[Waynep]

Originally Posted by JesseK

A couple of servers are down at the moment here at work, so my usual news-site stumbling revealed this little gem of an article:

http://www.physorg.com/news104502773.html

In it, the author describes how university professors use a bluetooth interface to a Wii remote to calculate positioning of a pendulum based upon the accelerometer and IR sensor output of the Wii.

A Wii remote retails for $39.99 and includes all 3 axes of output data plus and IR sensor data you can use as a (dynamic, non-static!) reference point:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1158316638167

The accelerometer that comes with the kit of parts costs $30 if you buy 1000 of them at a time and includes a single-axis sensor with a signal processor that determines the difference based upon the sensor's never-to-change initial state.
http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0%...C00.html#price

For a second, let's ignore the fact that currently there exists no bluetooth interface for our current robot controller. It is possible that in the future we will be able to interface to it in a much more intuitive and/or complex manner than we have now.

I do believe that the future holds a bit more for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) products than anyone has realized. Would you go for the Wii for it's 3-axes + IR sensor for an extra $40 or are you happy with a generic, single-interface design that's provided for us every year? I ask this question with on-robot feedback control loops in mind rather than a human-robot interface controller.

Jesse,
This is a great topic of discussion. What other COTS items are you thinking of? Assuming that we may have an improved interface in the future what would be on your wishlist? Furthermore, what capabilities/functions would you want the control system to have? With rumors of a substantial change, I think the powers that be at FIRST are probably perusing threads like these for ideas to incorporate into the next generation control system. We should let it be known what we're hoping for since we’re the end user.
-wayne