Wiimote used to control robotic arm
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted Apr 15th 2007 11:10AM
posted Apr 15th 2007 11:10AM
If you got all your information about the Wii from its very own Engadget tag, then you'd probably think that it doesn't play games, such are the number of tasks that inventive users have coaxed the Wiimote into carrying out. That combination of an IR sensor and accelerometer has churned out the likes of beat machines and an array of crappy plastic accessories, but now someone has put the Wiimote up to the task that we'd all been willing it: the control of a robotic arm. A student group project in a Mechatronics class at the University of Michigan produced the Wii-bot arm, which apparently "features direct end effector control using the accelerometers, D-Pad, and a 50 LED sensor bar, unlike the other popular Wiimote Robot Arm (the one with the sword) which was controlled using pattern matching". Ya hear that? The Wii-bots are already preparing for war. Peep the embedded video after the break, in all its whirring and buzzing glory.[Thanks, Dan W]
Pretty neat, but wouldn't it be better if the robotic arm was moving in real time?
Screw the robot, nice hair, dude!
yeah pretty cool, but they either need a faster robot, or more efficient code, to get it little more up to real time.
I did something like this using the wiimote and the nunchuck using GlovePie and C++. This is a lot more advanced, though.
guy managed to program wiimote to control robot arm, but cant grasp that the union jack is the BRITISH flag. Very patriotic.
I can not believe we missed that. Damn.
@Mark
This is robotic-science, not government history!
Just like you aren't required to know how to manipulate vectors in 3d space utilizing a wiimote, he dosne't have to know what the heck flag is what.
*THE PREVIOUS STATEMENT WAS A JOKE*
I take it back.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Union_Jack
That arm is slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
I for one, welcome our slow-moving, wii-mote controlled wooden robotic overlords.
alexander: So how many stars are on the american flag? ... 12? See, you don't like it! *runs off and cries in a corner*
about the slow motion, we just used cheap hobby servos, and when we tried to change the gearing there wasn't enough torque.
Thanks Dan. I'm amazed that everyone gets upset that I called the starfield the Union Jack (it is the American union jack after all) but no one seems to have caught that I didn't know the letters of the buttons on the Wiimote. (I still have yet to play an actual game with one).
Yes, the motors are slow. Yes, it makes us all sad. The arm originally had stepper motors (they were probably a little faster, but more difficult to control and made for a more complicated kinematic model because of the cable drive). We replaced them with hacked servos, which made our control and interface problems disappear, but are way, way too slow. The class we souped up the arm for is over, but I have a couple of faster gearmotors in the mail...
What I want to see is someone using a wiimote to control a robotic arm that's using a wiimote. Since the online multiplayer isn't working yet, I want a cooler way to challenge myself to Wii Tennis.
Do we really need any more stories about "Wiimote used to control X" ?
Wow pretty soon we will have robot to do everything for human!!!!! I really like this controller but this is not what I am looking for. Does anyone know about PIC LED controller? Like something here
http://www.lunaraccents.com/technology-programmable-LED-controller.html
I try to find someone to help me with my fireplace product. I like to have LED lighting that can change to multi colors when I want it too.
Light - emitting diodes , I am looking for some idea about this new kind of lighting technology for surface mounth, like this one
http://www.lunaraccents.com/nav-custom-LED-technology.html