CiiDMote

The context of the brief which concluded the Physical Computing workshop for 2011 was an interesting one. Small, low budget museums, perhaps based in schools or rural towns, which might want to explain the inner workings of some of the most complex digital devices in the home today. Faculty members for this workshop were Massimo Banzi, David Mellis and David Gauthier.

The team decided to explain the motion detection capabilities of most modern game console controllers, using the ever-popular Wii-mote as their model. While the Wii-mote contains an array of complex sensors, one of the most important is its accelerometer.

The CiiDMote is an oversize model of the Wii-mote. Weighted parts inside illustrate how the microscopic parts of digital accelerometers work. These are bright orange in colour and illuminated by LED, allowing the user to tilt and rotate the CiiDMote while watching the changes affect the rotation of the parts on each axis.

On screen a simple visual of an airplane cockpit mimics the tilt and roll of an aircraft controlled by the CiiDMote, while instruments on the dashboard are designed to match the mechanical parts in the controller also.

Finally, positioned between the screen and the user, is a model aircraft which is also controlled by the tilt and roll of the CiiDMote in use.