A Combined Wiimote-Camera Tracking System for Small Aerial Vehicles

In this paper, the Wii remote (Wiimote) controller and a conventional video camera are used to perform real-time position tracking of an aerial vehicle. The combination of the Wiimote's infrared and video camera fields of view creates a virtual cube in which motion can be fully monitored. This controlled space allows a vehicle to navigate with no onboard sensors. The proposed approach is advantageous for applications in which vehicles are too small or lightweight to carry sensors. Design, implementation, and preliminary results conducted on a small helicopter are presented and discussed.