I want to be able to control an rgb scanner light through it and was wondering whether you could use the wifi bar as I have heard that it contains ir sensors? I am entering a competition where everything has to be salvaged so I can't buy anything so I thought this is a good idea if you are able to do it...
My understanding of the Wii bar is it's pretty much just a passive IR source. I think there are four IR LEDs in the bar. The WiiMote has a camera which can detect these IR LEDs and the WiiMote uses the x, y locations of the IR LEDs on the camera's sensor to calculate how far away the WiiMote is from the light bar.
You can do some really interesting projects with an old WiiMote. The camera can be removed and the camera can be used with a microcontroller.
I'm not sure how many IR LEDs the camera can detect. I know it's at least four but it might not be any more than four. Three IR LEDs is enough for a controller to determine how far away the LEDs are and how the LEDs are oriented with respect to the camera. The IR LEDs need to be connected rigidly together and the program needs to know the distances between the LEDs.
If the IR filter isn't used, the camera works well with red lights. The Wii Camera is often used with a laser as a rangefinder.
I don't think the light bar is very useful on its own. It's not really a "sensor" by itself.