6533b829fe1ef96bd128adfa

RESEARCH PRODUCT

An interdisciplinary school project using a Nintendo Wii controller for measuring car speed

James Robert MitchellNils Kristian Hansen

subject

Science instructionMultimediaComputer scienceController (computing)Computer softwareGeneral Physics and Astronomycomputer.software_genrecomputerSimulationEducation

description

This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article published in Physics Review. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-9120/48/2/184 This work examines the feasibility of employing a Nintendo Wii game controller for measuring car speed in an interdisciplinary school project. It discusses the physical characteristics of the controller and of vehicle headlights. It suggests how an experiment may be linked to topics in mathematics, statistics, physics and computer science. An algorithm for calculating speed from repeated recordings of car headlights is provided. Finally the results of repeated experiments with an approaching car are provided.

10.1088/0031-9120/48/2/184http://hdl.handle.net/11250/138282