[Nuclear Muffin]

A patent was just filed about a week ago detailing what's inside the Wii U Tablet controller.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20110190052.pdf

The tablet has (in addition to what we knew before), a magnetometer, an IR port, a speaker, a microphone and built in flash memory!

Pictures from the patent:





It also seems to have a built in rechargeable Lion battery (rather than using AAs)

[Kyaw]

What does a Magnetic sensor do?

[Cosmonaut X]

A magnetometer? Touchless interaction? Compass applications?

[McNum]

Magnetometer? What are they going to do with that? It means it can be used a compass, right?

Interesting with the built in battery, too.

[abstract alien]

Had to Google that magnetometer thing...

[[Nintex]]

Why would Nintendo want to measure magnetic fields?

[Ruud_Luiten]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetometer

Why?

[Hanmik]

what kind of website is that..? I have the latest Adobe reader installed, but it still says my reader does not work...

What does a Magnetic sensor do?

[Meisadragon]

Flash memory on the controller? WTF.

[Ellis Kim]

What does a Magnetic sensor do?

I imagine the magnetic thing might have to do with some sort of gravitational/world rotation thing like the PS Move does...?

I'm completely off the mark, aren't I? I didn't bother googling it :S

[confused]

Wouldn't the magnetometer be used when turning the Wii-U controller, like in the presentation at E# when they used the controller to look beside them ?

[antonz]

Flash memory on the controller? WTF.

Probably be a small amount just like the Wiimote has to store some basic things like Mii etc

[swordfishtrombones]

Magnetometer? What are they going to do with that? It means it can be used a compass, right?

Theremin launch title confirmed!

[Nuclear Muffin]

Flash memory on the controller? WTF.

Well the Wiimote did have a little bit of Flash Memory, not much, but enough to carry around things like Miis, controller configurations for Brawl and save data for MH3.

No idea how much flash memory the tablet has though (Pure gut feeling tells me that it'll be more though)

As for the magnetometer, maybe they'll use it for some map like applications where you may need to point north?

[Saargabath]

It could be used for calibrating the gyro/position device. I don't know :P

[walking fiend]

Well the Wiimote did have a little bit of Flash Memory, not much, but enough to carry around things like Miis, controller configurations for Brawl and save data for MH3. No idea how much flash memory the tablet has though (Pure gut feeling tells me that it'll be more though) As for the magnetometer, maybe they'll use it for some map like applications where you may need to point north?

I believe someone from Canada said that they just want to increase the usability of moving controller to your friends console.

[NinjaTehFish]

Oh my god!

It all makes sense now.
After market saturation with Wii U occurs Iwata will receive the call from Yamauchi to press the big red button on his desk thus activating the magnetometers in the millions of households with the tablet controller thus taking hold of the earths gravitational field he will hold the world to ransom.

[Nuclear Muffin]

It could be used for calibrating the gyro/position device. I don't know :P

Does it do much for the Move controller? Based on what I've seen, it doesn't seem to help much with accuracy/calibration.

[Taker666]

Maybe they are putting a magnet in the stylus?

http://recombu.com/news/magitact-mag...ol_M11466.html

If you're sick of touching your touchscreen phone, then Deutsche Telekom may have come up with something you're going to find pretty interesting.The German company has developed MagiTact, an app that lets you control your compass-toting touchscreen by magic. Well, not actual magic. More like magnets. The phone's compass uses the app to track changes in the magnetic field around the handset, so you could control it with just a swoosh of the hand - provided you're wearing a magnetic ring, or holding some kind of brilliant magnetic wand.

[Shiggy]

It could be used for calibrating the gyro/position device. I don't know :P

I'd assume something like this. Wii Motion Plus needs to be re-calibrated pretty often when you use fast and rapid motions (table tennis, sword fighting). This was not much of a problem as long as you pointed the pointer towards the sensor bar at times. With WiiU the sensor bar is not available anymore, thus you may need this magnetometer.

[Amir0x]

edit: nevermind, too easy

[Nuclear Muffin]

Maybe they are putting a magnet in the stylus? http://recombu.com/news/magitact-mag...ol_M11466.html

Ooh, that does sound pretty cool actually. I'd love to see something like that make it in! (The stylus would certainly be big enough for it to work!)

It would be good for drawing things in 3D too (You could have it so that when you pull the stylus from the screen while drawing, the game interprets that as an upwards motion - sort of like pottery!)

[Kandinsky]

This thing really needs a camera on the back, for AR and other stuff.

[idwl]

Maybe they are putting a magnet in the stylus? http://recombu.com/news/magitact-mag...ol_M11466.html

No, Sadly sounds too awesome for Nintendo to do

[Always-honest]

So... will that fuck up my iphone or bank-card?

[JoeTheBlow]

Does it do much for the Move controller? Based on what I've seen, it doesn't seem to help much with accuracy/calibration.

It does, try turning it off and you have to recalibrate a lot more. Same if you are in a house with a weird electrical field, it throws it off.

As as been said, its just a recalibration thing. The electronic equivalent of placing the Motionplus on the floor, just a way for the thing to remember which way its pointing after a blur of fast motion has scrambled the accelerometers.

[Nuclear Muffin]

This thing really needs a camera on the back, for AR and other stuff.

It has got a camera.

It does, try turning it off and you have to recalibrate a lot more. Same if you are in a house with a weird electrical field, it throws it off. As as been said, its just a recalibration thing. The electronic equivalent of placing the Motionplus on the floor, just a way for the thing to remember which way its pointing after a blur of fast motion has scrambled the accelerometers.

Oh ok, I don't actually own one myself so I've never tried turning it off.

Still, I wonder if they could use it for any other purpose? (like the magnetic stylus mentioned earlier...)

[AzaK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetometer Why?

When you're looking for treasure in Animal Crossing U, you will actually have to look for real treasure.

Seriously though I imagine a compass.

It has got a camera.

But only on the front.

[gofreak]

Magnetometers are pretty standard parts of a motion control/detection setup now.

iPhones, Move, Vita etc. all have them. It's just 'standard' now for more robust orientation detection and all that.

[Luigiv]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetometer Why?

Calibration Purposes mostly. The centre point of a gyroscopes will drift after a few minutes of use so recalibration is constantly required. By using both an accelerometer to detect gravity and a magnetometer to detect the magnetic poles (which obviously don't drift) you can use them as a means of recalibration.

The PS move has the same thing BTW.

[Majine]

So... will that fuck up my iphone or bank-card?

Iwata: All according to Keikaku.

[Hanmik]

the pictures are great..





looks like they are done in one of Neogaf´s Paint threads..

[Tempy]

So... will that fuck up my iphone or bank-card?

The iPhone already has its own magnetometer iirc.

[Cartman86]

I believe someone from Canada said that they just want to increase the usability of moving controller to your friends console.

To play what? All that multi-WiiUpad content Nintendo hinted at?

[Jackano]

Some part of the wikipedia page of the magnetometer looks like the technology that may have been usefull in the vitality sensor development!

[Tempy]

Calibration Purposes mostly. The centre point of a gyroscopes will drift after a few minutes of use so recalibration is constantly required. By using both an accelerometer to detect gravity and a magnetometer to detect the magnetic poles (which obviously don't drift) you can use them as a means of recalibration. The PS move has the same thing BTW.

Actually! http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...magneticfield/

[wrowa]

I wonder how dumb the tablett really is. Would it be able to play Virtual Console games on its own?

[evil solrac v3.0]

lot of things to cram in there. can't wait to hear the price.

[Always-honest]

The iPhone already has its own magnetometer iirc.

Exactly. Two of them.. MY GOD.. what will happen????

[Hiro_Kunimi_80]

Exactly. Two of them.. MY GOD.. what will happen????

you don't wanna know

[Medalion]

THIS is why the Wii U only has 1 or 2 per use on the system, it's a freakin busy ass controller

[Corleth the Fey]

OMG! Windwaker 2 confirmed for Wii U!!

Use the compass to navigate your way around the sea in your dragon sail boat!

[Luigiv]

the pictures are great.. looks like they are done in one of Neogaf´s Paint threads..

I'll give you the second image, but the first image is just a flowchart drawn to professional engineering standards. Flowcharts don't actually get any more exciting then that regardless of who draws them.

[Luigiv]

Actually! http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...magneticfield/

Well yeah, but the shift is very slow (like a degree every 5 years). The tablets going to be recalibrating on a minute by minute basis here.

[Always-honest]

you don't wanna know

[Hot Coldman]

IIRC that amazing Razr motion control gizmo for the PC (the one with the special version of Portal 2 included) uses magnets in some form.

[EskimoJoe]

Yeah, magnetometer is definitely for calibration purposes. And I think it'll have more flash than the Wiimote, since they'v mentioned carrying small games in it.

[walking fiend]

To play what? All that multi-WiiUpad content Nintendo hinted at?

well, he hinted at that, I found it, so I'll quote it again:

Shifting focus to the Wii U, I noted that at E3, much of the focus was on the new controller. With that, I asked if they were also looking to continue the Wii direction of games on the system with more new titles which focus on the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers than on the newer controller, which had reportedly been limited to the use of one per system. After all, the Wii gained quite a following, and it would be a shame to see that direction abandoned before it is fully explored. "Let me correct something that is a misconception," Ryan began. "We said that the Wii U system will come with one Wii U controller, but we haven't said that you can only use one Wii U controller. The fact is that if the developer makes a game or an experience that uses more than one, then anything is possible." "What we've also talked about is to imagine taking some of the experiences you've had at your own home, putting them on your Wii U controller, and taking that with you somewhere else. That would again get rid of that myth and misconception that only one can be used. So, the possibility is there, but the system will only come with one at this point." I asked him to elaborate on what he meant, as Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata had previously noted in response to people talking about taking the Wii U controller with them to the washroom or bedroom to play might have a difficult time getting that kind of range out of it. So what then does he mean by "taking the Wii U experience with you?" "Okay, so that I can elaborate on. The Wii U is not a portable handheld device you're going to take with you in transit or into a proximity away from the Wii U console, but you can take content from your console, put it on your Wii U controller, take it with you somewhere else, and be able to upload it. That technology is possible." I likened it to the Wii Remote, which has a small amount of memory for storing Miis and the like, and he noted it is "similar, but that's kind of basic, what you can do with the Wii Remote. Taking a Mii with you is cool and fun, but this has the possibility to do more... not on the go, but once you get somewhere else where you take your stuff to someone else's environment, it's definitely possible." As an example, I put forth the possibility of loading up your team and plays in Madden and taking it to a friend's house (who also has a Wii U, of course), and both being able to play from their own controller. "It's hard for us to commit to anything concrete, but yes, it's a possibility because the controllers are compatible. It's possible to have that kind of experience."

I wonder how dumb the tablett really is. Would it be able to play Virtual Console games on its own?

According to PR from canada, no.

I'd assume something like this. Wii Motion Plus needs to be re-calibrated pretty often when you use fast and rapid motions (table tennis, sword fighting). This was not much of a problem as long as you pointed the pointer towards the sensor bar at times. With WiiU the sensor bar is not available anymore, thus you may need this magnetometer.

I haven't seen the console in action myself, but in the images, it seems there's a sensor bar (actually it looks longer as well):

[Hanmik]

I haven't seen the console in action myself, but in the images, it seems there's a sensor bar (actually it looks longer as well):

is that sensor bar not for the old Wii-motes..? not for the tablet..?

[walking fiend]

is that sensor bar not for the old Wii-motes..? not for the tablet..?

well, Wii U tablet has an IR as well, so it may use that?