It seems nowadays using a Wiimote for something like controlling a robotic arm is way cooler than actually using it for playing video games.
A student group project in a Mechatronics class at the University of Michigan produced the Wii-bot arm, which apparently "features direct end effector control using the accelerometers, D-Pad, and a 50 LED sensor bar, unlike the other popular Wiimote Robot Arm (the one with the sword) which was controlled using pattern matching". Ya hear that? The Wii-bots are already preparing for war. Peep the embedded video after the break, in all its whirring and buzzing glory.