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Nintendo patent reveals 'environment sensor unit' for Wii

by rawmeatcowboy
28 February 2012
GN Version 4.0


- sensor could be used to predict the weather
- sensor can also estimate the time of year and detect which room in which the device is located
- sensor data can be used to alter in-gamme content
- includes an atmospheric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and a humidity senso
- also features a dedicated microcomputer and memory
- these allow the unit to run the sensors at periodic intervals
- sensor reading history can be plotted on-screen
- view graphs that detail this information
- atmospheric pressure sensor data can be used to predict weather
- data is sent to a server
- results come back as a large-scale map of atmospheric pressure
- temperature and humidity sensors can detect patterns over time
- data can show whether people are in a room or not
- can also eventually infer the time of year
- applications involve using sensor readings with various historical data to generate indices such as beer index, an influenza epidemic index, a comfort or discomfort index, and a laundry index
- system could also recommend clothing for a specific day
- can also be equipped with a radio or an infrared communication system, which would allow for control of other devices
- allows the Wii Sensor Bar's infrared lights to be used for communication
- could work in conjunction with a smell sensor, dust sensor, human sensor, camera, illuminance sensor, and an ultraviolet sensor
- patent originally filed on August 12, 2011 in the states, which was after a Japanese filing on August 20, 2010
- inventors are listed as Yasuyuki Shimohata, Ryoji Kuroda, Kazuhiro Hosoi, and Takanori Okamura
- this technology could be used to fix console systems, PCs, phones, PDAs, and hand-held game systems

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