Motion controller

A motion controller controls the motion of some object. Frequently motion controllers are implemented using digital computers, but motion controllers can also be implemented with only analog components as well.

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Implementation

Motion controllers require a load (something to be moved), a prime mover (something to cause the load to move), some sensors (to be able to sense the motion and monitor the prime mover), and a controller to provide the intelligence to cause the prime mover to move the load as desired.

Just about everything that is man-made requires motion control during its manufacture, packaging, distribution or use.

Benefits

Motion controllers are used to achieve some desired benefit(s) which can include:

Gaming

Motion controllers using accelerometers are used as controllers for video games, which was publically introduced in 2006 by Nintendo's Wii Remote, which uses accelerometers to detect its approximate orientation and acceleration, and serves an image sensor,[1] so it can be used as a pointing device. It was followed by other similar devices, including the ASUS Eee Stick, Sony's PlayStation Move (which also uses magnetometers to track the Earth's magnetic field and computer vision via the PlayStation Eye to aid in position tracking), and HP's Swing.[2] Other systems use different mechanisms for input, such as Microsoft's Kinect accessory, which uses a combination infrared structured light and computer vision, and the Sixense TrueMotion, which uses a magnetic field to determine position and orientation.

The Sega Activator, based on the Light Harp invented by Assaf Gurner,[3] was released for the Mega Drive (Genesis) in 1993. It could read the player's physical movements and was the first controller to allow full-body motion sensing. However, it was a commercial failure due to its "unwieldiness and inaccuracy".[4] The Atari Mindlink was an early proposed motion controller for the Atari 2600, which measured the movement of the user's eyebrows with a fitted headband.

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