Engineers adapt Wiimote technology to control bomb disposal robot

How would you like to use your Wiimote to defuse bombs? Well, it won’t exactly be you doing the defusing – a robot by the name of Packbot will be doing the actual work. All you need to do is control it, as the US Army is doing. This innovative idea actually came from a couple of engineers who modified the Wiimote for the US Army’s use.

For more motion-sensing bomb disposal news, turn to the full article after the jump.

Nintendo Wii technology is being used for physical therapy and surgeon training these days. The U.S. Army, however, is using it for another purpose: bomb disposal. Thanks to engineers David Bruemmer and Douglas Few, soldiers may now have an easier time controlling Packbot, the military’s bomb-defusing robot.

Bruemmer and Few adapted the Wiimote‘s wireless, 3D motion-detecting technology to act as the robot’s new controller. Soldiers may command Packbot to sniff out explosives, check for landmines and defuse both. The engineers said that the Wiimote makes for more instinctive robot control than traditional controllers.

Breummer and Few are also reportedly working on adapting the Apple iPhone for the US army. The iPhones will supposedly replace the laptops that soldiers normally use to collect data from robots like Packbot.