The Nintendo game
device includes a bar-shaped device, ordinarily placed atop a TV
screen, with two LEDs, or light-emitting diodes. It emits infrared
light that the Wiimote can detect within a 45-degree field of view.
Lee uses a computer to process data from those components and
dramatically expand their utility.
By attaching the
sensor bar to his head and the Wiimote to a TV, he was able to
construct a system that knows where his head is
located. That information is then fed into an algorithm that
changes the perspective of an image on a monitor. The result is
a very convincing 3D feel that looks like it would be a great
fit for video games.
The whiteboard application relies on use of a pen
with an infrared LED in its tip. After a quick calibration--the
subject of Lee's thesis--a computer can track where Lee is
"drawing" on a wall, tabletop, and laptop screen.
Perhaps the most
mainstream potential comes with Lee's Wiimote-based multitouch user
interface.
Lee attaches small
reflectors to his fingertips, which the sensor bar can track. The
result is a user interface that can respond to gestures such as
pinching and swiping. And by tracking four points, it enables the
"multitouch" abilities that are all the rage with Apple's iPhone and MacBook Air as well as
the Microsoft Surface
"Milan" project.