Wii's Motion-Activated Interface Provided By STMicroelectronics

Press Release

May 15, 2006, 4:53 pm EDT
Total comments: 21

Acceloration sensors feel the way you move it-move it.

STMicroelectronics Drives Gaming Revolution with Nintendo's Wii(TM)

MEMS Technology Puts Players Into the Action

GENEVA, May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), one

of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, today announced that its

three-axis acceleration sensors will be used to provide a motion-activated

user interface for Nintendo's new home console, Wii.

Expected to dramatically change the way people play games, the Wii

controller includes ST's high-performance acceleration sensors that can

detect the motion and tilt of a player's hand in all 3 dimensions and

convert it into immediate game action.

Driven by ST's Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology --

micron-sized structures that interact with the physical world -- the Wii

controller can respond to changes in direction, speed, and acceleration,

down to the most delicate movements. Specifically, the controllers use

embedded acceleration sensors to enable players' wrist, arm, and hand

movements to interact with the games. Tilt measurements allow users to move

characters, while the accurate three-axis acceleration sensing easily

transforms the controller into a virtual sword, gearshift, or musical

instrument.

The acceleration sensor's miniature dimensions (5x5x1.5mm3) significantly

contribute to the user-friendly volume and weight of the TV-control-shaped

handpiece. Ultra-low power consumption of ST's MEMS devices prolongs the

battery life of the controller and the high thermal stability avoids

unwanted motion sensing in varying temperature conditions. The robust design

of the sensor also provides very high immunity to vibration and a shock

resistance up to 10,000g.

"With ST's 3-axis accelerometer, Nintendo is revolutionizing the gaming

world by putting players into the action," commented Benedetto Vigna, MEMS

Business Unit Director, STMicroelectronics. "This valuable partnership

confirms our conviction that MEMS sensors open up fascinating possibilities

for intuitive man-machine interaction in consumer applications, which can

also allow non-expert players to enjoy the excitement of the game."

"ST's silicon expertise and leadership in micro-machining technologies has

enabled the company to deliver a most cost-effective combination of sensor

resolution, size, and power characteristics," said Genyo Takeda, Senior

Managing Director/General Manager of Integrated Research & Development

Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd. "Another key factor in our choice of ST's

motion sensors was the company's full ownership of the device manufacturing

flow, which guarantees high quality, roadmap continuity, and security of

supply."

"We are very pleased to work with Nintendo on developing the innovative game

console that represents a real revolution for game players around the

world," said Marco Cassis, Corporate Vice President Japan Region, and

President of STMicroelectronics K.K. "We believe this partnership, coupled

with ST's expertise and leadership in the field, will trigger new business

opportunities for ST in the challenging Japanese market."

Talkback

JensenMay 15, 2006

2 motion activated technologies by 2 identical companies for 2 identical news posts!

BRILLIANT!

TMWMay 15, 2006

10,000g?

Like...g-forces?

JensenMay 15, 2006

If you throw your WiiMote at a concrete floor, the sensor won't break.

Who's thread is better now?

PaLaDiNMay 15, 2006

How does this work with the other one?

CalibanMay 15, 2006

"The robust design of the sensor also provides very high immunity to vibration and a shock resistance up to 10,000g."

Does that mean that Sony's motion-sensing technology sucks?! LOL! Either that or they really want to deny to their stockholders that they lost against Immersion.

JensenMay 15, 2006

The sensors can still feel the vibrations, they just don't break until 10,000g

KDR_11kMay 16, 2006

Small g is gramm. Large G is gravitational pull. So if it eats hundred Newton it's a goner.

UltimatePartyBearMay 16, 2006

KDR: Sort of. This is from Wikipedia's page on acceleration due to gravity:

Quote
The symbol g is properly written in lowercase and italic, to distinguish it from the symbol G, the gravitational constant, which is always written in uppercase; and from g, the abbreviation for gram, which is not italicized.

I think it's okay to be too lazy to italicize the g in a forum post when the meaning is clear.

KDR_11kMay 16, 2006

So this would roughly equal "it can withstand a direct hit from an M256"?

couchmonkeyMay 16, 2006

Uh-oh, Wii is a WMD! Duck and cover!

Guitar SmasherMay 16, 2006

Either way, no one is going to accelerate it by 10000g.

puduMay 16, 2006

I guess it is very much like the PS3 one...but with the pointer capability...which is probably why a lot of the games at the show were using the pointer. To me this is dissapointing news because I thought it could be used as an extension of your hand and track the controller in 3D space but this article says it can do tilt and acceleration only I hope that this isn't the only peice of the Wiimote puzzle and it can track in 3D or we wont be getting any real sword fighting games and such.

RequiemMay 16, 2006

It's not the same. The PS3 can only sense MOVEMENT, not POSITION.

That's HUGE.

In fact, it's basically useless to have only movement, because all you can do with it is things like Kirby Tilt and Tumble.

However, with the Wiimote, it can sense movement, position, and how it's oriented. That's incredible, and that's exactly why WiiTennis is so incredible.

puduMay 16, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: Requiem
It's not the same. The PS3 can only sense MOVEMENT, not POSITION.

That's HUGE.

In fact, it's basically useless to have only movement, because all you can do with it is things like Kirby Tilt and Tumble.

However, with the Wiimote, it can sense movement, position, and how it's oriented. That's incredible, and that's exactly why WiiTennis is so incredible.

This is confusing to say the least. I firmly believed that it could sense position but...this article is saying otherwise. It is saying that the motion sensing of the Wiimote is achieved by a tilt mechanism and a 3D accelerometer...which is exactly what Sony just added to their PS3 controller. The only other way it tracks motion that we know of is with the pointer coulpled with the sensor and from what I've heard this simply tracks which way it is pointing, not its position in 3D space. There has been no word from Nintendo about actual 3D position tracking that I can think of and the fact that they said the sensor is to allow the pointer function to work (and not for triangulation) I'm starting to wonder if it can track 3D position at all.

KnowsNothingMay 16, 2006

Well, it's not like I've read the article or anything, but here's what my mind is thinking at this moment:

The PS3 controller tilts. That's it. It's like they stuck a few Twisted cartidges in there facing different directions and gave each other high fives.

The Rev controller also does that. But that's not all! There are other fabulous prizes for those of you playing at home. Acceleromters (in the nunchuck too, don't forget!) sense actual lateral movement in any direction, while the pointing mechanism turns the Wiimote into a laser-pointer. Putit all together and you can get a device which can simulate 3D positioning, pointing, and tiliting. You won't be able to put the Wiimote in the corner of the room, turn on the console, and have the system know where the controller is -- however, if you start at the center of the room, pointing at the center of the screen, every movement you now make can be recorded and tracked. So if you MOVE it to the corner of the room, the system will know where it is because it tracked you movement from the center.

Does that even make sense. I don't know. Maybe I should have read the article or something. But either way, the PS3 controll does not point, which is a HUEG LIEK XBOX missing feature.

puduMay 16, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: KnowsNothing
Well, it's not like I've read the article or anything, but here's what my mind is thinking at this moment:

The PS3 controller tilts. That's it. It's like they stuck a few Twisted cartidges in there facing different directions and gave each other high fives.

The Rev controller also does that. But that's not all! There are other fabulous prizes for those of you playing at home. Acceleromters (in the nunchuck too, don't forget!) sense actual lateral movement in any direction, while the pointing mechanism turns the Wiimote into a laser-pointer. Putit all together and you can get a device which can simulate 3D positioning, pointing, and tiliting. You won't be able to put the Wiimote in the corner of the room, turn on the console, and have the system know where the controller is -- however, if you start at the center of the room, pointing at the center of the screen, every movement you now make can be recorded and tracked. So if you MOVE it to the corner of the room, the system will know where it is because it tracked you movement from the center.

Does that even make sense. I don't know. Maybe I should have read the article or something. But either way, the PS3 controll does not point, which is a HUEG LIEK XBOX missing feature.

Actually the PS3 controller has an accelerometer too. Given the Wiimote has an accelerometer is a very good indicator that it doesn't have true motion tracking because a motion tracking capability would be able to record acceleration anyway... But, like you said, if the accelerometer is sensitive and accurate enough it could, in theory, equate the relative position of the Wiimote according to where it started. It's basically Distance = Rate X Time. If the accelerometer is accurate and sensitive enough it could get a very good reading on the rate of movement and the direction of the movement and if they Wii uses this info, coupled with the time the movement occured then it can track the distance traveled (thus tracking the relative position).

I guess the major difference between the Wiimote and PS3 controller is the pointer device, the quality of the sensors, and the two seperate peices (both with sensing). I can't imagine swinging the PS3 controller around and playing with it like you can with the Wiimote.

mantidorMay 16, 2006

wait Im not getting this, so the remote cant do what they showed in the very first trailer with this guy simulating an operation? he only push and pull the remote, no tilting, no twisting, only moving the remote in the axis perpendicular to the TV screen, that must mean 3D positioning right?

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorMay 16, 2006

I am guessing that the wiimote knows how it's tilted, rotated, twisted, in what direction it's being jerked in, and how far away it is from the TV as long as it's IR sensor can see the sensor bar. Take all of those and remove the distance from TV and you have the nunchuck, so sorta X2.

With the PS3 controller, it knows how it's being tilted, rotated, twisted, and what direction it's being jerked in.

Therefore, the Wiimote+nunchuck has twice the functionality of the PS3 controller, can calculate where it's "pointing" by combining distance data with 3D-orientation data, and is generally much more natural to swing, whereas the PS3 controller can only be easily jerked and rotated, not swung.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

MaleficentOgreMay 16, 2006

ps3 controller can only do kirby's tilt 'n tumble. Wiimote has do depth perception. that's the simple difference.

RequiemMay 16, 2006

Hands-on with the Controllers

puduMay 17, 2006

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
I am guessing that the wiimote knows how it's tilted, rotated, twisted, in what direction it's being jerked in, and how far away it is from the TV as long as it's IR sensor can see the sensor bar. Take all of those and remove the distance from TV and you have the nunchuck, so sorta X2.

With the PS3 controller, it knows how it's being tilted, rotated, twisted, and what direction it's being jerked in.

Therefore, the Wiimote+nunchuck has twice the functionality of the PS3 controller, can calculate where it's "pointing" by combining distance data with 3D-orientation data, and is generally much more natural to swing, whereas the PS3 controller can only be easily jerked and rotated, not swung.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

I think you might be right that the pointer function could track 3D position as long as it is pointed at the sensor...which sort of sucks in a way but, hey, its hard to get too upset about this given all Nintendo has put into this thing. I really like how you summed up why the Wiimote is better. The one last peice of the puzzle missing for me is the controller shell. Is this still happening or is it only the virtual console controller now?

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