Sixense remote improves on Wiimote game plan

TrueMotion remote is set to ship in December.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

LAS VEGAS--Imagine playing baseball on Nintendo's Wii Sports and being able to pull the ball to left field or lay down a bunt instead of just randomly smacking doubles or home runs.

A Silicon Valley company says its take on motion-control technology will offer far more accuracy to such games. CNET got the first look at the technology here at CES 2009.

Sixense Entertainment, based in Los Gatos, Calif., makes the technology called TrueMotion, which was first developed to track the head positioning of F-16 and F-18 jet pilots. It consists of a handset and a base station. The controller tracks movement along six different axes, and the base station generates a very weak magnetic field. The data is used to determine the exact position of the cursor on the screen.

Nintendo's Wiimote, by contrast, uses three axes and measures the acceleration of the handset, not the absolute position of the remote. Using the absolute position allows people playing motion-control games, such as baseball, bowling, or soccer, to "use real world skills," said Sixense CTO and Chief Architect Jeff Bellinghausen. As in, if you know how to play baseball, TrueMotion lets you make strategic plays, like hitting a bloop single to left or a double to right.

But TrueMotion also makes a difference in how games are developed, according to Sixense CEO Amir Rubin. TrueMotion measures the exact degree of position of the remote every 10 milliseconds. When developers know the exact position of the cursor, there's less need to develop complex algorithms for games just to compensate for not knowing where the cursor is.

The first incarnation will be available in December for PC gaming. It will be backward compatible with a number of popular gaming titles, such as Crysis, Call of Duty 4, and the Madden and NBA Live series.

Big game makers have already had the TrueMotion development kit for a year. By the time the PC gaming version is released, they will have had two years to play around with it.

And although it's not announcing anything yet, Sixense says it is in talks with all three console makers--Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo--about licensing its technology. TrueMotion for console games won't be available until 2010 at the earliest.

Here's a video I took of Bellinghausen, demonstrating how TrueMotion technology works.

[milrtime]

Isn't that basically what the Wii MotionPlus is going to do for the Wii remote? Give it true 1:1 response.

[cirej2000]

Pretty much, huh? Well, at least these guys have been working with PC Devs way in advance and that will allow folks to enjoy this device on some really good existing games. It would've been great if WiiMotion Plus wasn't developed so reactively. It would've been nice to play WiiSports with Wiimotion+, not to mention No More Heroes or Star Wars The Force Unleased (lord knows Red Steel could've used it!).

[dezedeze]

No, it isn't. Seems the main thing couldn't catch your attention, guys: exact absolute positions, instead of the relative motion-sensing through accelerometers in current controllers.

The Wii MotionPlus just adds rotational motion sensing capability to the translational ones the Wiimote capable to sense. (The additional infra sensor helps to define the orientation, as long as it has the infra-LED bar in sight.)

BTW, the PS3's Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers are capable of sensing both rotational and translational movements along all 3D axes in itself. But again, relative movements only. (I wonder why the article don't tell a word about it.)

[brokensummer]

I am really impressed with this nice piece of technology. The free market amazes me; when something truly revolutionary like the Wii and Wii Remote (Seriously people, is it too difficult to say "Remote"? Why Wiimote? are we stuck in the first grade? Is it too much effort to pronounce 3 syllables?) comes to the market and demonstrates current technology (= old dogs) being used in different ways (=l earning new tricks), new ideas and improvements surface to propel the new technology forward in revolutionary ways; just look at Blu-ray and DVD formats. Nintendo said their next generation console would be revolutionary, and we can already see that people are joining that revolution. I believe that the next generation of consoles will all be about motion sensing and probably total body movement tracking.

[linyoa]

no its not too hard to say 3 syllables, but its name is the Wiimote. just like the Playstation 3's controller is called the sixaxis (or Dual Shock 3 alternaitvly)
as for next gen, I think it might be something along the lines of interactive 3d field of vision. (with motion sensing naturally)

[thelemurking]

I just can't imagine playing a FPS on a PC with that.

[dezedeze]

So you can't imagine holding a gun in your hand...? :)

[thelemurking]

It's all about a mouse and keyboard for FPS... controllers, even a Wiimote with nunchuck just can't match all the controls necessary for a good FPS. It would have to be a dumbed down FPS to really work.

[CyStarkman]

There have been so many great control systems over the decades. Every single one has failed because they aren't THE control system, so a few things use it here and there, often badly.

I have had air mice, space balls, head trackers, custom keyboards, crazy joysticks, flight sticks. Whatever.

This is so great it has no chance. Even if a developer does offer it, it will be an option. Mouse and Keyboard will stomp it because everyone has them. Then, by the next game the developer will not offer it as an option because, not enough people had one.

This is what, the third company since Nintendo and its Wii-Mote ( ;p @ broken summer) to offer up something like it, there was even a mob who said they had one for the PS/XB story. Nah, all gone. They think they are on a winner because the Wii is winning.

They miss the point that if you have a Wii, then you have a Wii-mote, no choice, so it is THE control system. It also doesn't have to be, many games use it sideways. It's both. Double win.

Sigh

[brokensummer]

Case In Point :P :P back at you ;)

[r1o2c3]

Nice article! Sounds positive! Visited sixence and saw a lot more info.! Everything but the bottom line!
How many "Bennys"???