Next Generation of Gyroscopic Controllers on the Horizon

Jamie found a story about a next gen input device that is functionally similiar to the Wii, but instead of using IR, it gets all location information from gyroscopes and accelerometers. This has the potential to be more accurate and maybe not require me to contort my wrist to bizarre angles in order to successfully collect the stars that are like oxygen to me.

Comments

I'll stick with the mouse...

[nullkill]

Any input device that requires you to continually keep your hands elevated will never work. Not to mention, constant movement. The reason a mouse and keyboard is so effective is because you can use them both all day long with little to no effort.

Re:I'll stick with the mouse...

[ezzzD55J]

http://www.hacker-dictionary.com/terms/gorilla-arm :)

Still needs camera interface

[BenJeremy]

Motion sensing is all well and good, but you need accuracy with respect to the video screen, and cameras sensing infrared points is the ideal way to do it these days.

I could see a combination providing a much more enhanced experience, though.

The difficulty will come when developers try and create user interfaces that are intuitive and don't quickly tire the user's arms.

"collect the stars"?

[Speare]

maybe not require me to contort my wrist to bizarre angles in order to successfully collect the stars that are like oxygen to me

If that was a reference to Super Mario Galaxy, I'd have to say you must be playing wrong. SMG leverages far less Wii controller range of motion than most other Wii games I've tried. WarioWare Smooth Moves gives a bunch of cute names to various Wiimote controller positions, so it's handy to talk about other games with these terms too. SMG just uses "Remote Control" and "Umbrella" postures, and to spin you need to shake the Wiimote a little. If you want wacky untenable wrist positions, try some of the later levels of Kokorinpa (Marble Mania). There are wrist positions in that game that even Smooth Moves didn't try to name, but I'll call them "Policeman's Thumblock" and "Say Uncle."

It's not the Wii...

[Anonymous Coward]

The Wii is partly to blame for your wrist problems, the lack of female interaction might play a bigger part.

Re:This is the Wii remote, minus functionality

[Gravatron]

wiimotes don't have gyros in them, IIRC. Just an accelerameter.

Next gen?

[Freeside1]

If you think gyroscopes are next gen, I have just one word for you: plastics.

IR has more than Gyroscopes

[Paralizer]

Motion detection and pointing are really two different features.

The wiimote uses a 3-axis accelerometer to calculate roll, yaw, as well as gravity forces on each axis; this gives everything except for yaw. Yaw would be nice but it really isn't needed because the shape of the object in your hand doesn't feel nature (or comfortable) to rotate it in that direction. To solve the issue of pointing the wiimote uses a camera sensitive to IR light and captures it at 1024x768 resolution. Since the wii sensor bar has two dots the virtual screen resolution is actually slightly bigger than that.

In addition to actually pointing at the screen the wiimote's IR camera can also be used to estimate the distance you are from the TV. So in all the wiimote has several degrees of freedom:

• Pitch
• Roll
• Yaw (very limited with IR)
• Distance
• X,Y position on the TV

With all of this you get a pretty decent idea of where the wiimote is in 3d space and at what orientation it is at.

Now consider the distance you are from your TV. As you move further away then the angle you should move the wiimote either up, down, left, or right should also decrease because the object. The wiimote can do that because of the IR camera. If you use a gyroscope you lose this because no matter where you are in 3d space it only cares about the orientation it is with respect to gravity. So if you are aiming at the top of your TV and you move backwards with a gyroscope then it will still be aiming at the top, whereas with the wiimote it will go above the top because that's where you're actually pointing the device.

With a gyroscope and accelerometer you would get:

• Pitch
• Roll
• Yaw

That's about it. No distance, no X,Y position.

I think the wiimote still wins out. The only thing that I would change with the wiimote is give it a higher resolution IR camera, but maybe that was too expensive for Nintendo (that may also have been a reason they didn't do high def?)

Also you can already use the wiimote on a PC for free and have millions of potential customers already owning one. So why would anyone want to pay royalties to use this thing?

Re:Article not very accurate...

[Paralizer]

Also, the IR system is only used as as calibration for the accelerometers. The accelerometers in the Wii Remote still do the bulk of the work. If the Wii Remote relied on the IR camera as the primary sensor, it would be useless every time line of sight to the sensor bar was lost. What the Wii Remote does is keep rough track of remote position using the accelerometers, and then when the camera is pointed at the sensor bar, it re-calculates the starting point for the motion tracking to start from. The wiimote has factory set calibrations, it doesn't recalibrate itself on-the-fly. The only thing IR is used for is limited yaw calculations, depth (distance from the sensor bar) estimation, and calculating the X,Y position you are pointing at on the screen. For these the sensor bar is used as a primary sensor because that's the only point of reference that can be used to get that information. Everything else you said is spot on though.