Wiimote Driven Motion Effects

December 22, 2008 by Eliot 5 Comments

[vimeo 2515709]

Check out the video above by [Adrien Mondot] for a extensive demonstration of eMotion being used with a Wiimote. eMotion is a physics based visual tool for the Mac. It’s designed to enhance performances by reacting to real world motion. Its grounding in physics makes the resultant motion appear more natural than if they were arbitrarily generated. The video above combines eMotion with the output of Wiimote Whiteboard, a low-cost interactive white board that uses the Wiimote camera plus IR light pens. While the video takes place in a small area, we can see how this could be scaled to a much larger space with IR lights mounted to performers.

[via CDM]

Wiimote Finger Tracking Music Controller

December 2, 2008 by Eliot 7 Comments

[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]

Cythbot, Pneumatic Guitar Hero

November 22, 2008 by Eliot 7 Comments

cythbot

Here’s yet another robot hoping to dominate the human race through the power of ROCK. Cythbot was built to demonstrate Cyth Systems machine vision systems. The device uses a camera to watch the Guitar Hero monitor and identify notes for button presses. The strum bar is then triggered after a delay. The notes are identified solely by pixel intensity since star power can cause them to change shape and color. All button presses are done using pneumatics. The whole system is self-contained and doesn’t require a separate computer for processing. Our favorite part is that the controller remains completely unmodified and the industrial light tree used to indicate notes. The team says that the pneumatics aren’t quite fast enough to hit 100%, unlike some humans. Video of the bot in action after the break. Continue reading “Cythbot, Pneumatic Guitar Hero” →

Johnny Lee’s Favorite Wiimote Projects

November 21, 2008 by Eliot 4 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtl51YDMYw&fmt=18]

There is no doubt that [Johnny Lee] is the authority on Wiimote based projects. So, when he compiles a list of his favorite Wiimote projects, we definitely pay attention. He’s organized the list as a progression of the unusual. By the time you get to ‘Chicken Head Tracking‘ at the bottom, you’ll be adequately prepared. You’re bound to get some inspiration from the list even it’s building a pigeon guided missile.

Wiimote Trackball Mod

November 12, 2008 by Joshua Wright 2 Comments

wiimote

Hot on the heels of their recent rapid-fire mod, the creative minds at AcidMods have turned out yet another useful hack for for the Wii controller. This time around, they’ve replaced the peripheral’s “A” button with a clickable trackball, allowing the player to quickly navigate menus without readjusting their hold on the Wiimote. With a flair akin to that displayed in their earlier projects, the team even took the time to add LEDs to the track ball internals. Check out the videos of the mod in action after the break.

[thanks mark]

Continue reading “Wiimote Trackball Mod” →

Wii Backup ISO Loader

September 15, 2008 by Eliot 15 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtu0kQHaIhI]

The video above shows a new Wii backup loader that’s in development. It works via the easy to use Homebrew Channel we covered previously. From the news post it seems you have to rip the original game disc and then patch it before burning the copy. No release date has been set. As Nintendo Wii Fanboy put it, there’s much more interesting things to do with homebrew than wait for this to be released.

Ben Heck’s Wii Laptop On Engadget

January 19, 2007 by Will O'Brien 21 Comments

[Ben Heckendorn] put together this little beauty on engadget. It’s not quite as over the top as the XBox 360 laptop, but there’s a reason for that. He’ll be putting up a How-To series covering the construction. If you’ve been pondering building a portable yourself, it’ll be a nice jump start for your hardware hacking skill-base.