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WiiMan, the Nintendo Wii Super Hero

Posted by timothy on from the good-use-of-free-time dept.

rafaelmizrahi writes "WiiMan the Super Hero is a full action figure costume of a super hero that functions as a Nintendo WiiMote remote. Having trouble playing Wii? WiiMan to the rescue. This GarageGeeks project combines Gaming, Technology and Useless Activity to the extreme. Rafael Mizrahi, an artificial vision and experience explorer at Feng-GUI and a GarageGeeks member along with Yael Hertzog built this custom costume that acts as a fully functional Nintendo WiiMote remote with buttons, bluetooth, accelerometers, and an IR cam. BTW, last year, they built another hero, The Guitar Hero Noid, a robot built with Tal Chalozin that plays the PlayStation game Guitar Hero." (You might have better luck reaching the GarageGeeks site's Google cache.)

28 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Dupe! by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 1

    We've had a WiiMan around for a while.

  2. No fair! by CSMatt · · Score: 1

    That Guitar Hero Noid has five fingers! How am I supposed to compete with that? So far all of my attempts to grow a fifth finger have failed.

    1. Re:No fair! by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      It's called a "thumb", and Jimi Hendrix, among other guitar players, use theirs.

    2. Re:No fair! by lightboxx · · Score: 1

      well isn't he special, he's even got his own costume, i bet his mommy made it for him to.

  3. Costume correction by arigram · · Score: 1

    I would have shifted the buttons a little bit lower then attend a female gamers' convention.

  4. NOT WORK SAFE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Feng-GUI link is not work safe!

    1. Re:NOT WORK SAFE by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      The "heat maps" of, say, cigarette ads were well-calculated even before this latest thing. Take a look at the older Camel or Marlboro ads, for example. They were designed so that they eyes would drift "naturally" from one area to the next, and always to the surgeon general's warning last.

  5. Somebody please tell me... by Plazmid · · Score: 2, Insightful

    what the heck is this, and why is it on slashdot?

    1. Re:Somebody please tell me... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There are times I wonder about Slashdot. They ignore the HUGE story that Rock Band for the Wii will be horribly nerfed, but post stories about some weirdo who decides to dress up in a white costume that says "Wii" on it.

      What ever happened to "Stuff that Matters"? It seems to be less and less true these days. :-(

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:Somebody please tell me... by carlzum · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's a (admittedly) useless hobby project that combines video games and engineering. In other words, nerd entertainment... which is why it's on entertainment.slashdot.org.

    3. Re:Somebody please tell me... by Robert1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Good question. I must have read the first sentence 10 times, it still makes no sense.

      "WiiMan the Super Hero is a full action figure costume of a super hero that functions as a Nintendo WiiMote remote"

      what the hell does that even mean? its like some abortion of a palindrome "Wii --> Super Hero --> action figure -- Super Hero -- Wii."

    4. Re:Somebody please tell me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      From your submission: no support for the superior GH3 guitar controller (emphasis mine)
      Don't write trollish stories?

    5. Re:Somebody please tell me... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      no support for the superior GH3 guitar controller

      It is not an intent to troll. It is a well-known fact that the GH3 controller is of superior quality and construction to the Rock Band controller. Which is why it's such a big deal when they don't support the GH3 controller. (As with the PS3.)
      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    6. Re:Somebody please tell me... by j0nb0y · · Score: 1

      The Rockband controller is intentionally different from the ghIII controller.

      It's true that many people prefer the ghIII controller, but that doesn't make the ghIII controller superior.

      For instance, the rockband guitar has solo fret buttons. Which are very cool.

      --
      If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
    7. Re:Somebody please tell me... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Indeed. The "solo" buttons and effects switch are the big features of the guitar. But in actual construction quality and usability, the Les Paul wins on every count. For one, the first batch or two of Rock Band guitars broke with alarming regularity. (It wasn't just one of those "reported" things. Two of the three people I know with Rock Band had to get replacements.) This has (hopefully!) been corrected, but there are still two major design issues:

      - The strum bar is EXTREMELY stiff. As the difficulty ramps up, it's difficult to keep strumming to the beat. If you prefer to double-strum (e.g. both up-stroke and down-stroke) it's not too bad. But for those of us who like to single-strum, the guitar is nothing but pain.
      - The buttons are flush on the guitar. This makes it nicer to look at, but it can be difficult to find your finger positions without looking.

      Try a side-by-side comparison of the two controllers some time and I think you'll find that the Les Paul is far more comfortable and reliable every time.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    8. Re:Somebody please tell me... by j0nb0y · · Score: 1

      I've used both, the les paul is definitely easier to play with.

      The nice thing about the strum bar on the rock band guitar is that you barely have to touch it for a strum. Once you realize this, it becomes much easier to play. Of course, if you're used to the click of the guitar hero guitar, it's not easy to adjust.

      I don't think the buttons are that much more difficult personally. I always find my place using one of two ways: 1. feeling the marking on the 3rd button or 2. looking at what buttons are pressed on the screen. Both methods work with both guitars, which is probably why I haven't had much trouble switching back and forth.

      I think it's a shame that the guitar hero guitar doesn't work with rock band on ps3 and wii. Many people prefer the guitar hero guitar, and I think it's obvious that harmonix intended from a design standpoint that the guitar hero guitar would be usable in rock band.

      --
      If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
    9. Re:Somebody please tell me... by ArAgost · · Score: 1

      You should try a real les paul with a set of 011-049 strings. Talk about stiff.

    10. Re:Somebody please tell me... by trdrstv · · Score: 1

      I've used both, the les paul is definitely easier to play with.

      I suppose it depends on the person, but I find the Rock Band guitar far superior for one very tiny add-on that makes a HUGE difference in how I play. I admit it, I "suck at the slide" and that pretty much condemns me to being a "Medium Hero".

      The Rock Band guitar however has those little plastic stoppers above the green fret, and below the orange fret which prevents me from overshooting the slide. This makes it much easier for me to gauge where my hand is, and actually play the harder difficulties. If GH supported this guitar I might play it more.

  6. No thanks! by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

    I don't mind being groped, but not by a gamer girl thanks!

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  7. Duff man? by kingcool1432 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Am I the only one who's reminded of the 'Duff man' from The Simpsons?

  8. 'Fess up by kingcool1432 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alright 'fess up people, how many of you skipped RTFA before and went back up to check the link after reading this?

    1. Re:'Fess up by mazarin5 · · Score: 1

      I had checked it out already, but I went back to see if there was something I missed. I'm not sure exactly what makes the site NSFW; the raciest thing I see is a small thumbnail of a perfume advertisement, and it's hardly objectionable.

      Or maybe his boss hates polar bears?

      --
      Fnord.
    2. Re:'Fess up by ampathee · · Score: 1

      I did! I was disappointed though, because the link is certainly work-safe :(

    3. Re:'Fess up by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

      I had checked it out already, but I went back to see if there was something I missed. I'm not sure exactly what makes the site NSFW; the raciest thing I see is a small thumbnail of a perfume advertisement, and it's hardly objectionable. I just assumed the OP had a very strict Mormon upbringing. Technically speaking, any internet site would be a no-no.

      Or maybe his boss hates polar bears?? A Mormon working for Stephen Colbert? Interesting.
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  9. hmm... by Mister+White · · Score: 1

    one can only wonder what the midget from Jackass will think about that...

    steamshare

    --
    "Crime fighters fight crime. Fire fighters fight fire. What do freedom fighters fight?" -George Carlin
  10. law suit by ILuvRamen · · Score: 1

    They're gonna get sued by Wee Man from Jackass lol.

    --
    Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
  11. He may sue, he may not by Duncan+Blackthorne · · Score: 1

    Jason Bryant Acuña was unavailable for comment.

  12. Oblig. by Torodung · · Score: 1

    What a Wiitard.

    Is he hunting wabbits or fwying sauce-hwahs?

    --
    Toro