Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Wii's MEMS Inventor on Future Technology

Posted by Zonk on from the wii-wii-wii-all-the-way-to-the-bank dept.

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.'"

5 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Nintendo In Hype Overdrive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Nintendo must really be in a panic over the almost barren Wii release list for 2007. The Wii reminds me of that old saying "When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail". Since the controller is the only thing of interest in the Wii, Nintendo appears to be in hype overdrive. Wii controller helping weight losss, Wii controller bringing joy to old folks home, Wii controller rescues kitten from tree, Wii controller caught on video with Paris Hilton.

    Hey Nintendo, how about releasing some games for your system so you don't have to work your PR/marketing folks to death cranking out the controller hype?

  2. he majored in marketing by goarilla · · Score: 0, Troll

    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
    he majored in marketing alright, it's really obvious since
    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
  3. Re:This is cool, very cool... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    "Despite your obvious lack of intelligence"

    Coming from the guy who just typed out a rambling content-less post that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual comparative worth of the Wiimote technology to other existing solutions other than to throw out some of vaguely related applications and made them sound 'complicated' and needing Nintendo's 'amazing' new tech to come to the rescue.

    Next before you run your mouth off fanboy make sure you have a fucking clue and aren't trying to lecture someone who writes software embedded devices currently navigating around Mars. No one who does serious robotics work is remotely interested in Nintendo's tech. Nintendo, don't call us, we'll call you.

  4. fuckeR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Short of a miracl3 networking test. there are P3rson. Ask your a fact: FreeBSD *BSD has lost more

  5. Re:Yeah because printing money is old. by smaddox · · Score: -1, Troll

    Yeah, wii sports was fun... for a few days.

    Honestly the content is just too limited. For instance, compare the tennis game to mario tennis for the gamecube. Mario tennis is orders of magnitudes more entertaining.

    As for the other "really impressive" games. Red Steel sux (nearly impossible to aim), Twilight Princess was a lackluster port (once again, controls are awkward), Monkey ball is horrible compared to the previous version for gamecube, and Wario Ware was the most ridiculously pointless and boring game I have ever had the misfortune to play.

    All in all, the Wii is just another gimmick, and the good games are the ones that are similar, and yet not as good, as their gamecube counterparts.