New Controller Gets Rid of the Unsightly Sensor Bar On Your TV
The Wiimote (and the little console it wirelessly connects to) has taken the world by storm. It's surprising, then, that more competitors haven't come out with their own interpretation's of Nintendo's novelty. Sony, of course, threw a little motion sensitivity into its PlayStation 3 controller, but that's really been about it. Now, however, PC accessory maker Motus is in the planning stages of launching its own little and white motion-sensing device that itll call the Darwin. We're not quite sure the evolved name is appropriate, though, at least not based on the Darwin specs.
The Darwin looks quite a bit like the Wiimote, is roughly the same size and offers a similar button placement. It is, however, rounder in shape, like the hilt on a Samurai sword. So, presumably, it should be a little more comfortable, and with no sensor bar (that unsightly contraption you have to put on your TV) required, the Darwin shouldn't require that you point it at the screen to enable it to tell where it's indicating. This device will use an internal gyroscope instead of the IR sensors used by the Wii, potentially enabling it to always know which direction it is pointing.
While that does sound more advanced, the planned price of $79 - $99 puts it at twice that of Nintendo's offering. Likewise, while Nintendo has already pushed millions and millions of their Wiimotes, Motus won't make the available until sometime next year.
Yes, next year. '2008' is still looking a little fresh, so expect it to be a long, long wait.
From Engadget and Technology Review
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MR K said 4:34PM on 2-05-2008
"This device will use an internal gyroscope instead of the IR sensors used by the Wii, potentially enabling it to always know which direction it is pointing."
The wii remote also uses gyroscopes, and accelerometers. It also knows which direction it is turning, the angle it is at, and which direction it is accelerating in.
"and with no sensor bar (that unsightly contraption you have to put on your TV) required, the Darwin shouldn't require that you point it at the screen to enable it to tell where it's indicating."
I wouldnt call it unsightly. It is slim, small, and fits snugly on a thin flat screen TV.
and
One major point is the wii remote only uses the sensor bar to aim at points on the TV screen. It does not use the sensor bar for motion detection.
It can help the Wii remote detect 'extra' information about angle of the wii remote as the sensor has multiple IR LED's, one set on the left side and one set on the right side which are 'seen' by a small IR camera in the wii remote.
The wii remote will work perfectly fine for motion based gameplay even without a sensor bar.
for example - Wii Sports (bundled with the Wii console) can be played without a sensor bar at all.
Also on top of gyroscopes, accelerometers, an IR camera; the wii remote also has a speaker built in to it, memory storage, more buttons, rumble motors, and most importantly an expansion port used for extra peripherals like the nunchuk,
classic controller, guitar pad, hori arcade stick and possibly more.
The writer of this article has either not done any research, or, the marketing campaign for this device is making false claims.
The whole device is clearly a bad rip off, Nintendo will no doubt be on their case soon.
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