Taking Wiimote Innovations to the Next Level
Recently, I came across some videos of a very smart dude name Johnny Chung Lee that has been doing some interesting innovations with one of my favorite toys, the Wiimote. Johnny Lee is a Ph. D. student at Carnegie Mellon, and his innovations are both simple and brilliant. He is doing work similar to Majority Desk, but taking it way beyond to the next level. The biggest shift in thinking is that he uses the Wiimote and infrared sensors in reverse, so that your hands are more free to move around naturally.
I love it; such a simple paradigm shift unleashes so many possibilities. If you don't agree, then check out his next video where he uses this same concept to provide a cheap alternative to both expensive electronic whiteboards and the upcoming Microsoft Surface, which is supposed to be priced between $5k - $10K.
Because of the high interest in the project, but lack of resources to pursue it full time, Lee released the Wiimote whiteboard project as open source…another brilliant move.
I'm swamped with requests for compatibility fixes, requests for Mac and Linux versions. … and as much as I would love to be able to get this working in the hands of as many people as possible, I don't have the skills or time to do all this alone. So, here is my call for help. I have created a SourceForge repository for all WiimoteWhiteboard development.
Over at Cynergy Labs, they have also picked up on the minority report/Wiimote concept and put together a really nice, polished application using a pair of real minority report type gloves. Thanks to my friend Karl Johnson over at Cynergy, for sending this one along.
I love the fact that these type of breakthroughs are being created with a $30 Wiimote and $20 worth of parts from Radio Shack.
Microsoft Surface: $10,000
Wiimote: $30
Making Microsoft's Surface an overpriced, big ass table: priceless
As a bonus, check out Johnny's latest project on head tracking with the Wiimote for desktop VR display. This is just freaking amazing and opens up a whole new can of worms.
Combine majority desk, maestro, and head tracking VR together and you could be fully immersed in a productive 3D environment using a minority report interface. Thanks Johnny Lee; I salute you.
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January 8th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Very very cool stuff. Thanks Ed for the collection. Makes me want to try this out for collaboration with our teams in India and Germany.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:43 am
This is awesome! He should summit this to "Make" Magazine as an article. This is a clear example of thinking outside the box. I love it!