors by themselves would cause you to calculate a position not-quite matched up your original - and the more you move the more the reference will drift as measurement errors accumulate. With the IR bar, the reference can be corrected so the controller can stay oriented correctly vs the screen.
This is why Sony's controller is a very poor substitute for the Wii controller.
What utter bullshit!P ath=23_85P ath=23_83
Having personally developed and packed a six axis MEMS inertial sensor (x,y,z acceleration, roll, pitch, yaw rate of rotation)into a 25x25x13mm cube (With my bare hands!!)potted in epoxy, with a rubber lining and a kevlar reinforced cord, and run 2 of these units for several hours at kilohertz rates logging onto a SD card, I can attest that 30mm cube MEMS sensors already do exist and have existed for over 5 years. Hell you can buy them in quantities of one from sparkfun:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?c
(while the sparkfun units are 51x51x23mm thats because they're avoiding many layer multilayer boards and low pin count microprocessors)
Note that 3 axis compasses are readily available as well:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?c
Now the devil in the details. MEMS accelerometers are noisy, and so are the MEMS rate gyros. They're about as good as your inner ear which operates on somewhat similar principles. As a result they track reasonably well for short periods of time but exhibit considerable drift over longer periods of time, just like you can guess your path over a short distance but end up going in circles in total darkness. A compass helps, but they get scrambled by magnetic fields from electric currents or pieces of ferromagnetic material. Inertial sensors (other than missile grade units which are orders of magnitude more sensitive and complex) only complement GPS and other absolute measurement systems. That's why the Wii has the optical sensor integrated in it as well.
ok. I could be wrong, so enlighten me please. Fro the article he said he wanted to make _a_ 3 dimensional gyroscope very small. Now, all the posts here saying these things are already done smaller anyway, but listing the fact these products contain multiple gyro's / Xometer's / etc.. Is he saying he wants a single instrument to provide the measurements, as in a single gyro, not 3 or similar? or am I just plain wrong?
Darwin Hawking Blackmore
The entire unit, including LCD, CPU, power supply, backup battery, and of course the three solid-state gyros, was a cylinder about 3"x3"x12"
That's around a 100 times more volume than the 30 mm cube.
Analog Devices created the chip inside the Wiimote, and another company designed the chip inside the nunchuck. Notice the drastic difference between the two. The wiimote reacts much faster!
I'm doing my undergrad thesis on a high-speed autonomous vehicle that uses accelerometers to augment the refresh rate of GPS. I thought it was interesting that the article mentioned it so specifically.
Benedetto Vigna should read this report http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/31
To fly we observed how birds did it, then instead, built wings as used in airplanes today, instead of wings like birds have.
Now if only I could get my hands on a Wii...
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.
Integrated with a magneto-inductive device instead of a mini-gyro, the MEMS device becomes a dead-reckoner for orientation and movement. The combined device then gets OEM'd to all sorts of new input devices.
Deep in the thread so maybe it won't get slashdotted: http://www.pnicorp.com/productDetail?nodeId=cMM3
Follow through with the slow put until the remote registers it. It's entirely possible to hit very, very slow puts if you just follow through and don't stop in the middle.
Wow, what are you, the fucking Grinch? It was a joke, laugh. Besides, Mario Party is a really fun game, and we've already planned parties to play it once it comes out over here in Europe.
I hope you're lying. Otherwise, the Mars program is in deep shit. Oh. Wait. That explains a lot.
There is a very simple way to correct your controller rotation that does not involve some kind of complex IR synchronization operation. If the controller seems to be close to level, and hasn't moved much in the last few seconds, then set the current rotation to level. Ta da, problem solved.
It's not that your conclusion is wrong; the wii controller is quite unique. But it is primarily unique because it is a one-handed device, and not a rehash of the SNES pad and wavebird like the other consoles are using. At it's core, that's what it letting people play tennis and golf and go bowling in such an intuitive way. Secondly, in so far as MOST games are using the input in a successful way, the accelerometers and pointer capabilities (made possible by the same IR bar of course) are pulling a LOT more weight than the gyros.
The gyros are great and all, but they are the least important ingredient in this particular soup, and error accumulation is the least of the troubles associated with this particular ingredient. If you are going to dump on Sony, you at least owe it to yourself to find one of the many legitimate bad decisions they've made, rather than making one up; it's not like there is a shortage around here.
Anonymous Sony Fanboy Troll is the new McDick.
These same 3"x3"x12" devices... In the Wii remote... Did you think the people on the ads just had really big hands? Did you actually think that people were playing Wii sports and Zelda with a device the size of a Subway sandwich?
Drastically changing the nature of team sporting events - a new way to collect new and different types of game statistics .... to make sports more competitive.
IEEE reports "What's really interesting is where Benedetto Vigna wants to take this technology. He has plans to make the sensor smaller and tougher, and hope to place it inside of things like shoes, textiles, and medical devices to aid in data collection."
For example in an NBA basketball game, if each player, referee and the ball contained a MEMS device, data statistics can be collected and analyzed by coaches and fans to develop new styles of play. Sports broadcasters could provide new depths of game understanding, and lastly rules interpretation can be simplified in case of close refereeing calls.
Today's basketball statistics do not reflect the true value of a player's team contribution, e.g. movement with out the ball, set picks and blocks, rebounding block outs. The same principles can be utilized in baseball; the player's defensive positioning on the field with relationship to a hit ball.
> Then I want to make a three-dimensional gyroscope, to measure
> rotation around three different axes.
> We want to do this in less than a 30-millimeter cube, to serve as an
> image stabilizer in cameras
This guy can't be this clueless. Invensense has been making gyros for that purpose for years and they've been used in cameras for years. 3 axis gyroscopes already fit in 10mm cubes.
Interesting how ST made him a general manager. Can his subordinates afford to live in houses? American companies just fire you because you're too much of a threat to the VP when you make discoveries.