For my second project in the Interactive Museum Design course, I wanted to experiment with the Nintendo Wii Remote. Due to the massive success of the Wii console, Wii Remotes are nearly ubiquitous in many households. Moreover, since Nintendo has launched the Wii’s successor, the Wii U, it has become quite easy to find inexpensive Wii Remotes for sale.
Last summer I purchased two Wii Remotes with the intention of creating a DIY interactive whiteboard, a la Johnny Lee, but as with the Kinect, these remotes have sat on my desk collecting dust for the past several months.
However, alongside the Kinect, I realized that my neglected Wii Remotes would be an excellent addition to my project exploring creating interactive experiences based upon video games. At a basic level the Wii Remote is a Bluetooth device that is capable of tracking infrared light. Since 2008 software developer Johnny Lee has been part of a community interested in finding new uses for Wii Remotes. Lee’s best known project involves turning a Wii Remote into an affordable DIY interactive smart board.
I decided to attempt to replicate this project. After purchasing an infrared pen on Amazon, I had all of the physical materials I needed to create the interactive whiteboard. I downloaded an OSX Wii Remote Whiteboard application based upon Johnny Lee’s original design, and got to work getting my interactive whiteboard up and running.
The program installs fairly easily, but has stability issues that causes it to crash fairly frequently. Upon launching the application, a small window opens that allows users to sync and calibrate their Wii Remotes.
However, I’ve encountered a problem when attempting to sync my Wii Remote. After turning my Wii Remote on and attempting to connect to my computer’s Bluetooth, I receive this screen about 60% of the time.
Perhaps it’s because I bought an off-brand Wii Remote, but I do not have a passcode to use with this device. After spending time on a number of Wii Remote enthusiast websites, I found the suggestion that entering my computer’s Bluetooth address into this passcode box that it would satisfy the pairing request. This didn’t work, but I found another suggestion saying that the Bluetooth address had to be entered backwards for it to work. While this sounds like internet folklore at its finest, this method appears to work about 80% of the time. Occasionally the pairing request box with return after entering my reversed Bluetooth address, but more often than not it works.
Further complicating this issue, after changing the batteries in my Wii Remote for the first time, I didn’t receive this pairing request. Once those batteries died, however, and I replaced them, the pairing request returned. I can’t seem to find anyone else who has reported having this issue, and since I can generally make the Wii Remote pair to my computer, I’m not overly concerned with solving this mystery.
Generally speaking the DIY interactive whiteboard works reasonably well. The whiteboard works by positioning the Wii Remote so it can see the projector screen. The Wii Remote tracks an IR pen that I hold in my hand and controls my computer’s mouse cursor according to the pen’s relative position to the sensor. I calibrate the Wii Remote by holding the IR pen at fixed points, giving the software an idea of the space I’m working it. Improper calibration results in unpredictable mouse movement.
While far from perfect, the DIY interactive whiteboard has presents educators and exhibit designers with a number of opportunities. Commercial interactive whiteboards sell for thousands of dollars and are largely stationary. The Wii Remote Whiteboard can be made for about $30 and can be set up nearly anywhere.
Wanting to share this project with other educators, I offered a workshop at Western’s Technology in Education Conference showing attendees how to create their own interactive whiteboards. This project was warmly received and while most attendees were unsure how best to use these devices in their own classrooms, they seemed generally interested in the possibilities.
Like the Kinect, the Wii Remote Whiteboard isn’t well suited for fine control, but it does excel at making large, sweeping motions. I believe that this project lends itself well to interactive art, allowing users to treat the Wii Remote as a paint brush. This low-cost, and user friendly project offers another tool in one’s interactive exhibit design arsenal.
-Ryan Hunt
@Ryan__Hunt
