WiiLi

While doing my usual morning browse through my inbox and following various links I’ve been sent I stumbled across WiiLi (WiiLinux).  The long term goal of the project is to get Linux up and running on a Wii (ossum), but for obvious reasons that’s a long way off.  So for the time being the focus is on WiiLi Link - a live CD that enables a normal PC to become a host for the Wiimote.  What’s even better than all this though is the fact that the site contains drivers for the use of the Wiimote on a normal PC.  At the moment they have drivers for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.  The one that’s of most interest though is the WMD (Linux based driver)

So why is this important?  Well apart from the fact that it opens up a “more fun” way of interacting with games it also has implications in the visualisation industry.  The Wiimote is a 6DOF control - namely the ability to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right (translation in three perpendicular axes) combined with rotation about three perpendicular axes (yaw, pitch, roll)  [wiki].  This kind of movement is perfect for visualisation tools.  It allows you to manipulate data/views in a more flexible and ultimatly realistic manner.  At the moment 6DOF systems cost a lot of money and are pretty cumbersome (usually involving movement within magnetic fields), plus they’re usually wired systems.  The Wiimote on the other hand is wireless, pretty and cheap.

The implications and possibilites of the whole WiiLi project is really exciting.  I for one can’t wait to see how it evolves and can’t wait to get the drivers working and tested with my Wii!