Could a Nintendo Wii controller be used to fly ROV’s?

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

Just think how easy it would be!!!

[mind-when-this-was-fields]

yep great until you lose the wireless connection and you are left sitting like a spare part as the ROV verts up into the ships thrusters hahaha

[James McLauchlan]

Some useful input above.. or, when I think about it a little more, maybe not.

Wireless controllers are already being used to fly ROV’s in commercial applications. The wireless link is between the controller and the topside unit.

Should the wireless link fail you could quickly revert to manual control and avoid the kind of situation mentioned above. I might add that wireless, or not, there are many recorded instances where ROV’s have gone through thrusters and there was no failure of a wireless connection involved.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

I’m thinking more about the accelerometer control which allows you to tilt, making it easier to use pitch, or even to slave to the camera, for those who are less ambidextrous.

[T-Boy]

The concept is neat and do-able,

I have been considering integrating these controllers with my hobby(Flying RC Planes), so a direct control analogy with ROV’s can be drawn.

The Wii controller uses a MeMS based gyro (similar to Apples’ IPod Touch) and an ADXL330 3 axis accelerometer.

Integrating these would not be difficult at all.

The only problem I forsee, is that you would need obtain an absolute knowledge of its’ orientation.
The MeMs based gyros are only ‘rate gyros’ by that I mean that you would need to know which way ahead or astern is for example – not impossible.

Also I think rather than holding the controller with the risk of dropping it, wearing somthing like a glove with the sensors integrated would be far better on the operator…it kills my arm after 10 minutes of easy bowling on the Wii 😆

Imagine stood on the the LARS bringing the ROV back to the launch position with the ‘glove of love’ on, Real time video goggles with instrument HUD, all RF linked to the control shack…yeah I know it sounds sad, but it’s all acheivable at a relatively low cost 😆

[Paul Bond]

Ha ha – T-Boy. ‘Glove of Love’….. you still watching those naughty flicks? lol

[DANFROV]

The US Airforce are using them for some of their UAV’s in the far east.

Dan

[Thomas]

We did it in all of about 10 minutes

It’s not a Wii controller but same components. It has an accelerometer which does all the controls for the VideoRay.

[Rovo]

I can just picture a few of the dinosaur construction & barge superintendents I’ve worked for in the past sat in the control van watching you waving your arms like a demented aerobics instructor trying to get the vehicle unwrapped from a taut wire……… 😆

[azions]

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[Ray Shields]

Above cut due to the fact it was an entire cut and paste from another website and from searching has also been posted twice on other sites.

Two posts, both posts with links to one website.

Probable spammer.

[James McLauchlan]

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Cheers Ray :tup:

[Author]

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