Wiimote in Physics Wiimote in Physics EducationEducation

ESA's 2011 Teachers Summer Workshop

Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 11-14 July 2011.

Michalis Orfanakis

Science Teacher, MSc Physics

Gymnasium Koutsouras, Lyceum Makri Gialos

Ierapetra Crete, Greece

What is Wiimote;What is Wiimote;The Wii Remote, is the

primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console.

A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointingthrough the use of accelerometer andoptical sensor technologyAnother feature is its expandability through the use of attachments (i.e.  Wii Classic Controller, Wii Zapper, Nunchuk)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_Remote

Non typical use of Non typical use of WiimoteWiimote Wiimote can be used apart from Wii console Since the release of the Wii console, people have been

exploring different new ways in which to use the Wii Remote. 

Programmer Johnny Lee has posted video demos and sample code at his website related to the use of the Wii Remote for finger tracking, low-cost interactive whiteboards, and head tracking for desktop VR displays. 

http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/ Studies have also been conducted to use the Wii Remote as

a practice method to fine-tune surgeons' hand motions. 

Utilizing DarwiinRemote (for Mac users), researchers at the University of Memphis have adapted the Wii Remote for data collection in cognitive psychology experiments.

Autodesk has released a plugin that allows the Wii Remote to control orientation of 3D models in Autodesk Design Review.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_Remote

Wiimote Interactive Wiimote Interactive WhiteboardWhiteboard There are several demo videos in YouTube that

provide guidance on how you could transform the classic whiteboard, your laptop display or your TV screen to an Interactive Whiteboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKL5VjqoLXQ&NR=1

Wiimote in Physics Wiimote in Physics EducationEducationWiiMote Physics is an application

that allows you to retrieve data from your WiiMote or Balance Board and display it in real-time.

It has a number of predefined modes of operation in order to make acceleration or position measurements.

It's developed in C#.

Wiimote Physics SoftwareWiimote Physics Softwarehttp://wiimotephysics.codeplex.com/

Wiimote Connection to Wiimote Connection to ComputerComputerWhen installing Wiimote software your will

be prompt to install Microsoft’s NetFramework 4.0

After installing Wiimote software, establish bluetooth connection between Wiimote and your Computer

To do so switch on Wiimote and press simoultaneously 1 and 2 button (Now the Wiimote searches for bluetooth devices)

Wiimote Connection to Wiimote Connection to ComputerComputerOpen the bluetooth application of your

Computer and press “Add a device” (Now your Computer is searching for bluetooth devices)

Most Important: Pair Wiimote and Computer without using any code.

If your bluetooth driver does not support pairing without code then you should install another driver i.e. BlueSoleil (http://www.bluesoleil.com/) Not for Free

Start Wiimote Physics Software

Using the Wiimote PhysicsUsing the Wiimote PhysicsSimple Harmonic Oscillation Data

Further information on Further information on Wiimote PhysicsWiimote Physics

WiiMote Physics HomeWiiMote Physics SoftwareYouTube videosStar Stryder webpageΦυσικά Πειραματικά

Further information on Further information on Wiimote WhiteboardWiimote WhiteboardJohny Lee’s webpageWii Project WhiteboardWii TeachersYouTube

Further information on Further information on Wiimote used as a mouseWiimote used as a mouseYouTubeGlovePie SoftwareWiimote mouse script for

GlovePie