Low-Cost Multi-point Interactive Whiteboards Using the WiimoteSince the Wiimote can track sources of infrared (IR) light, you can track pens that have an IR led in the tip. By pointing a wiimote at a projection screen or LCD display, you can create very low-cost interactive whiteboards or tablet displays. Since the Wiimote can track upto 4 points, up to 4 pens can be used. It also works great with rear-projected displays.
SoftwareThe calibration and mouse cursor emulation software is available for you to download and try yourself. Note: My mouse emulation code isn't perfect. If any of you are programmers and can get it working with Alias Sketchbook, drop me a line.
1. Connect your wiimote to your PC via Bluetooth. If you don't know how to do this, you can follow
this tutorial. I've been told it works with other Bluetooth drivers, but I have not tested them myself. You can report compatibility issues on the
SourceForge:WiimoteWhiteboard - Help Forum2. Download the Wiimote Whiteboard sample program
(that is attached to this post.) Please read the "READ ME.txt" file first! Make sure your wiimote is connected via bluetooth, and then run the ".exe" in the main folder. NOTE: Good placement of the wiimote is key to good tracking. View the README for more info.
Multitouch: The multitouch demos are custom C# DirectX programs
(which is the second attachment.) You may download the source code, but this is provided for developers without support or documentation. The code is built on top of
this Wiimote library. Unfortunately, multi-touch capable applications are currently extremely rare. Hopefully, that will change as more developers explore its potential.
Building pens: Here is a
simple schematic of the light pen. You also might be able to jump start your experimentation by retro-fitting a mini keychain light with an IR LED.
This website seems to sell IR keychain lights that might be ready to use, but I haven't tested them. I'm currently looking into manufacturing and selling IR pens, but this may take several months.
Mac/Linux Versions: A Mac version is almost done, I'm still battling some big bugs. I'm new to Mac dev, so bear with me. You can subscribe to updates at my Project Blog [
procrastineering.com] . A linux version will not be created by me. I am putting out a call to the open source community for this and have created a
Source Forge Project for the Wiimote Whiteboard. Please help spread the love. A lot of people are already waiting to use your software.
A visit to this project's
FAQ and Advanced Discussion post may be very englightening.
