Wiimote Finger Tracking Music Controller

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7uLuYG62sY&fmt=18]

The Evolution Control Committee has been doing live mashup performances for many years and recently upgraded their hardware. Inspired by [Johnny Lee]’s Wiimote whiteboard, they built a rear projection display they could use during performances. It displays a dense collection of samples in Ableton Live. On each of the performer’s hands is an IR LED mounted to a thimble. By touching the thumb to the forefinger, the LED turns on. Two Wiimotes watch for these IR flashes to trigger mouse clicks. [TradeMark G] found the Ableton display too complex to navigate quickly and accurately with a mouse; this new display make things much easier and enjoyable.

[via Laughing Squid]

7 thoughts on “Wiimote Finger Tracking Music Controller

  1. This is fantastic stuff.

    Would this be remotely practical using a large LCD display?

    I’m an Ableton Live lover like you wouldnt belive and this would be the icing on the cake, but I dont want to blow silly money on a projector.

  2. Just check out Nuigroup for all your touchscreen needs. The Wiimote white board is Good but really there should be no need for clumsy thimbles and infrared pens! Just fingers and infrared.

    I have achieved the same thing without a wiimote.

    Tried experimenting but imediatly saw the limitations.

  3. I would imagine that the thimbles make it easier to take on and off. It also helps to keep the screen clean…

    Like hal said above, I would like to know why it’s necessary to use two wii remotes. I would think one would suffice.

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