Can You Find A Need That Fits This Technology?

[Brad Adrian]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=322' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?...=reviews&id=322</a><br /><br /></div>Until recently, I hadn't heard of the Pocket PC accessory <a href="http://www.ecertech.com/tiltcontroldevice.aspx">TiltCONTROL</a>. However, now that <a href="http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=322">PocketNow.com has published a review</a> of this nifty little gadget, I'm intrigued.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/tiltcontrol.jpg" /><br /><br />"The TiltCONTROL device contains a tiny Accelerometer, which can be used to measure the horizontal and vertical tilt of itself. This tilt angle information is transferred to the attached mobile computing device, where it is processed. Once the angle of tilt has been calculated this information can be used by any application to control what is on the screen, or perform any number of tasks based on the acceleration and tilt of the device."<br /><br />So, as the PocketNow review describes, this little tool basically allows you to use the angle and position of your Pocket PC much like you'd use the D-pad. For example, TiltCONTROL could conceivably allow you to move RPG characters around the screen simply by tilting your Pocket PC. Cool, huh?<br /><br />This technology is still kind of unproven, but I can think of a few kinds of games that it would be useful for. What ideas do you have?

[dma1965]

One thing that wood be cool would be to use it as an electronic level.
It would be great with a pinball game.
How about an electronic egg timer?
How about an electronic compass?

[lazerin]

Is it actually acurate and analogue? If it were, it would be great if you could use it as an attitude gauge to indicate pitch and roll etc.

[carphead]

Could make cool PIE addon for scrolling up and down.

Or how about a satisfing way to turn off an alarm?

[Steven Cedrone]

Maybe use it to flip pages in an ebook! Take a look at this thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22961&start=0) for more info (and more guesses) as well.

Steve

[NunoUFO]

How about enabling a person to remotly control a robot arm, or some mechanic/electrical device?

Aplying it to science or medicine or industry if it works (and is not very limitted) it could be used not only for gaming...

Also it could be used as some kind of a motion alarm: if someone moved the PPC the alarm would go off and the PPC would be rendered useless....

Just some ideas


Nuno

[Cameron_Talley]

Meh. Nintendo had a game that used the same concept about a year and a half ago. Kirby 'Tilt n Tumble'

I can't see any real use except for games.. The problem is that you move the screen at with the device, changing the viewin angle and sometimes making it hard to see.

[David Johnston]

Surely it's ideal for Marble Madness?

[njb42]

There's a similar accelerometer built in to my Toshiba Tablet PC. By default it's used to rotate the screen (hold the tablet any way you want and the screen rotates to face you). It's very cool and useful.

There's also a software utility to let you map actions to the accelerometer, for launching applications or surfing in IE. I find this much less useful.

OTOH, tilting a 6-ounce iPAQ instead of a 4-pound, 12-inch Tablet PC might be more manageable and hence a different story.

[kdross]

The Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro game controller uses the same technology. Air bag crash sensors in cars also use accelerometers. The technology is very proven, and when implemented correctly, works very well. The Freestyle Pro controller (though they don't make it anymore) is a great controller for motorcycle games and such. It is very natural.

[DrtyBlvd]

Lift engineer. :D

[ziad]

I have it, it's a good accessory, but the setup is really a nightmare .... Too difficult to calibrate and configure ... :evil:

[jgrnt1]

I could see this enabling you to use your PPC as a wireless mouse, similar to Gyration's products. I use a Gyration Ultramouse with my media server PC (connected to my HDTV). The screen orientation thing is intriguing also. My Canon digital camera does this. It knows whether you took the picture in portrait or landscape mode and rotates portrait images automatically when you view them on the LCD screen or when attached to a TV.

[garretwp]

I have a device called gtech pro. this device sits in your car and set up correctly will calculate and give you all sorts of readings about your cars performance. This uses a few accleromitors. I got this for christmas and absolutly love it.



Garrett

[Perry Reed]

The best use would be something I saw in a video by this kid at Cal Berkeley doing a project (http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/~ping/peep/).His idea was called "Peephole" and it basically treated the PDA as if it were simply a small window, a peephole, through which you can view a larger document. Thus, moving the PDA around (sliding it around rather than tilting it, as this product would have you do) scrolled the document around; as if you were moving the peephole over the document.

It was one of the best ideas I've ever seen and would almost completely eliminate one of PDAs' most glaring problems -- the small screen requires a lot of scrolling to see larger amounts of information.

The way I imagine it, you would push a hardware button to toggle on the peephole feature, and then any movement of the PDA would scroll the document being displayed. Turning off the feature would cause the document to "resize to fit" the small screen, as most PDA applications currently do.

I highly recommend watching the video.

[jnunn]

The accelerometer should not be tied to the screen but separately communicate to the PDA via bluetooth or the like. Using the accelerometer in the current configuration will cause user to tilt the screen outside of its optimum viewing angle which could cause "yellowing" or at least a diminished screen image. The greatest detriment in the current configuration is that the eye would need to follow the traveling image since points on the screen would experience translation as well as rotation.

An accelerometer distinct from the screen would not suffer those anomalities. However, the user could quickly run out of hands. These are "handheld" devices, after all. Overall, I think that this technology like most technologies looking for a market is destined for the "gee whiz" file.

[dean_shan]

Would be cool if it was built into devices.

[rpommier]

That's what I was thinking too. As it is now it's a little unruly to have it poking out of the bottom of your PDA. I'm sure development would increase if it was built into a PDA.

Roderick

[foldedspace]

You could use it like a personal tilt...like say, on a cruise. It could warn you when you are about to blow chunks. Or it would notice if you were weaving too much going to the can and tell you to stop drinking....

[senfeng]

As many have already mentioned, it seems like a great device for games involving balance or shaking the device. I also like the idea of using as part of a possible anti-theft solution. I could also see some advantage in using the PPC's tilt angle to change the brightness or contrast of the display to allow a less noticable change in the view. Interesting device.

[tanalasta]

I agree that it is an interesting device and that most of you seem to be advocates for it.

However, here are some of the more practical points that I have thought about:
1. Incorporating the tilt-control into a pda would certainly have a novel value. But would you have to hold the pda horizontal for the device to be at a "neutral" position? Most of us hold a pda at an angle directed towards our eyes. Another problem is sensitivity - How steady are your hands whilst you're using your pda on the go?
2. Have to remember that the pda and monitor/screen are one unit. It gets rather hard to play a game if the screen is constantly moving because you are tilting the device this and that way. The viewing angle for the screens on pda's are not that brilliant either. Especially for older devices that don't have transflective back-lights.
3. As an external excessory, the bulkiness and cables might overweigh the uses of the device. However, would love to play a flight sim (eg. anthelion) with the tilt device in one hand and the pda in another!
4. It can be used as a jog-dial. Yes. And it'd work great. But no better than the jog-dial for those of us blessed with a device that has one!

Just my quick brainstorm :)

[Stefan]

1) shake the device: shuffle cards within Solitair
2) throw device at the wall: hard reset
3) drop device from bedside table: stop alarm

...and not to forget:
4) indicate the need for maintenance 2 milliseconds before owner can hear the noise of the crashing device!

[wjsteele]

Ok... here's how I see it.

If you put one of these things on your PocketPC, you could then, say, start typing a word document.

If you mess up, you simply hold the device above your head and shake it up. It will automatically erase the document so you can start over.

That's kind of novel, isn't it? :D

Bill :mrgreen:

[Perk]

That controller is awsome in MS Motocross Madness. I have a customer that got it setup in his theater display. It really gives you the sensation of being that much closer to being there.

The Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro game controller uses the same technology. Air bag crash sensors in cars also use accelerometers. The technology is very proven, and when implemented correctly, works very well. The Freestyle Pro controller (though they don't make it anymore) is a great controller for motorcycle games and such. It is very natural.

[Perk]

Haha, that's a good one, Etch a Sketch. hehe

Ok... here's how I see it.

If you put one of these things on your PocketPC, you could then, say, start typing a word document.

If you mess up, you simply hold the device above your head and shake it up. It will automatically erase the document so you can start over.

That's kind of novel, isn't it? :D

Bill :mrgreen:

[kevdawg2003]

i used to play this game San Francisco Rush (http://www.gamespot.com/n64/driving/sanfranciscorush/) and a third party company made a Tilt Pack (http://www.4videogamers.com/cgi-bin/4videogamers/PL-470) and i just used it to steer my car around town! :lol: it also was fun for Star Fox :wink:.

[gohtor]

This will be a nice addition to my robot project. one less hardware to develop on my own =) only downside is that I need it pretty sensitive and accurate.

[LarDude]

Why not borrow from the aviation industry?

With a precision accelerometer, and accurate starting coordinates (and the right PocketPC software, of course), this device could determine your global position by "dead-reckoning". You wouldn't need to be within range/sight of a GPS satellite either. Everytime you put the PocketPC into it's cradle, it could do an automatic recalibration. (Or alternatively, coupled with GPS -- vis-a-vis the Garmin GPS/Palm-based system -- it could act as a double-check against the GPS system when there is satellite coverage and it can be the primary system when there isn't good coverage).

[goaliemn]

Why not borrow from the aviation industry?

With a precision accelerometer, and accurate starting coordinates (and the right PocketPC software, of course), this device could determine your global position by "dead-reckoning". You wouldn't need to be within range/sight of a GPS satellite either. Everytime you put the PocketPC into it's cradle, it could do an automatic recalibration. (Or alternatively, coupled with GPS -- vis-a-vis the Garmin GPS/Palm-based system -- it could act as a double-check against the GPS system when there is satellite coverage and it can be the primary system when there isn't good coverage).

There already exists such a beast :)

http://www.anywheremap.com/pages/ai.htm

I have this software, but I haven't saved my pennies for the gyro unit yet. I don't know if I'd have any real use for it as of yet, but some guys love it.