WiiRemoteControl
Latest
Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)
There were certainly a couple whiz kids at Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair this year, but high school senior John Hinckel's a regular MacGyver: he built a wheelchair remote control out of a couple sheets of transparent plastic, four sliding furniture rails and some string. A Nintendo Wiimote goes in your hat and tells the whole system what to do -- simply tilt your head in any direction, and accelerometer readings are sent over Bluetooth. The receiving laptop activates microcontrollers, directing servo motors to pull the strings, and acrylic gates push the joystick accordingly to steer your vehicle. We tried on the headset for ourselves and came away fairly impressed -- it's no mind control, but for $534 in parts, it just might do. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who thought so, as patents are pending, and a manufacturer of wheelchair control systems has already expressed interest in commercializing the idea. See the young inventor show it off after the break.
Wiimote straps replaced: yeah, all of them!
Well, how 'bout that... on top of the 200k DS and DS Lite AC adapters being recalled replaced this morning, Nintendo just announced an additional voluntary recalled replacement of 3.2 million straps for their Wii Remote Control. Whereas the AC adapter recall is said to be limited to Japan, the Wiimote strap replacement program is most definitely worldwide affecting "all Wiis sold" to date and most of the units still on shelves. So yeah, your strap is on the list for recall if you own a Wii. Whether the broken strap claims were bogus or not is now moot, the perception certainly exists that there's a problem with California class-actions sure to follow. So kudos to Nintendo for acting relatively quickly to address the issue before it snowballed into another Sony "rootkit" fiasco. No information on how to return your strap for the new beefier version, but you'll know as soon as we do.Update: Thanks to tipster Stefan for digging into Nintendo's bowels and unearthing the replacement request form. Good news, looks like they'll simply ship the new strap without the mess of having to return the old one.Update 2: Nintendo just called to let us know that the replacement program is entirely voluntary, and does not constitute a "recall". That means Nintendo apparently doesn't think it's a risk for most people, but if you do you can feel free to get that Wiimote strap. Nintendo issued this statement: "Nintendo has a long tradition of delivering high-quality products and excellent customer service. The Wii Remote is meant to be gripped, and the wrist straps are a secondary measure. We have found that some consumers get more excited playing Wii Sports than we could have imagined. This resulted in a very small number of wrist straps breaking. We have replaced the broken wrist straps and continue to reinforce with consumers the safe and fun use of our products. Through its voluntary wrist strap replacement program Nintendo is offering a stronger wrist strap free of charge to consumers by calling 1-800-859-4519 or by visiting support.nintendo.com."Update 3: Here's the info Nintendo gives when you order your replacements: "Thank you for your request. Once your replacement wrist strap order has shipped, you will receive a confirmation email from Nintendo. We expect to begin shipping replacement straps around December 21st. It will take 5 to 9 days for delivery depending on your location. Please do not contact Nintendo regarding your replacement wrist strap until after that time period has passed."[Thanks, Matthew P.]
