HOWTO: Wii remote in Ubuntu 8.04

[Toshibawarrior]

Hmmm...weird...First make sure your Intrepid install is completely up-to-date. Then try to reinstall the packages needed to use the wiimote:

sudo aptitude remove libcwiid1 lswm python-cwiid wmgui wminput

Then restart the computer and go to a terminal again and type:

sudo aptitude install libcwiid1 lswm python-cwiid wmgui wminput

Now follow this section of Rhubarb's original tutorial as it'll work for Intrepid too.

Allow your Wii remote to be a keyboard / mouse / joystick:-
Unless you want to run sudo modprobe uinput every time you start Ubuntu, it's recommend you make it automatically run upon Ubuntu start up.
Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/rc.local

Insert this line before exit 0:
Code:

modprobe uinput

So the whole file should look exactly like this:
Code:

#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

modprobe uinput

exit 0

You may restart your computer for the settings to take effect,

Once you're done restart the computer again.

Once it boots up again run:

gksudo wminput <your wiimote's bluetooth address here>

And check if it works.

If somehow that doesn't work try reconnecting your bluetooth adapter to another USB port...if it is a USB dongle...

Let me know if it works for ya.

[Rhubarb]

I've got some more good news:

I've managed to compile the wii whiteboard application successfully:
http://code.google.com/p/linux-whiteboard/

You can't just install the deb files there, because it wants to see libbluetooth2 rather than libbluetooth3 that's provided with Intrepid.
So after compiling it, it seems to work fine.
It does seem to freeze up after ~ 1 minute of use, but I'm not sure if it's a genuine problem, or just a problem because I'm using a remote control to test it (which flickers an awful lot).

I'll have access to my 64bit Intrepid install in a few day's time, so I can test my wiimote there, and will be able to test the wii whiteboard out more properly too.

I still recommend people stick with Hardy if they're not confident in getting their wiimotes working for the time being.
After further testing, I'll release an update to my guide here.
I can't foresee any major problems getting wiimotes working fully as before in Intrepid for those more technically inclined at the moment.

It's all good news so far

[yumeona]

Hi, just a couple of questions:

Does XWii support mouse scrolling? What options are allowed in MOUSECLICK?

Also, are gestures already possible with wiimote on linux?

Thanks.

[Rhubarb]

Hi, just a couple of questions:

Does XWii support mouse scrolling? What options are allowed in MOUSECLICK?

Also, are gestures already possible with wiimote on linux?

Thanks.

I haven't played with XWii for some time, but from the best of my memory:-
XWii would support mouse scrolling, it's just mouse button 4 and mouse button 5.
I'm not sure what you mean by what options are allowed in MOUSECLICK - you can bind a mouse click to any button / gesture on the wiimote.

I haven't done much research into gestures on linux, having said that, if you are using cwiid (like in my tutorial) and make the wiimote act as a mouse, then it should well be possible to find an application that supports mouse gestures. Then it should work.

I know a fair bit about text input, and alternative input stuff.
So if you like I can look it up for you (if someone else doesn't beat me to it first).
Just bear in mind that I'll probably be rather busy during the upcoming months, so I may not be able to give a prompt response.

Cheers, Rhubarb

[Toshibawarrior]

Well, in other news, I managed to destroy my Ubuntu install and lost my everything...music, photos, videos, data, and Ubuntu in general, thanks to openSUSE I made a mistake in the partitioner and it took over my 3 partitions and destroyed them...so I'm back to 0 with WiiMote-On-Ubuntu....

Luckily I have my button config and other stuff safe on an external HDD but I'll need to reinstall everything back.

I also wanted to check if this trick was possible in other Linux distros...I'll check that later on today...

[yumeona]

I haven't played with XWii for some time, but from the best of my memory:-
XWii would support mouse scrolling, it's just mouse button 4 and mouse button 5.
I'm not sure what you mean by what options are allowed in MOUSECLICK - you can bind a mouse click to any button / gesture on the wiimote.

Thanks! That was just what I needed. Sorry if that was a little vague, what I mean was that I don't know what to put in "mouseclick", I only know "MOUSECLICK 3" for the left mouse button and "MOUSECLICK 1" for the right mouse button. I was wondering if there were any other like mouse scroll or something, which you just answered.

Edit: I was referring to the config profiles in XWII, btw.

I haven't done much research into gestures on linux, having said that, if you are using cwiid (like in my tutorial) and make the wiimote act as a mouse, then it should well be possible to find an application that supports mouse gestures. Then it should work.

I know a fair bit about text input, and alternative input stuff.
So if you like I can look it up for you (if someone else doesn't beat me to it first).
Just bear in mind that I'll probably be rather busy during the upcoming months, so I may not be able to give a prompt response.

Actually, I need the gestures to control a UI similar to Elisa Media Center. I'm trying to study the cwiid API, but I'm a little bit lost in it. If you could point me to something that may help me that would be great, but it's okay if you're busy. Thanks a lot.

[iztok.jeras]

I have no success in making wiimote work on intrepid. On Hardy it works fine.

I tested it on an AMD 64 system and the bluetooth driver seems to crash.
On an 32bit (Asus Eee Box, Acer Aspire One) I was not able to connect to the remote, It seems that it receives a device ID, but is not able to connect to it.

I do not have any other bluetooth devices to test with, but it seems that the problem might be with the bluetooth stack.

I was able to get the wiimote ID (i have yet to check if it is not from a random phone around) a few times, but was never able to connect or to get any further.

IzI

[Trebaruna]

Once it boots up again run:

gksudo wminput <your wiimote's bluetooth address here>

And check if it works.

I think you probably mean

sudo wminput <your wiimote's bluetooth address here>

instead.
Remember, this is not a graphical command, so there's not need for graphical wrappers.

Also, rhubarb: is there a specific reason you do not setup wminput as a daemon at startup in your howto? This would eliminate the need for manual intervention to get the Wii remote working.

Lastly: last night I got it up and running in intrepid x86. Haven't gotten around to the IR functionality yet, will report when I do. It might be interesting to report I did have some initial Bluetooth difficulties: after initial detection by lswm it refused to acknowledge my bluetooth adapter, even after some un- and replugging. After reboot it worked fine.

[Rhubarb]

Also, rhubarb: is there a specific reason you do not setup wminput as a daemon at startup in your howto? This would eliminate the need for manual intervention to get the Wii remote working.

Good point, there's no reason why you couldn't add wminput to start up automatically. The reason why I didn't include it to my howto, was because I hadn't thought of that (thanks by the way), and it'll probably cause problems if you wish to play on your Wii while your computer is on.
- Not that I have a Wii myself, but others probably do.

Lastly: last night I got it up and running in intrepid x86. Haven't gotten around to the IR functionality yet, will report when I do. It might be interesting to report I did have some initial Bluetooth difficulties: after initial detection by lswm it refused to acknowledge my bluetooth adapter, even after some un- and replugging. After reboot it worked fine.

Thanks for the info, I was a bit confused initially with Intrepid too (and still am a bit).
I haven't narrowed down exactly what problems were the cause of it (could've been old packages that were fixed in updates, rebooting, or me not issuing a sudo wminput rather than just a wminput).

I'll have an opportunity to verify this further in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks again Trebaruna for the ideas and info.
I might compile an intrepid update to this guide sometime (unless someone else is nice enough to beat me to it)

[Toshibawarrior]

I could make a guide for you Rhubarb...Just let me know if I should make it on another thread, or just add it here. !

Let me know!