Wiimote Whiteboard

Several months ago when Dedi was exploring the costs and benefits of multithousand dollar electronic whiteboards for her classroom, I mentioned I had read about a sub $100 solution built using a Wii remote controller.

I should have known that this would lead to 'When can you build it?'

So I consulted Johnny Chung Lee's web page (http:johnnylee.net) and went to work. All I needed was a Wii remote controller (Wiimote), a software download, and a 'home built' IR (infrared pen).

I think this would have been much easier to do in the USA which has Radio Shacks scattered around, but here in Swiss-land it was quite the challenge.

Dedi found a Wiimote for under $50 and a pushbutton switch, and brother Don brought in the $2.00 IR LED during his visit. All I needed to find was a bluetooth USB adapter for our Vista PC, a battery case to hold the batteries in the 'yet to be built' IR pen, a marker for the IR pen case and a resistor and capacitor.

Long story short, no battery cases, resistors or capacitors to be found and no luck finding a Vista compatible blue tooth adapter. I gave up on the resistor/capacitor search and modified the design to work with one battery and hopefully not fry the LED or battery without a series resistor...yes I know I'm losing my audience here!

I finally got an XP version to work on Vista after a few driver donwloads so now all I needed was the battery case. I gutted a dry erase marker, cut a hole in the side for the switch, and was considering soldering to the battery...not a good idea I'm sure...I put that decision off and tried to assemble the switch and LED into the marker.

Dry Marker with still intact push button switch...




















But during initial assembly I broke the switch....and yes, no switches to be found at any of the hardware or electronic stores accessible by mere mortal consumers like me!

So we scrounged around the house for a switch and finally I settled on a broken mouse for the switch source.
(disassembled mouse with tiny internal switches...)


I de-soldered the internal switches and on the 2nd try found one that survived the disassembly. Dedi suggested an old electric tooth brush for the battery case so, Dremel tool in hand I sliced through a pretty grungy one and lo and behold found two wires protruding from the battery section...YES!

In the end I put it all together and I will admit it's not a pretty sight. For one the hole for the switch is too big for the mouse switch and the toothbrush end protruding from the backside does look a bit weird.

But it works. We calibrated a surface on the wall and holding the light pen drew some imaginary pictures on the wall. Like magic they showed up on the computer screen. With a projector system, Dedi could project interactive programs on a wall and her students could interact directly on the projected image.

Oh, and to support the Wiimote, I fashioned a bracket that mounts to a tripod!



Working product!