Wii and Interactive Whiteboard

At TED, Johnny Lee presented on how he created a program that would allow you to use a Wii remote and an infrared light to change a surface into an interactive whiteboard. You can see his presentation at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/johnny_lee_demos_wii_remote_hack... Has anyone tried this? If so, how does it work?

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Permalink Reply by Rob Kovacs on March 16, 2009 at 9:05am

We will be trying it (more for fun) in one of our classrooms over the next two weeks. I'll post how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Tara on March 16, 2009 at 9:32am

I'm trying it with a MAC and not having much luck. Got the bluetooth to work but still working on calibrating. Are you going to be using MAC or PC?

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Permalink Reply by Rob Kovacs on March 16, 2009 at 1:17pm

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Permalink Reply by Eamon on April 18, 2009 at 7:57pm

New to the posting process, hope I'm not in breach of protocol. I'm a teacher and really want to try this whiteboard setup, fairly decent technical skills.

One thing I have not come across and I've searched a bit is step by step instructions for the set for a Mac. I've seen much reference about the bluetooth usb for communication but this generally seems to be for PC not Mac but not explicitly stated.

It seems that for the Mac white you need is Wii remote, IR pen, LCD projector, and the software (I was on the UWE site). Does that sound right?

FYI I have OS X (10.4.11)

I guess the question I'm basically asking is do I need bluetooth USB to do the whiteboard? If so any recommendations on one to get? I th

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Permalink Reply by Steve Dickie on April 19, 2009 at 5:03am

I've done this using the built in Bluetooth on my MacBook with no problems. If your Mac has built in bluetooth than you should be all set. It is really very straight forward. I put together some instructions that include links for OS X on my web site.

All you really need to do is start the Wiimote Whiteboard software hit buttons 1&2 on the wiimote. The software will look for and find the wiimote. If you want to make sure the your wiimote will work with your mac before you get a IR pen you can try DarwinRemote (linked from my page). This will allow you to use the wiimote as an air mouse.

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Permalink Reply by Eamon on April 24, 2009 at 4:38pm

Thanks for the info, seems to be working.

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Permalink Reply by John Sowash on April 19, 2009 at 5:05am

Yes, that is correct. There are several different programs that allow your computer to interface with the Wiimote. Most of them were created for and only work with a PC, but there is a Java version available that works with Mac. I have not tried it myself, but have heard good things. The absolute best place for all things Wii is the Wiimote Project. There are message boards devoted to the Wii interactive whiteboard and to Mac Users.

Here are links to three Mac compatible software programs to run the Wiiboard:
Remote Buddy (commercial product)
WiiRemoteJ (Java-lib to access Wiimote):
Wiimote Whiteboard (Java version using WiiRemoteJ):

I have been actively using my "wiiboard" since the beginning of the school year and love it! I have posted some of the activities I use it for and some trouble shooting help on my wiki. I also post new ideas and tips on my blog from time to time.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick H on August 17, 2009 at 6:54am

These instructions will work for the Mac or the PC. Mac setup is super easy. I recommend you purchase a drop ceiling mount from penteractive, but I wouldn't recommend buying their pens. I've bought three pens from them, and all three have failed within the first week. You may want to look for some of the soldered pens off of Ebay, or someone on this discussion might have a good suggestion.

It is a very fun and easy project to put together.

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Permalink Reply by Rich White on March 16, 2009 at 3:22pm

Some FOSS to look at for your wiiboard http://edusim3d.com & http:/kindlelab.com

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Permalink Reply by Steve Dickie on March 16, 2009 at 5:23pm

I've gotten one working. I've gotten it to work with both OS X, and WinXP. I put together a blog post to show what I've learned so far. I need to put together another one demonstrating how to set it up.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Lehr on March 16, 2009 at 8:44pm

Does anyone have any advice when it comes to calibrating? I can get everything hooked up and running but the calibrating seems to take forever.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Dickie on March 17, 2009 at 4:04am

One thing I've noticed about calibrating is that you should set up the projector first and then run the wiimote-whiteboard software. The Wiimote software sets the whiteboard size to the same as the mac screen resolution, but when I plug my mac will re-size the screen resolution automatically to one that is supported by the projector.

This often means that the wiimote software thinks my white board is bigger than it is. If this happens I get the first calibration point and the second one is off the scree somewhere.

To resolve this just set up the projector first and then set up the wiimote. Hopefully this helps, it's the only problem I've run into related to calibration.