[OSM-talk] Cheap gyro sensor using Nintendo Wii handset?

[Petter Reinholdtsen]

Mapping tunnels with a GPS is not very easy, as the GPS can't get a
satellite lock under ground.  One solution to this is to add a gyro
sensor (accelerometers) to the GPS, to track relative movements under
ground, and use the GPS position to fix that movement to the GPS grid.
But it hasn't been cheap to get a GPS with included accelerometers,
and I am not sure if anyone have tried such equipment with OSM yet.

While discussing this problem the other day, it occurred to my
girlfriend, that the Nintendo Wii handset contain such accelerometers,
and a Bluetooth transmitter as well.  The handset can be used with a
Linux machine, so by using a GPS, a Wii handset and a linux laptop,
one should be able to implement a motion tracking OSM data collector
in a car.

I found <URL:http://www.wiili.org/index.php/Motion_analysis> analysing
the values reported by the Wii accelerometers.  The only unknown is if
the Wii is sensible enough to detect the movement as the car is
moving.

Instructions to interface it to linux is available from
<URL:http://www.wiili.org/index.php/Wiimote>.

Did anyone test this yet?  I'll try to get hold of such remote to test
it, but it might take a while before I get a car to drive into the
tunnels. :)

Friendly,
-- 
Petter Reinholdtsen