Take the innumerable possibilities present in the world of Second Life and combine them with the motion-sensing capabilities of the NintendoWiimote, and what do you get? If you're MIT research fellow David E. Stone, you get a highly customizable training simulator. Calling the controller "one of the most significant technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science," Stone is using the Wiimote in conjunction with Second Life to create training simulators for companies such as Orkin Pest Control. Companies that classically have trouble finding training methods the truly engage the user. Within the world of Second Life the company could potentially run employees through checking a house for moisture or mixing chemicals.
"This isn't the kind of technology, or model, that this industry -- or Orkin -- is used to considering," notes David Lamb, Orkin's vice president of learning and media services. He's working with senior officers in the company to build a business case for such training, and, given the potential savings the company could eventually realize across its 400 branch offices, "there's a very high probability we'll move into this arena."
Stone's other clients include a medical devices firm, a global energy company looking to train power plant employees in a safe environment, and a major logistics company that he's created a driving simulation for using the Wiimote in a plastic steering wheel assembly.
But why the Wiimote, when other motion sensing devices have been around for years?
The advantage of the Wiimote is that it's a "human-centric device," says Eric Klopfer, a professor at MIT. A gyroscopic mouse, by contrast, "maps well onto the computer's interface, but not to the person's. The Wiimote fits the user. ... People know intuitively what to do with it when they pick it up because we use it like devices we are familiar with -- bats, rackets, wands, etc."
The potential applications are staggering, really. Right now Stone is talking to a group of European Universities looking to create a virtual cancer lab. Could you imagine Second Life and the Wiimote contributing to the cure for cancer?
Hit up the link below for a deeper look at what Brown can do for you. Comments about the sexual applications of the Wiimote in Second Life are sure to follow.
