Nintendo; Countering IEDs

Nintendo Wii Being Adapted To Defuse IEDs, (CNN)…Chris Lawrence, December 28, 2008 . Nintendo Wii Being Adapted To Defuse IEDs , CNN Sunday Morning, 9:00 AM

…The Wii-mote would use an infrared beam to instantly match a soldier’s motions with the robots movement. Potentially, it’s small and light enough that the infantry could use it to say, send robots into a building ahead of troops.

T.J. HOLMES: Moving on here to one of the most popular video consoles out there. People just can’t get enough of the Nintendo Wii.

ABBIE BOUDREAU: But, could it really help save lives on the battlefield? Some scientists say there is a way. Borrowing from a video game to use in combat.

HOLMES: Yeah, scientists adapting remote controls for Nintendo’s Wii to defuse IEDs. CNN’s Chris Lawrence reports it’s an idea many scientists believe can virtually save lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE: A gun in one hand and a Wii in the other, it’s one possible image of the 21st soldier. Engineers are modifying the video games remote to move military robots.

PETER WILL, ROBOTICS EXPERT: It’s this natural hand-eye coordination. It’s not looking at the keyboard or typing, and getting the motions from typing.

LAWRENCE: The Army uses robots to dismantle explosives and keep soldiers at a safe distance, but the controllers are big, bulky and the operator has to focus on 40 or 50 buttons, that’s a potentially deadly distraction during battle.

The Wii-mote would use an infrared beam to instantly match a soldier’s motions with the robots movement. Potentially, it’s small and light enough that the infantry could use it to say, send robots into a building ahead of troops.

But, the Wii’s greatest benefit could be its biggest drawback. The same way gamers accidentally throw controllers into their TVs, engineers have to account for a soldier’s natural body twitches. So, the goal…

BOB QUINN, VICE PRES, TALON ROBOT OPERATIONS: Is to make sure you’re not having misguided, unintentional movements of the body, make those changes in the robot and have the robot act chaotically because it’s sensing that it’s being moved when the soldier really has no intention of moving it.

LAWRENCE: Bob Quinn works for the company that’s helping integrate the Wii. He says developers still have to extend the range of the controller and make sure its signal can’t be hacked.

QUINN: And allow for the soldier to be able to make those movements without the enemy bringing out their own controllers, and taking over control of the robot.

LAWRENCE: The company tells me they can turn the prototype into a working unit within a year. The Pentagon doesn’t move quite that fast. The Army has to test it, allocate the money. So it will probably be at least three years before it’s actually available to soldiers.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE)