Nintendo Wii Remote IR Camera Extension (Wiimote RJ45 Mod)

[budda]

Hi,

This is a note placed before the main article explaining why this Wii mod is being posted at MTBS3D.


Nintendo Wii Remote mods appear to be popular. Hopefully, this article will be beneficial in attracting publicity and raising awareness of this website for new visitors.


The Wii Remote RJ45 Mod is a light and fun project. Others may enjoy the challenge of putting it together like I did.


In the forum I had suggested an idea to incorporate a wireless camera into stereovision glasses (shutterglasses) to perform head tracking.


This mod may go a little way towards realising the concept.


Thanks.

[budda]

Hi,

I have been interested in the many useful ways the Wii remote controller and other wii accessories have been put to by the modding community out there.

I bet Nintendo has been surprised by the momentum of these third party developments too.

A number of Wii Remote camera mods have been published but these have been highly customised and hard wired projects.

The features of this Wii Remote Camera mod make it more useful for projects.



The Wii Remote IR Camera Extension shown above is a working prototype made to demonstrate the basic concepts and features.

WARNING: Be careful handling and working with the integrated circuit camera chip, because it may be damaged or destroyed from ESD (electrostatic discharge). Experimental use only.

The advantages of this mod are as follows:

1. All parts and tools are standard, cheap and generally available.

A special tri-wing (nintendo) screwdriver is however required for disassembly of the remote case.

2. No rewiring is necessary for the cables or connectors.

3. The Wii Remote remains fully functional.

4. The camera is a snap-fit in the RJ45 socket.

5. The electrical contact between the RJ45 socket and camera is easily tested for continuity by probing the exposed camera pins and the extension cable/connector.

6. Basic electrical and mechanical skills are required, however some skill is needed to desolder the camera from the circuit board and to solder the RJ45 socket into the remote.

A computer repair technician did the soldering for me.

7. Long cable runs may be possible between the remote and the camera module.

8. Basic UTP ethernet network cables can be used. Shielded FTP cables remain an option if required.

9. The mod has been tested and works well with Free Track v2.2 in One Point mode.

The sensitivity to camera orientation can be very high.

10. There is major scope for the improved packaging of the camera module.

The exposed pins need to be better protected from external mechanical or electrical contact, including electrostatic discharge.


For a look at the gallery of pictures for this mod see - http://www.mtbs3d.com/gallery/thumbnail ... y&uid=7170" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Thanks 8)

[budda]

Extra space reserved just in case.

[Aidan]

looks funny, but i cant see any real use in it. if u dont use the cam for IR tracking to use the mouse-feature what else could u use it for.

[budda]

Hi,

There are lots of potential uses for mouse-like IR tracking in a compact form.

Small cameras are needed in applications such as head-tracking, white-boards, clip-boards, pens and who knows what.

The Wii camera can be placed in locations where a Wii Remote is too big to fit.

Maybe you would like to look at http://www.wiimoteproject.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for some actual Wii Remote projects.

Yes, the Camera Extension Mod looks gangly, but if someone could make it work in a more refined form, then it does offer great modding opportunities.

Overall, I think it may be simpler to directly wire the Wii camera chip to the Wii Remote in order to minimize potential damage from excessive handling, such as plugging and unplugging it.

I have some ideas for making this extension mod more practical, particularly with respect to the Faraday shielding of the camera chip and connectors. The main difficulty is that RJ45 network cable was not really meant to be shielded like VGA or USB cables. It is possible to change the RJ45 connections to DB9 or HD15 connectors, but this gets away from the original idea ......

Two IR cameras can be used to create 6 degree of freedom tracking. It just needs both cameras to recognise each other face-to-face, one placed on the persons head and the other one on the display, and everything else can be calculated from there.

Thanks.

[crim3]

Two IR cameras can be used to create 6 degree of freedom tracking. It just needs both cameras to recognise each other face-to-face, one placed on the persons head and the other one on the display, and everything else can be calculated from there.

Could you explain a bit more how this would work, please?

[avirata]

How can you tell the difference between an official Nintendo Gamecube controller, and a third party brand? I have noticed that official Nintendo Gamecube controllers have the words "Nintendo Gamecube" written above the start button in gray writing. Is this method of comparison certain to work, or are there exceptions?