You can pick up a Wii Motion Plus module for under $20 and that’s not bad for an I2C gyroscope. This hack taps into the device through a PC parallel port. The connection calls for some level conversion to step down to the 3.3v needed by the module. The communication protocol borrows from the Wii on Arduino code examples that we saw last year. You can see the Wii Motion Plus controlling a virtual cube in the video after the break.
While we’ve been told all of our lives Wiis and trains just don’t mix, they never said anything about Wii Nunchuks. One terribly abused joke later, [Ken] tipped us off about his Wii Nunchuk controlled train set.
By utilizing Digital Command Control (think pulse-width modulation) with an Arduino, he is able to have full control over the trains direction and speed. The other part of the equation is a Wii Nunchuk and adapter. The setup should be pretty self explanatory, but there is an Instructable for those that need more help.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/8222312%5D
[Ryan] let us know about his Max/MSP Controller. Inside the device is an ADXL 335 accelerometer and 6 push buttons wired to an Arduino. The input data is sent to Max MSP, a sequencer controlling 5 audio tracks, correlating to 5 of the buttons. The 6th button controls delay. What we really liked was how the accelerometer modified the speed of the beat in the X-axis, and the delay intensity with the Y-axis. Whats next? We think gesture recognition might be something fun to try, but [Ryan] is unsure. We’ll keep you up to date.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql0V4SNt-c4]
[ZodTTD] has released a Nintendo 64 emulator for iPhone. It is available (for a price) at the Cydia store and can be installed on jailbroken iPhones. The video shows Wii Remote support as a control interface that uses both buttons and the accelerometer, an addition since we last looked at his work. There is no word about nunchuck functionality, a must if you’re going to try to 100% Mario64.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3VstJSxZlc&feature=player_embedded%5D
What happens when you combine an IR tracking PS3 Eyetoy, and a high-resolution projector? If you answered multi-touch display, you’re on the right track. Add a Wii Nunchuck controlled robot, a pinch of Community Core Vision tracking software combined with Processing, and the piece de resistance, a modified Memo TUIO particle system and you get the mesmerizing video above.
Check out this combination of crazy robotics and more with SparkFun’s free robot hobby builders meet-up on Saturday.
[Thanks Anon]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo5IRWvznWc]
[Mojo] has taken a lot of the complex circuitry out of the mix by creating a virtual Theremin. A Theremin is an electronic instrument, usually with two antennas, that senses the proximity of the player’s hands to the instrument and responds accordingly.
This design, called the AirDeck, uses a Wii remote as an IR sensor and two gloves with IR LEDs in them. Data from the Wii remote is processed by a custom Java app that converts it into sound. [Mojo’s] interface also includes some alternative options such as a turn-table scratch interface.
In the end this is still just a synthesizer/midi controller and cannot stand up to the real thing. However if you’re not an accomplished player you’ll probably never notice the difference.
[Sprite_tm] has whipped up yet another interesting tutorial – software-based this time. He basically describes how he connected his Wiimotes to an HTPC. A USB Bluetooth receiver, and a little bit of Linux scripting, was all that was necessary to get the system up and running. To add to the fun, [Sprite_tm] configured a the controllers to work with MAME (an arcade machine emulator), allowing one to play Duck Hunt on a computer in its full glory!
