SISAREA » MotionController

Microsoft Kinect starts making home deliveries to beta testers

Vlad Savov — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:05:00 +0000

As beta testing programs go, Microsoft's Kinect venture has been kind of... leaky. No surprises, therefore, that we've now received our first in-the-plastic pictures of the motion-tracking camera peripheral, replete with a few select shots of its packaging. Redmond's promise that hardware was en route to testers was clearly not a hollow one, and we can now probably expect a bunch more unauthorized disclosures about the user experience with what should be final retail units. The outside of the packaging includes a couple of teasers encouraging users to pick up some of those bodacious PDP stands and wall mounts for their Kinect -- presumably the start of a tidal wave of Kinect accessories.

Gallery: Microsoft Kinect starts making home deliveries

Microsoft Kinect starts making home deliveries to beta testers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Move review

Ross Miller — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:01:00 +0000

The PlayStation Move. It's funny to think just 15 months have passed since Sony first unveiled its motion controller, and now we're mere weeks away from hitting the retail market. To be sure, it's not like the company didn't have waggle on the mind already -- patents dating as far back as 2005 reveal as much, and of course the incredible success of Nintendo's Wii proved there's a market for more physically exerting gameplay. And it's not just PlayStation; Microsoft's got its controller-free Kinect motion camera system coming this November. So, in the year where all major game consoles now ask you to get off the couch and earn arm muscle, how does Move fare? Read on for more!

Gallery: PlayStation Move review

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PlayStation Move review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hillcrest Labs brings LG’s Magic Motion remote to life, cheekily points out that Sony uses it, too

Tim Stevens — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:04:00 +0000

We had some fun playing with LG's Magic Motion gesture remote at CES this past January, which lets you change channels with a flick of the wrist, and now we're learning a little more about its fancy innards. Hillcrest Labs, the company behind the Loop mouse/bracelet, is proudly proclaiming that its Freespace tech is what makes LG's remote so magical in the first place. Hillcrest also would like to take this opportunity to point out that Sony has licensed its technology as well, and given we're but a few weeks away from the PlayStation Move launch, many are concluding that gadget has some Freespace up in it too. However, given Hillcrest's nasty patent dispute with Nintendo over the Wiimote, it's possible this is just Sony covering its ample posterior against a similar lawsuit. Or, this could go all the way back to the tech that allows the DualShock 3 to detect movement. (Remember trying to play that dragon game just with motion controls? Man, that was hard.)

Continue reading Hillcrest Labs brings LG's Magic Motion remote to life, cheekily points out that Sony uses it, too

Hillcrest Labs brings LG's Magic Motion remote to life, cheekily points out that Sony uses it, too originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Project Natal to cost $149 by itself, $299 with 360 Arcade, according to latest rumors

Vladislav Savov — Wed, 26 May 2010 22:25:00 +0000

Here we go with those trusted sources again. Edge has it on good authority that Microsoft's midlife rejuvenator for the Xbox 360, Project Natal, will cost a cool 149 bucks when purchased as a standalone accessory, or $100 when bundled together with the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade console. That's a mighty steep hill for early adopters to climb, but Microsoft did warn us that Natal will not be an impulse buy. An October 26 date is also proffered for the official launch, but that might shift, leaving us with the same window of expectation as before. Interestingly, the Natal name is expected to definitely change for the final retail product, which we should be learning a lot more about at E3 in a couple of weeks.

Project Natal to cost $149 by itself, $299 with 360 Arcade, according to latest rumors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 18:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video)

Sean Hollister — Sun, 16 May 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Sure, Project Natal is the hotness and a little bird tells us PlayStation Move is pretty bodacious, but you don't have to buy a fancy game console to sooth your motion-tracking blues. When students at Cornell University wanted to play Human Tetris (and ace a final project to boot), they taught a 20Mhz, 8-bit microcontroller how to follow their moves. Combined with an NTSC camera, the resulting system can display a 39 x 60 pixel space at 24 frames per second, apparently enough to slot your body into some grooves -- and as you'll see in videos after the break, it plays a mean game of Breakout, too. Full codebase and plans to build your own at the source link. Eat your heart out, geeks.

Continue reading Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video)

Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)

Sean Hollister — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:51:00 +0000

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.

Continue reading Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)

Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video)

Sean Hollister — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Sprint and Verizon may have shunned the Nexus One, but that doesn't mean the handsets can't be put to good use: these Android-controlled, Arduino-powered Cellbots now feature the one true Googlephone as the CPU. At Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, we got our hot little hands on the DIY truckbots for the first time, and found to our surprise they'd been imbued with accelerometer-based motion control. Grabbing a Nexus One off a nearby table, we simply tilted the handset forward, back, left and right to make the Cellbot wheel about accordingly, bumping playfully into neighbors and streaming live video the whole time. We were told the first handset wirelessly relayed instructions to the second using Google Chat, after which point a Python script determined the bot's compass facing and activated Arduino-rigged motors via Bluetooth, but the real takeaway here is that robots never fail to amuse. Watch our phone-skewing, bot-driving antics in a video after the break, and see what we mean.

Continue reading Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video)

Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Move controller priced at $60 in Canada

Nilay Patel — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:19:00 +0000

Sony's been pretty fuzzy on pricing for the PlayStation Move -- we've only really heard "under $100" for the full package with controller and camera -- but it looks like the numbers are starting to solidify, as Gamestop Canada has the controller itself now listed for $59.99. How that number will translate into a US price is obviously up in the air, but Sony's MSRPs tend to be the same or similar across the US and Canada, so we'd say we've at least got a reasonable estimate of how much this thing is going to cost. We'd also guess that this points to a full package price of $99, but we'll see -- Sony's got months before the Move's planned holiday launch to tweak all these numbers.

[Thanks, Matthew]

PlayStation Move controller priced at $60 in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India

Joseph L. Flatley — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:58:00 +0000

The vaguely kidney bean-shaped device above is actually, believe it or not, yet another motion controller. Details are scant, but apparently the HP Swing is being bundled with HP Pavilion desktop PCs in India (starting at 29,990 Rupees, or about $670). The thing will not be available separately, and as far as we know there are no plans to release it in the states. We're not saying that it won't be released in the US, but we are saying that we probably don't care. Either way, we'll let you know when we hear more.

Continue reading HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India

HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Move sub-controller hits FCC, will be named Navigation Controller

Sean Hollister — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:10:00 +0000

Wondering what Sony's going to call that PlayStation Move sub-controller -- you know, since "nunchuk" is already taken? Wonder no more. Sony part number CECH-ZCS1U just hit the FCC's database, and "Navigation Controller" is written in nice bold letters right there on the label. It's looking like this is official, as the Sony US website has been quietly updated with the change, and we think it makes a certain amount of sense, as most 3D games let you aim the camera with your dominant hand and relegate navigation to the other. Like the Motion Controller, Sony's opted for confidentiality on this one, meaning we won't have photos of the controller's juicy guts for six months, but hey, at least you already know what the outsides look like -- and you can see it in action on the Engadget Show right here.

PlayStation Move sub-controller hits FCC, will be named Navigation Controller originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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