WiiStick: Enhancing motion recognition capability for Wii systems

Nintendo´s Wii system uses motion acceleration sensors to provide an intuitive user interface with limited motion recognition capabilities. In this work, we investigate these limitations, and propose a new system called WiiStick to enhance the motion recognition performance. One main limitation of Wii is that the direction of movement cannot be recognized accurately if the motion involves both accelerating and rotating. To overcome this difficulty, we propose to add an elastic stick and an IR emitter to the Wiimote. Besides, we develop a motion recognition algorithm based on signal analysis and pattern recognition techniques. As a result, motion can be recognized more effectively. It is shown by experimental results that the motion recognition capability of the Wii system can be greatly improved by the proposed WiiStick system.