Topic: Wait so the Wii can sense distance?

[GoldenPhoenix]

This is taken from joystiq here

In the top 10 things you did not know about they say the Wii sensor can detect how far the Wiimote is away from it. Could that possibly be incorporated later on in games to have true 3D movement, in that the system knows where you are (or the Wiimote) and where you move the Wiimote in terms of distance?

[Smash_Brother]

Yep, the sensor bar only exists for that, really.

The distance the "camera" in the tip of the Wiimote sees between the two LEDs on the sensor bar tells the Wii how far the Wiimote is from the sensor. That's why certain light sources could confuse the Wiimote.

If the Wiimote sees the LEDs close together, it knows the Wiimote is far. If they're further apart, it knows it's nearer.

[Bloodworth]

The pointing device duplicates a lot of the information the motion sensors use too in it's own way.  The motion sensors know whether or not you're leaning, but the pointer also sense twisting.  The purpose of the sensor bar is in exact positioning when you're pointing at the screen.  The motion sensors are there for when you aren't pointing at the screen, like in tennis.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I guess I was a bit confused because I remember reading some posts here that say the sensor bar really doesn't do any sensing, and that all it is used for is a pointer that can't sense depth.

[zakkiel]

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Yep, the sensor bar only exists for that, really.

The distance the "camera" in the tip of the Wiimote sees between the two LEDs on the sensor bar tells the Wii how far the Wiimote is from the sensor. That's why certain light sources could confuse the Wiimote.

Negatory. The sensor bar provides the third axis for rotation (in the X-Y plane). The other two axis come conveniently from gravity. The set-up strongly suggests that the Wiimote has no camera to me, and that it uses interferometry instead, which is technologically much simpler. In which case, the article from Joystiq is complete crap, which would surprise no one.

[Smash_Brother]

I'm only going off what I've heard.

I recall that the pointer in the Wiimote supposedly has a small camera (or loose interpretation of a camera) in order to match what was on the screen. The LEDs sense distance because the camera cannot tell that because everyone uses a different size TV and the image wouldn't be enough information to determine distance.

I suppose the LEDs and their locale could also be used to determine if the Wiimote is pointing up or down, but it should be able to do that on its accelerometer alone.

The only variable it can't determine by motion sensing is distance from the TV since there's no reference point without the sensor bar.

[Strell]

My wii can sense up to 14 inches of distance.

[zakkiel]

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The only variable it can't determine by motion sensing is distance from the TV since there's no reference point without the sensor bar.

This is all somewhere in the Iwata interviews. The accelerometers were not accurate enough to determine orientation, so they introduced the sensor bar. This lets you determine if you're pointing left or right. Gravity will tell you about up-down and twist with a couple of cheap sensors.

[Pale]

One of the coolest examples of full pointer utilization I've experienced is in the Play mode of the photo channel of all things.

There, when you get props, say sunglasses, you used the pointer to position them.  Rotating the remote rotates the object.  Moving the remote closer to the screen makes the object get bigger.  Moving it away makes it gets smaller.  It's really a very interesting experience.

[IceCold]

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There, when you get props, say sunglasses, you used the pointer to position them. Rotating the remote rotates the object. Moving the remote closer to the screen makes the object get bigger. Moving it away makes it gets smaller. It's really a very interesting experience.

I watched in the IGN interface movie a while back, where he rotated the remote, and the hand cursor rotated with it..

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Pale
One of the coolest examples of full pointer utilization I've experienced is in the Play mode of the photo channel of all things.

There, when you get props, say sunglasses, you used the pointer to position them.  Rotating the remote rotates the object.  Moving the remote closer to the screen makes the object get bigger.  Moving it away makes it gets smaller.  It's really a very interesting experience.

Sounds like it can sense distance to me going by Pale's response here. How else can you explain the object getting smaller or larger depending on how far you are away from the sensor bar?

[zakkiel]

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Sounds like it can sense distance to me going by Pale's response here. How else can you explain the object getting smaller or larger depending on how far you are away from the sensor bar?

Yup. It does. Guess it does use a camera, after all.

[BlkPaladin]

It can infer distance my motion is my guess. A wider guess on this is that there at least two types of accelerometers in the controler one that "senses" left and right motion and one that sense if it moveing further or closer to the screen and by using time and force figure movement and speed by math (dirivitives and integrals) and if there is data for the movement translate it to the screen.

Not saying that it does that but that is my best guess based on a few articles I read on gamasutra about acclermeters and the gaes that one guy made to play with accelerometers in laptops that sense free fall. (He talked about a pong like game where each persom moved their laptops to move the paddles.

[IceCold]

We already knew this, didn't we? After all, when using a sniper in Red Steel, you move the controller forward you zoom in..

[zakkiel]

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We already knew this, didn't we? After all, when using a sniper in Red Steel, you move the controller forward you zoom in..

I completely forgot about that.

From the Iwata Asks:

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Since I'd worked on products using acceleration sensors before, I had a general idea of the characteristics and limitations I could expect from this technology. From that experience, I already knew that we would need an absolute reference point near the TV in order to improve reliability of control. If you fail to accurately detect the beam connecting the controller to the TV, and fail to establish an absolute directional axis, you won't know where the pointer is directed due to the margin of error that arises. This must be clearly fixed in order to make it obvious to the user the results of their actions. To put it the other way round, the feasibility of the controller rises immensely if you have axes to measure both acceleration and direction. In this regard, the sensor bar was absolutely indispensable.