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Multitouch Without Touch Using Wiimote
owlgorithm writes to mention that Gizmodo has a neat hack for the multitouch Holy Grail — multitouch without the touch. This hack turns the Wiimote into a receiver for IR light reflected from an emitter off of your fingers using reflective tape.
That we'd get our first glimpse of those cool minority report interfaces from a game console. I always figured it would be thanks to porn.
I've had one now for coming up to a year?
Are they still in short supply?
liqbase
yes they are - but apparently talking about the wii in an article about a use for the wii is a wii bit off topic. so i guess i should stop.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
(oblig.) I love the Power Glove. It's so bad.
This could be really awesome. I can see this as a great way to bring good strategy games to consoles. It might even be better than a mouse. Supreme Commander with your fingers on a Wii? Nevermind that the Wii would gag on the graphics load, but the gameplay is intriguing.
I don't know about you, but my servers run on the power of cotton candy and happy thoughts. -Anonymous Coward
Don't let being offtopic interrupt.
This mod seems good and the best part is it doesn't even need a wii console.
If you can lay your hands on a wiimote that will suffice.
He wrote the app on a pc using one of the bluetooth interface stacks.
liqbase
At the end he makes a very good point. Your arms get tired after a while. As cool as the interface in minority report might be....it isn't very practical. Keyboard and mouse interfaces have lasted for so long because they are VERY VERY good....a mouse is a perfect way of interacting with your monitor...you're using a 2d surface to interface with another 2d surface (not to mention the fact that you can let go of a mouse, and it stays in the same place....unlike a wacom tablet, or this thing). If we ever get to a point where monitors truly are 3d (which seems rather pointless to me, albeit cool)...then something like this MIGHT make sense....that is if you tracked it in all 3 dimensions.
NewslilySocial News. No lolcats allowed.
Nintendo has said more than twice that supply will be about twice as big during the holiday season.
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
But software will only take you so far. There's a lot of unique PC to human interactions that are possible, but this world needs more hardware hackers.
In any case, this is a neat demo. People have been doing this on a much bigger, 3D, expensive $$$ scale with something called a Vicon Motion Capture System. They basically take a whole bunch of those cameras, and a whole bunch of LED arrays, and strobe them so that they get a picture of little reflective points from many different angles. They then use some trigonometry to figure out where, in 3D space, a particular point is. Cool stuff -- good to see it's being brought closer to everyone's homes, rather than the tens of thousands of dollars that Vicon charges.
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Educational microcontroller kits for the digital generation.
People are still waiting on wii's? I bought one about 2 months ago by taking one from the shelf at Meijer and paying for it. I'll ship you one for $600.
ok, i appreciate the true geekitude of taping your fingers with reflective stuff to air-type, but editing the video to 4:04 is just over the top nerdiness.
damn.
I think not...(*poof*)
wow - so this wasn't an exaggeration? interesting.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Not really, if he posted just the end result, it would be a bunch of "BS" or "Not Real" comments, you really have to show everything unless you want the MythBusters knocking at your door.
No glove...no love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0awjPUkBXOU
It depends on where you live. In my area, they're still sold out all the time, I only got mine by having my brother, who conveniently worked in Target's electronics dept, snag me one. I know in some places, you can find them, but that's not everywhere.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
The "Holy Grail" of multitouch without the touch is a pretty old problem. I've been working on something at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for a while called the HI-Space table, and it was around before I came to the lab. It uses infrared and a camera and detects multiple inputs simultaneously, as well as object placed on the table. It doesn't require touching at all and works fairly well, detecting not only single fingers but each of the fingers, allowing the user to do different things with different arrangements of fingers. It understands motions as well, and can detect a swipe, circle, etc. Objects aren't tagged with anything special; they're just cardboard shapes.
Here's a video of the HI-Space table in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFBoq1i81V4
Here's an old link to some of the work: http://infoviz.pnl.gov/hces/
Seems to me we always seem to be building technology to make old ideas into a reality. I've always felt that all these hands-free interface ideas look like wizards waving their hands around in the air. If they had eye-glass headsup displays, they'd look like they're casting spells or something.
Its not that it is indistinguishable from magic, its that were TRYING to make it look like that.
Just a thought.
meh
Actually, you make a good point. This could be a way to build a very cheap motion capture set. All you'd need are a bunch of IR leds, a few wiimotes and some reflective tape ... and the appropriate software.
"DRM is like the Ford Pinto: it's a smooth ride, right up the point at which it explodes and ruins your day."-C.Doctorow
are just like his, they're made of skin.:)
I would be careful making very bright infrared light. Because your eyes do not pick them up, your pupils will not know to shrink in bright infrared light.
I would suggest doing this in a very well lit room, and NEVER in the dark, or you will likely seriously damage your eyes.
I just wonder what if I can play with my penis ... Super Mario P3rn III
Now Mr. Bimble can play video games on his own.
I would call ahead if you're talking about Game Stop, as their shipments tend to vary. I got mine by calling ahead and then showing up and waiting an hour for the UPS guy to show up on a Wednesday.
Am I the only one somewhat uneased by the though of having an array of 30-40 relatively high-power leds shining in your eyes without ones pupil contracting? Or might it be that the wavelength of the IR leds happens to be absorbed by water in the eye? Anyone with some knowledge?
I'm sorry for the awful picture you will get in your mind if you continue reading.
But it occured to me that you could use a penis instead of a finger (giving it another use beside: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/21 )
(Why, oh why this thought came to me...)
It seems to me that there's a big problem with getting them to the right place. I know of many shops in my area that display the "Wii in stock" sign at all times. I got mine about 6 months back by just walking into a shop that just happened to get them in stock. I think this is the best way to go about it. Whenever you are in, or near a shop that sells the Wii, you should stop in and see if they have any. You will probably get one pretty quickly. I only went to about 1 shop a week, since the Wii started selling, and I got one in March. I wasn't really looking that hard, but if you aren't checking every time you are at a store, you are going to be waiting a very long time before you get one.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I'm no doctor, but it can't be good to flood your eyes with infrared light.
http://www.google.com/search?q=infrared+light+damage+eyes
I fear the Y2038 bug
While this was an impressive video, it leaves me wondering how to try it out at home. I assume there are more than a few web pages talking about grabbing wiimote data via bluetooth, but what software could you use to display multi-touch inputs on a PC screen?
This is actually a little closer to how a multi touch "surface" does it.
This would merely require - as many DIY multitouch sites mention - removing the IR filter from your Webcam - and perhaps even replacing it with a visible light filter, as to pass IR only.
Since wiimotes are cheap and they seem to be sensitive enough and the bluetooth is usefull, can these IR camera setups be used in say a group of minimum of 3 but the more the merrier of course to build a mocap rig? Of course some good softwares will be needed but I am sure the community will provide me with that.
Balderdash!
No need to even solder a single wire if you point two Wiimotes at the screen and use their relative positions to do stuff.
Just in case anyone wanted to try something like these. You can make a similar interface with a webcam and lighted fingers and surf google earth with it. Intructions are here: http://atlasgloves.org/
I play the violin in my spare time. I don't play more than a couple of hours at a time, but I certainly don't feel much worse for it. Build up some muscles, it's not hard and won't kill you.
Consciousness is a myth. Trust me.
er...it was 4:06,
to Quote Duglas Adams:
"nobody jokes in base 13, it's just not funny."
--meh--
I bought mine on launch night, with a whole bunch of other Zelda fanboys, and we bought up the entire supply then and there, along with heaps of other games and accessories. We all then went home over Christmas and played Wii Tennis with family and friends, who then went out and bought up the entire supply through to about May. I'm not sure any of them ever bought any other game.
Wiis were in stock most places throughout the summer, but now Christmas is coming up, and enough little kids now know what a Wii is and why it's cool. The Nintendogs crowd wants in now. So it's out of stock again.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I vaguely recall seeing a article about the MPAA shooting infrared light from behind movie screens into the crowd to determine if anyone was using a camcorder to copy live movies.
Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
As cool as this is, I don't see it being useful anywhere for one simple reason: if the wiimote is up on the tv, you don't get buttons. Wonderful for pointing at stuff, or even just for kicks and giggles, but you couldnt even make a mii with this hack.