Towards Affordable Gesture based Interfaces - An Exploration with Wii Remotes

The traditional keyboard and mouse computer interface is well suited for 2D applications such as document editing, but as 3D environments become more prevalent there arises a need for new methods of user input. An immersive 3D interface is preferable, but is often cost prohibitive. This paper presents the design and implementation of a Natural User Interface (NUI), named NuWii. NuWii was designed to be used with the Spiegel visualization framework for astrophysical data. The interface makes use of Nintendo Wii Remotes as infrared tracking cameras to detect 3D gestures made by the user. These gestures are interpreted and used to control the viewing camera’s parameters throughout the course of a visualization. Our project provides a new, more intuitive way of manipulating the camera in the Spiegel visualization system. Furthermore, NuWii provides an expandable base that could be used for gesture control in many other applications.