Magic Wand: How Hackers Make Use

A deejay in the Netherlands uses his to mix techno music at dance parties. A medical student in Italy has reprogrammed his to help analyze the results of CT scans. And a Los Angeles software engineer has found a way to get his to help vacuum the floor. The high-tech device in each case: the remote control from a $250 videogame console.

Since Nintendo Co.'s Wii landed in stores in November, it has become one of the game industry's biggest hits, selling more than two million consoles in the U.S. Many stores can't keep the console in stock, and it fetches nearly twice its retail price on eBay. One of the major drivers of the Wii's popularity is its remote control, which fans call the Wii-mote. Unlike past remotes, it is motion sensitive and can detect when a player waves it to one side or tilts it forward or back.

The Wii-mote is becoming a cult object for hackers, with gadget geeks re-engineering the device to do all sorts of things having nothing to do with playing videogames. To repurpose the Wii-mote, they download free software from one of a number of Web sites and then tweak that code to assign a specific command to each movement of the device. In the end, the remote takes the place of a computer mouse or keyboard. Waving the Wii-mote sends a message wirelessly to the computer, which then communicates with whatever object the hacker is trying to control.

Software engineer Chris Hughes has tinkered with almost everything in his Los Angeles home, from adding more storage capacity to his TiVo digital video recorder to changing the combination on the keyless entry to his Ford Explorer. When a friend at a Christmas party suggested he find a way to get his Wii-mote to control his Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, Mr. Hughes worked through the night tailoring the software code. Source