Intuitive E-teaching by using combined HCI devices: Experiences with wiimote applications

Abstract

The wide availability of game based technologies and sophisticated e-Learning possibilities creates new demands and challenges on Human-Computer Interaction and Usability Engineering (HCI&UE). Solid research in HCI must support improvement in learning ability and creativity for both teachers and students. According to recent market surveys the Wii remote controller or Wiimote is currently more wide spread than standard Tablet PCs and is the most used computer input device worldwide. As a collection of many sensors, also including Bluetooth technology, accelerometers and IR sensors, Wiimote is of great interest for HCI experiments, especially in the area of e-Learning and e-Teaching. In this paper, we present results gained from the investigation of the potential of Wiimote as both a standard input device - such as mouse or presenter - and as a gesture and finger tracking sensor. We demonstrate, on the basis of examples from e-Teaching, how easily everyday gestures can be interpreted in regular computer applications utilizing Wiimote's hardware modules and some additional software modules. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.