To combat the scourge of improvised explosive devices, the U.S. military has been hard at work adapting Nintendo's Wiimote for use in a new explosives-disposal robot, reports Metro.co.uk.
The vehicle, dubbed "Packbot," is capable of remotely defusing and disposing of bombs and mines, as well as toting a high-powered machine gun to deal with any unforeseen threats.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy cite the Wiimote's "instinctive" controls as the impetus behind their new military use, adding that the new control scheme allows "users to focus on data processing" instead of steering a cumbersome robot.
This isn't the first time the military has adapted gaming tech for use on the battlefield; last year it was reported that military scientists had adapted an Xbox controller to steer the Crusher attack robot.
Wii controls to defuse bombs [Metro.co.uk, via Kotaku]
Image courtesy iRobot Corporation
Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Gamelife/~3/259228239/military-adapts.html
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