Using mobile phones as motion controllers via Wi-Fi
Ville Muilu · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja · 2026
Motion-based interaction is increasingly used in applications such as games, virtual reality, and training simulations, where natural and intuitive control of virtual environments is essential. Dedicated motion controllers rely on specialized hardware and platform-specific software, which can increase cost and limit accessibility for users and developers seeking flexible solutions for motion-based interaction. To address this problem, this thesis proposes a smartphone-based motion control system which was designed and implemented using web-based architecture to minimize hardware dependency. The system transmits motion sensor data over a local wireless network to a host computer, eliminating the need for platform-specific software or dedicated controller hardware. Since the internal latencies of commercial controllers cannot be accessed without extensive hardware modification, the proposed solution was evaluated using a custom-built measurement rig that physically actuates all controllers under identical conditions, enabling black-box end-to-end latency comparison. The results collected with the measurement rig show that the proposed system achieves a mean latency of 40.2 ms over 10 measurements in a local deployment, which is comparable to the measured Nintendo Joy-Con (42.6 ms), although slower than the measured PlayStation 5 controller (21.6 ms), with both reference controllers measured under the same conditions. These findings demonstrate that a web-based smartphone controller can achieve latency levels suitable for some motion-controlled applications. The study also identifies limitations related to measurement accuracy, browser-based sensor access, and network conditions. Despite these limitations, the proposed system demonstrates a viable low-cost and accessible alternative to dedicated motion controllers, particularly prototyping and experimental use cases which do not require uncommon sensors.