InvenSense Inc recently announced that its IDG-600 multi-axis MEMS rate gyroscope has started shipping in mass production quantities to Nintendo for its Wii MotionPlus accessory.

http://www.invensense.com/news/071508.html

The addition of this multi-axis rate gyroscpic solution to the Wii MotionPlus accessory allows for high precision 3D tracking of rapid gaming gestures. For example, the ability to throw a disc through the air and control the angle of flight is now possible.

Genyo Takeda, General Manager of Nintendo’s Integrated Research and Development Division said,

“Nintendo selected the IDG-600 for its ability to measure large dynamic motions, high shock resistance and accuracy for sensing the fast moving arm and hand motions required to support exciting new game titles.”

Other applications using this type of technology, include Image Stabilization in camera phones to improve image quality, Pedestrian Navigation devices and improved Smart User Interfaces in mobile phones and internet devices.

Equally significant is the ability for mobile phones to understand gesture-based commands that may eliminate the need for pressing buttons to navigate on screen menus or to play games. In addition, with a small twist of the hand, phone users could answer and terminate calls, scroll menus, pan documents and organize information.

Details about the company can be found at

http://www.invensense.com/

The Wii MotionPlus is an accessory for the Wii Remote (Wiimote) controller.

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space.

The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation

So it provides more accurate motion sensors?

Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play.

That’s what it sounds like.

Details are pretty sparse at the moment, more will be revealed during the Nintendo press conference at E3 …

(E3 http://www.e3expo.com/ is an annual trade show for the computer games industry taking place, this year, from July 14-17)

But I wondered where it was going to fit on the Wii Zapper?

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In another project from Johnny Chung Lee

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/

find out how to use the wiimote and a head-mounted sensor bar to track the position of your head.

Using the infrared camera in the Wii remote and a head mounted sensor bar (two IR LEDs), you can accurately track the location of your head and render view dependent images on the screen. This effectively transforms your display into a portal to a virtual environment. The display properly reacts to head and body movement as if it were a real window creating a realistic illusion of depth and space.

watch the video to see it in action

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