Google hacks the Wii Balance Board to surf Google Earth — literally
Google used its booth at Macworld this year to show off some of the things it was working on with Apple, particularly for the iPhone. But the coolest thing at their booth didn’t have much to do with Apple at all: A hacked Nintendo Wii Balance Board (from the game Wii Fit) used to control Google Earth.
Using the Google Earth application programming interface (API), a Google engineer was able to get the Balance Board to talk to the program after decoding the Bluetooth packets being sent from the board (that’s how the device wirelessly interacts with a machine like the Nintendo Wii). The result (which you can see in the video below) allows users to move forward by leaning forward, move backwards by leaning back, etc.
The developer says he made this neat little demo to inspire others to code their own programs using these open source methods. Hopefully, someone comes up with a hack to make it so I can use my Wiimote to control my Apple TV, so I can stop using that damn directional pad.
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About the Author, MG Siegler
MG Siegler writes about technology trends and new media for VentureBeat, with a focus on mobile topics, social elements and key news stories. Before that, MG wrote about technology on his blog, ParisLemon. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan where he studied film. He's previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where he did web development. He now lives in San Francisco.