This modder began with a stock PSP Slim 2000 and transformed it into what it should have been the day it left the factory.  The new model features an extra joystick, 32GB flash memory instead of UMD’s, a second port for charging, built in camera for taking pictures, and a superb emulator.

The custom firmware gives you the ability to emulate just about any retro gaming system from NES, DS, Sega Genesis and N64.  You’ll playing your favorites in one hand-held piece of geek heaven.  Check out the video below where the modder walking us through some of his upgrades to the PSP.

Top PSP Mods:

• PSP with Full Keyboard + Flip Screen
• Sound Activated LED Light Mod for PSP
• Home Automation using a PSP

Imagine being able to play Guitar Hero with only an air guitar. And no, we’re not talking about project Natal.  The clever folks at Microsoft and the University of Washington, have  built a controller prototype using muscle sensors to control a PC.  Learn how to build your own.

The basics are fairly simple. Muscle signals are read via sensors on your forearm and translated into pre-calibrated commands. For example touch your forefinger and thumb and open a program; clench your fist to shut it down and so on.  The video shows a great demo:

The team demonstrate other potential applications such as iPod containing strap sensors which enable you to control the device by simple hand movements.  What do you think? Is this the future of gaming?

More Controller Mods:

• 5 Ways to Hack Your XBOX 360 Controller
• Car Hack: Remotely Drive a Car with an iPhone
• James Bond Style Wireless Door Lock

The Dr. Frankenstein MAME cabinet is a retro gaming rig that takes inspiration from the monster novel. The steampunk cabinet is almost gothic in its design. Our previous post on DIY Arcade Rigs was about building an old styled arcade cabinet from the ground up. This Frankenstein build is just about giving the game rig a classically inspired touch.

These pictures above illustrate the building phases starting with the first woodwork. Every little touch adds to the antiquated appeal like the vintage panel meters on the control panel. Awesome detail!

The steampunk, mixed with the retro switches and gagues, and finally the rusted paintjob give it an astonishing vintage effect.  It took the builder about 60-80 hours of loving labor on the arcade rig. Not bad at all when you stand back and applaud a work of art.

Our other top arcade projects:

• Make your own Vintage Arcade Marquee
• Make your own Arcade Cabinet
• How to Build a DIY Nintendo Arcade

See also: Top 30 Wiimote Hacks of the Web

Anyone who’s interested in virtual reality will find German Timo Fleisch quite fascinating. He’s the one who originally came up with a way to combine Nintendo Wii remotes and IR LED’s, in order to create virtual reality environments. Even though Fleisch is the master-mind behind this technique, with the right equipment and know-how, anybody can setup their very own virtual reality world.

Here are the basics:

• First, the user holds an object in front of a monitor. He has a Wii remote set up above the monitor facing the table on which it stands.
• The object that is being held is equipped with some IR LED’s so that the remote can identify it and determine its location.
• The second remote is pointed towards the user who is also equipped with IR LED’s. Just the same as the object, this allows the system to determine the user’s location.
• From there, the computer uses all of this information to display an interactive image based on the object in relation to the user.

“The core of this VR setup is using the Nintendo Wiimote Controller as a tracking camera. As one might already know the Wiimote is equipped with an infra-red camera that is able to recognize up to four infra-red lights. The main idea now is to build a device with four infra-red LEDs that can be recognized by the Wiimote. I call this device infrared beacon. Using the values of the 4 LEDs as recognized by the Wiimote I use an algorithm to reconstruct the original position and orientation of the IR LED beacon. Getting all 3 axis translations and all 3 axis rotation angles of the device is called 6 degree of freedom tracking or short 6DOF tracking.”

For a visual explanation and a better idea of how to get started, take a look at his Wiimote Desktop Virtual Reality video:

This tutorial will walk you through how you how to connect your wiimote to your PC to play games like Counter Strike, Call of Duty, and more.  We’ve covered a brief tutorial in the past about how to connect a wiimote to your PC which you can also reference during the setup process.

What You will Need:

• Wiimote (way cheaper on eBay)
• Sensor bar (optional)
• Wireless Bluetooth Adapter (We sell quality adapters at low prices in our store)
• BlueSoleil and Glovepie (free)

How to Connect your Wiimote to your PC:

1. Plug in your bluetooth adapter.  (Buy one in our store)
2. Download BlueSoleil, install and run it.
3. Hold 1 and 2 buttons on wiimote
4. Click the center button on BlueSoleil to search for devices.
5. Once the wiimote is found it will show up as “Nintendo” followed by multiple letters…
6. Click “Search Services”
7. Click “connect bluetooth human interface device

Make sure when you do this you try to keep the lights on the wiimote flashing once it is successfully connected (the lights will eventually turn off by themselves).  Your wiimote is now connected to your computer! BlueSoleil should now look like this:

If you don’t have a Wii console, you can buy a few infrared LED’s and tape them on your desk facing the area where you will be using the wiimote. Bascially,  you have to try your best to simulate a wii sensor bar or else the wiimote might not pick up the infrared LEDs.

For those with a Wii console, simply plug in your wii into any outlet and set the sensor bar anywhere infront of your monitor. Â  (We only need the wii to power the sensor bar).  The sensor bar just uses 2 infrared LEDs which the wiimote detects.  Don’t turn your wii console on until you need the infrared lights. Then the next step is to download and install GlovePie.  Here is a Wiimote script for Counter Strike and you can find many other scripts as well.

Next steps:

1. Open the Script on GlovePie
2. Run the Script from the download above
3. Make sure that the X and Y axis are working when you tilt the wiimote.
4. Turn on your wii console
5. Start  Counter Strike
6. Go to console and Type in “Sensitivity 0.1″
7. You can change the sensitivity to whatever you feel is comfortable for yourself but make sure it is close to 0.1 or else it will be hard to control.

Counter Strike Controls:

• B =  shoot
• A =  Secondary “silencer, etc.”
• Home = Buy Menu
• Flick Up = Jump
• Minus = Reload
• 1 = Weapon Switch
• C = Crouch
• Z = Uncrouch

Tip: Make sure you are a good distance from the sensor bar or else you’ll have little room to aim the wiimote.

Check out some similar wii hacks:

• See our vast collection of Wii and Wiimote hacks
• How to: Cheap Accelerometer with the Wii Nunchuck
• Airsoft Gun Controlled via WiiMote

This is probably the closest anyone has come to playing Command and Conquer “Red Alert” in a highly volatile environment, containing the real Soviet Tesla Coil. You too can find out how to reconstruct the set of the popular game and bring it to life with some good preparation. Follow the steps in this comprehensive guide and who knows, maybe you’ll be the next one posting amazing unaltered pictures of high voltage adventures.

Using the infrared camera in the Wii remote and a head mounted sensor bar (containing two infrared LEDs), you can accurately track the location of your head and render view dependent images on the screen.

This effectively transforms your display into a portal to a virtual environment. The display properly reacts to head and body movement as if it were a real window creating a realistic illusion of depth and space. Someone get this kid a job.  Update – he’s been hired by Microsoft.