And now for a more in depth post. I was sent a link by Mr. Gudenfast to this really cool video on Youtube a few days ago. It’s about using the Nintento Wii for more innovative VR type purposes. I’m really interested in the Wii as a new type of interface and have been eager to try it out for a few things. The application I am beta testing for VJ-ing, VDMX has the functionality to control parameters using the Wii and also with bluetooth devices. I have controlled it using my K750i phone after a tipoff from Artificial Eyes and thought that was pretty cool until I seen what they were doing with the iPhone as an interface. So now I’m hungry for a Wii and an iPhone, although I would wait for Apple to implement 3G before I though about that and more to the point, would wait until I actually had some money in my pocket!

So anyway, back to the Wii and the cool video(s). Well this is amazing sock knocking off stuff, what you are about to see here… Johnny Chung Lee presents some of the really cool projects he is working on, first up, well, the title say it all….

Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the WiiRemote

Makes you wanna Wii doesn’t it?!! Fair dues to him on this. EA have now picked this idea up for commercial release on a game. But he’s not getting paid for this, it is his passion he is about advancing technology and is happy to see his ideas implemented. He will go a long way.
So naturally after seeing this great work I had to see what else he was up to. Next up…

Automatic Projector Calibration with Embedded Light Sensors

Foldable Displays (tracked with the Wiimote)

Impressed? So you should be! This really goes to show just how close we are to moving away from the physical computer and to use systems akin to what we see in films such as Minority Report. But I reckon it would be even better than that. Projected images can do a lot of things with the kind of software and technology demonstrated above. Think holographic images, 3D projected images, true virtual reality and much much more. The future is coming very quickly. Scrap that, the future is now.. it always is!

Well there is many more cool things to check out via his YouTube profile. If you are into video production well worth a look is his Poor Man’s Steadycam as demonstrated below. You can put this together for less than the price of a multipack of dv tapes! Find out how at his $14 Steadycam webpage. He will even build one for you for a bargain price if you don’t fancy DIY. Major kudos to Johnny Chung Lee.

Poor Man’s Steadycam Example Usage – Two Cams