Wiimote hacking imminent, I hope

GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
edited December 2006 in Gaming
Some guy (who shall be referred to as Mr. Awesome, despite his questionable skills with a camcorder) has gotten the acceleration values of the Wiimote on each axis plotted to his computer. I'm hoping that soon these can be utilized to get a Wiimote to act as a mouse on a PC. Maybe even get gizmos that translate the Wiimote signals for other consoles.

Peep the link for a Youtube video.

attachment.php?attachmentid=21875&stc=1&d=1164993681

Comments

  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    'Twas only a matter of time. Without the IR triangulation, the control is kind of erratic, but for now a Wiimote at least "works" as a Windows mouse.

    wiimote-pc-cursor.jpg

    Source: Engadget
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    That's a neat development. You're right, it was only a matter of time.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    So what would be the benefit of having a Wii remote as a mouse? besides it being a hard to find expensive mouse?

    I can see the new complaints now! Sorry we are sold out of Wii remotes, because some moron thought it would be cool to make it a mouse. So now you and a million other kids can’t get another remote to actually use them for what they are made for”
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Now there's Mac software available.
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    So what would be the benefit of having a Wii remote as a mouse? besides it being a hard to find expensive mouse?
    I think it'd be good to use on an entertainment center PC. I'd rather control movies and music with a remote in hand than trying to use a wireless mouse on my leg or a kitchen counter or something.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    True media centers already have real remotes to allow you to nav around your PC for music, games, movies etc...
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    True media centers already have real remotes to allow you to nav around your PC for music, games, movies etc...
    "True" media centers? Mine is less true because I'm using a mouse?

    I have an ATI Remote Wonder and I'm unimpressed; I've stopped using it. Any remote with some kind of pushbutton for moving the cursor around doesn't feel natural. Sure, the play/pause buttons worked, but I needed more than that.

    You don't have to use a Wiimote, but I for one would like true point-and-click ability.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    I would LOVE to be able to use the Wiimote on my ATI all in wonder media PC. I have the ATI Remote Wonder (A 'true' media center remote) and it's fine for the pushbutton stuff - but sometimes it's just faster to mouse around.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    perfect for my macbook, got the ir builtin in the laptop already.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    The wiimote only uses the IR for triangulation - it's not a transmitter. The IR window on the end of the wiimote is actually just a receiver - it relies on a series of blinking IR signals from the sensor bar for triangulation. I believe the wiimote uses bluetooth to communicate accelerometer data to the Wii.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Welp, they've got the IR sensing working now. Sure isn't taking long :)

    Source: Engadget
    At the rate all this Wiimote hacking is going, it looks like Nintendo's soon going to have more than just Wii users to contend with in its attempts to keep the darn things in stock, with this latest development sure to attract more than few curious PC users. The big advance here is support for the Wii's sensor bar (or candles, we suppose), which'll give you far greater control than previous Wiimote-only hacks have allowed, actually making it a decent alternative to a mouse for some tasks. Still skeptical? Check out the vid after the break and judge for yourself.
  • WiredWired
    edited December 2006
    http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/07/air-drumming-with-the-wii-remote/

    one step closer to being a pro air drummer in Wyld Stallions!
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Obviously you haven't used Nvidia new Media center cards. OKay that was a fanboy comment :)

    But they come with a remote like a console controller stick in the middle that act's as a pointer. :) very nifty. Not to sure how long they have been around, but my media center came with it :)
  • clear_darknessclear_darkness TX New
    edited December 2006
    I don't think it's so much as the idea that the wiimote will be better than a mouse....I think it's the fact that a Nintendo controller has just been used to draw a picture in ms paint. One of those that is cool just because it can be done. I must say that I think it's pretty awesome. This wiimote thing seems to be sturdy enough for anything and now it works on a pc too? I mean come one, nintendo is awesome, but they've never really had anything all that hackable or outlandish like a remote that can't be blended.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    I admit, the utility of using the Wiimote is only part of the reason of why I want to do it. The other part is simply to use an unorthodox part on my PC.

    Sort of like sticking a vodka bottle in a computer. Not the most efficient way to finish up a water cooling system, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I had to do it.
  • NiGHTSNiGHTS San Diego Icrontian
    edited December 2006
    Isn't the larger picture of the Wiimote hacking the ability to be about to mouse around when attempting to run linux on the Wii itself? I think there's a big push to get Linux on the Wii ASAP.
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