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Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wii Remote

video Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wii Remote

If you'd like to have your own multi-touch whiteboard, drafting table, or tablet PC. You can make one using a Wii remote and some IR leds pens. The IR camera in the Wiimote will track the location of the pens. With a little bit of software, you can map the camera data to the display position so you can use the stylus just like a mouse.

The software is available to download from my website at http://johnnylee.net

119 comments

1-40 of 119

Nov 23, 2011. 2:05 PMepicnoobpwn says:

Could I take the IR emitters out of old TV remotes? Will those work? If so how many volts do I need going to the led?
I was thinking of putting the leds on fingertips of a glove (4 fingers), will that work?
Is there a way to make windows 7 recognize the input as a tablet/pen input interface (instead of a really big, fancy touch mouse as with smart boards) so I can have a full touchscreen experience? That would be really cool.

Thanks

Nov 8, 2011. 4:45 PMtdemeyer says:

Hi there!

I just bought an IR-pen (Sabre). I also have a wiimote, but i have no beamer.

I tried to calibrate my pen, but it won't work. I have the software, i press calibrate, and the white screen apears with the red crosses. I press al 4 of them with my pen, but afterwards, nothing happens: i can't control my pc with my pen..
I've put my wiimote in the right position, but it won't work..

What am i doing wrong?

Thq..

Jul 2, 2011. 10:41 PMRonnieJi says:

To make you wiimote whiteboard looks like a commerical one,try iWiiBaord 5: http://youtu.be/1LuOxAb13So

Jan 24, 2010. 3:32 AMHonzik says:

WOW! This is the best DIY touch screen, but I have a question... Is there anything that can be used instead of the wii remote?

Apr 15, 2011. 2:34 PMJackie Lee says:

Hi, you can use the portable smart interactive whtieboard from Oway Group Limited

Jan 28, 2010. 4:33 AMboonjin says:

Hi,

At the moment, Wii Remote is the most cost-effective capturing device to turn your screen into an interactive whiteboard. This is because of the low latency and the relatively high resolution of the Wii Remote's camera. If you are using a web camera, your computer may need to handle a lot of processing to extract the dots.

You can take a look at this video to see how easy the interactive whiteboard can be set up.

Regards,
Boon Jin
http://www.smoothboard.net

Jan 2, 2011. 12:48 AMhamuni81 says:

Hi dear, I need your help, I have a chines wiimote. I am facing problem to connect it with pc. Kindly advise can we use this remote for touch screen purpose.

Apr 15, 2011. 2:33 PMJackie Lee says:

It's no problem, you can use bluetooth!

Jackie Lee
Profession Interactive IR Pen for wiimote from Oway Group Limited

Mar 23, 2011. 12:05 PMDumchicken says:

is it supposed to blink?

Feb 3, 2011. 4:55 PMl99roufs says:

Wich one of the programs are the ones for this insructable.

Aug 3, 2010. 12:13 PMnouserr says:

Its awesome!!!!!!!!! really I have to have something like that at home!!!!!

Apr 10, 2010. 9:07 AMDemonSpawn says:

i cant connect my wiimote to my pc, its asks me for a passcode and i cant get it any where ive tryed everything like: null, 0000, (nothing) and loads more please help...

May 7, 2010. 8:44 AMboonjin says:

Hi,

You will need to skip the passcode. If the Skip button is not present, you can press Alt+S on your keyboard.

If you would like to automatically connect the Wiimote with Smoothboard, you can use the Microsoft Bluetooth Stack.

For more information you can take a look at the Smoothboard- Wiimote Whiteboard wiki at http://www.boonjin.com/smoothboard.

Regards,
Boon Jin

Apr 23, 2010. 5:37 PMLoganRussell says:

Usually the passcode is "1234" unless it was changed.

Jan 21, 2010. 7:45 PMbrendanvista says:

I already have an infrared camera that I use for head tracking. It would be so cool to be able to use it instead of the wiimote. All the software would have to do is not be restricted to teh wiimote. That would be super cool.

Apr 15, 2010. 1:12 AMcritterfluffy says:

The problem is the wiimote does all the tracking, calculating, etc and all that the computer gets is the coordinates for each of 5(I think) points in space. This means this processing would have to be taken over by the computer. Should be possible but it would likely introduce some latency in the system.

Feb 21, 2010. 7:58 PMqwertyman10 says:

This will work amazingly well for me. First of all, I have a wii remote that i cant use because the accelerometer is broken but the camera still works, and I am also trying to learn GIMP, and i want to try to replicate an actual pencil as cheaply as possible. Does this have to be done on a projector, or can I use a monitor?

Mar 1, 2010. 6:48 AMboonjin says:

Hi,

You can use any flat surface including your monitor.

If your screen is small, you may find difficulties clicking on a small spot as the IR pen's tip will be quite large in comparison to the screen pixel. :)

Here is an example of using an LCD screen.
www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cintiq-Tablet-using-Wii-Remote/

Regards,
Boon Jin
www.smoothboard.net

Jan 29, 2010. 5:04 PMRonnieJi says:

Wii Remote is the most cost-effective solution for interactive whiteboard. You can look at http://www.instructables.com/id/Interactive-Multitouch-Display/ to find out another option. But you need to upgrade your webcam with a IR-only light filter and many works on installing ir lights. It might takes you weeks to get all things done :(

iWiiBoard has a great solution for wiimote whiteboard. You can check it out

Jan 4, 2010. 3:04 PMspydercanopus says:

This has to be a fake. Fow do you connect a wii remote to a PC? Show me that part.

Jan 20, 2010. 4:09 PMboonjin says:

If you are using the Ms Bluetooth stack, Smoothboard will automatically learn and connect the Wiimotes for you. You can learn up to 4 Wiimotes simultaneously with Smoothboard.

The Smoothboard software can be downloaded from www.smoothboard.net/download

For more information on connecting the Wiimote on your computer, you can take a look at www.boonjin.com/smoothboard/index.php

Jan 5, 2010. 2:24 AMRonnieJi says:

Hi spydercanopus,

You cant directly connect a wii remote to a PC, you need to have abluetooth dongle plugged in your PC to talk to wii remote. And you need a bluetooth dongle software to pair your wii remote.

iWiiBoard has a built-in automated wiimote connect feature,which will save you lots of time on pairing your wii remote.

Feb 7, 2010. 8:00 AMjcoolio97 says:

@RonnieJi

I can directly connect my wiimote to my computer, as long as you have a new mac or pc.

Jan 5, 2010. 3:04 PMspydercanopus says:

Very interesting.. I have all the parts needed to make this work so I might just try and get back to you.

Oct 3, 2009. 7:56 PMROBOTMAN10 says:

I am having a problem with the wiimote whiteboard program. When I start the calibration and point my led at the first cross hair all the cross hairs act like I pointed to them and the calibration ends! This is frustrating because I can only point to the first cross hair and then the calibration is complete.

Dec 12, 2009. 4:06 PMRonnieJi says:

ROBOTMAN10, try to use a powerful iWiiBoard wiimote whiteboard software which has a built-in automated wiimote connect feature.

Oct 30, 2009. 8:52 AMmdgnys says:

It may be that your ir pen has too wide of angle?

Oct 7, 2009. 5:20 AMboonjin says:

Hi, Most probably it is caused by stray IR sources detected by the Wiimote or a faulty IR pen. You should use <a href="http://www.smoothboard.net">Smoothboard's </a>calibration viewer to determine the cause of the problem. If you did not activate the IR pen, no IR dots should appear. Regards, Boon Jin

Oct 9, 2009. 11:27 AMROBOTMAN10 says:

Calibration works fine with smoothboard but when I try drawing it is really jumpy. In the wiimote whiteboard program this was never a problem. The wiimote whiteboard program worked for me for a while but when I increased the brightness of my ir led by increasing the voltage it started not working. I know the ir led still works because I have looked at it through a camera. When I look at the wiimote whiteboard programs ir light detector I only see an ir light source when I turn on my pen. However when it displays the number of ir light sources "1" it flashes like the ir sources is inconsistant could this be the problem?

Oct 9, 2009. 6:58 PMboonjin says:

Hi,
It seems that the Wiimote is not detecing the IR source of the pen correctly.

Normally, this is caused by your IR pen blinking by itself (connection issue internally) or a non-genuine/faulty Wiimote where it could not track the IR point continuously due to Wiimote's camera sensor.

How big is the screen you are trying to calibrate?

In Smoothboard, you can turn to Presenter Mode and face the IR pen directly at the Wiimote to see whether the IR dot still flashes. If it still flashes, it means the IR pen is faulty (blinking) or if you have a permanent IR dot when near but not when far, it means the IR source is weak or the Wiimote is faulty.

Sep 30, 2009. 4:04 PM

ReCreate says:

nice!

Jul 8, 2008. 2:52 PMOneManUniversity says:

Cool! Too bad I don't have bluetooth :[ Great 'ible!

Sep 12, 2009. 1:47 AMStephanie F says:

Hey,

Smoothboard now comes with autoconnect mode that does not require bluetooth. It has annotation features too.

Check it out at http://www.smoothboard.net

Sep 12, 2009. 5:34 PMcostest says:

but the wiimote uses bluetooth. how would it connect then?!

Sep 12, 2009. 8:41 PMStephanie F says:

Oh. What I actually meant was the latest Smoothboard version does not require manual Bluetooth connection but can handle automatic connection with the computer through a Bluetooth adaptor using MS Bluetooth Stack.

May 19, 2008. 2:27 AMangusware says:

I've got everything I need, but the IR LED is only visible from directly facing the tip of the LED, is there any way to make the light also come out the sides so the wiimote can be off to the side and still see the IR light?

Sep 2, 2009. 4:08 PMmatt ledding says:

Wiimote should be off to the side, Francisco Cardoso Lima in his web page http://clinik.net/wiimote/wiimote_info_working.php made this beautiful (visual haiku) drawing that explains the set up: wiimote height should be about the center of the board in height if it is straight.

Jun 19, 2008. 7:00 PMChucklesProductions says:

Did you see how his pens had the LED jutting from the end of the pen shell so the whole LED was exposed? That way, light can escape from more areas than just the front of the pen. Also note that the Wiimote was off to the side. I hope this helps.

Feb 21, 2009. 1:10 PMmadhops0620 says:

Every time I try to run wiimote whiteboard after connecting the Wii remote to my computer via bluetooth, I get the following messge: "WiimoteWhiteboard has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." The same thing happens when I try to run wiimote smoothboard. Any suggestions?

Aug 13, 2009. 5:29 AMboonjin says:

Have you tried the latest Smoothboard version 1.5? It has improved compatibility with Windows Vista and also Windows 7. Maybe you are unable to run the application because you do not have the Microsoft .NET 3.5 Framework.

Smoothboard has an easy to access toolbar that provides annotation capabilities and navigation controls for your presentations.

The latest Smoothboard release can be downloaded from http://www.smoothboard.net