Discussion archive for uweschmidt.org
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February 05, 2008. Comments for Wiimote Whiteboard opened.
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I am the technology coordinator for a K-12 school district in central Illinois.
I have tested this on a Mac Mini and my initial tests were positive. (Now, I get to devise a more reliable pen.) Thank you for porting this for the Mac. We have Mac Minis on the teachers’ desks in our K-8 classrooms. We would like interactive whiteboard capabilities in each classroom but can’t afford $1500 for each classroom for a “Smartboard”. I do need to do some more testing before trying this in a classroom.
Thank you for your efforts. Johnny’s project is picking up steam and your Mac port of the project is a huge step for K-12 schools with Macs.
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Thank you for your feedback, Jim
It’s good to hear that my efforts are appreciated and that the program is put to good use. Feedback like yours keeps me motivated to continue working on the software.
I started adding multi-screen support, which is almost done but untested. I assumed this could be helpful when using a projector as second display. I’m always open for suggestions to improve the program.
There is also a dedicated forum for the Wiimote Whiteboard project, in case you didn’t know.
Uwe
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Michael Beck on Wiimote Whiteboard
School Use
Hi, I am also trying to get this set up for a classroom. I am totally lost with how to install/run this. Can anyone help?
Thanks
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Mischa on Wiimote Whiteboard
Thanks
Hi Uwe
I’m just a casual mac user who likes to play around with gimmicks. Thanks for your work and porting this to the mac. Your the man!
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Support
Hi Michael,
Hi, I am also trying to get this set up for a classroom. I am totally lost with how to install/run this. Can anyone help?
I suggest you have a look at the How to use section in the README file. If you run into problems, you can have a look at this thread where people exchange about the program.
Uwe
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Improvements
This is as much a question as a comment. There are two things that I think we need to make this a productive classroom tool. The first is a way to “click”. I am thinking that the teacher would have the LED pen in one hand and maybe a wireless mouse in the other - or nearby - to use for “clicking”. The other tool that would be needed would be a soft keyboard. I am sure they already exist. I just have to find the right one.
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Jim Hays
Clicking
Hi Jim, “clicking” is already implemented. Whenever the LED pen is on and detected by the software, the mouse is moved to that position and a left button mouse-press is executed. The mouse button is released when you turn off the LED pen. I actually implemented right button mouse-clicking today. A right click is executed when the LED pen remains on at the same position for a certain amount of time (e.g. 1 second).
Concerning software keyboards: KeyStrokes and VirtualKeyboard are two that I found with a quick search.
Uwe
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Wii in university setting
Hi Uwe
Nice job! Please keep developing this application. I am lecturing in a university setting. I am using the Wii with Remote Buddy and Keynote on may Macbook to capture the mouse while I am taping my presentations with iShowU. I was searching for a solution to tape my drawings during my presentation. This is the right tool!
Keep doing this great job!
Tomas
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It Works
Thanks a lot for your job !!! For the moment I just tested with Apple remote as IR pen and it’s working.
I’m working on MBP C2D 2,33Ghz / Leopard
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Apple Remote?
I never thought of using the Apple remote as an IT pen. We have BOXES of those remotes. I am definitely going to test that in the morning when I get back to school.
I spent a chunk of the weekend building an IR pen so I could test this better,
I have not gotten it to work with Vista - can’t get Johnny’s code to work with Vista either. But Uwe’s Mac code works well with our Mac Mini’s (Intel). I have only tested it on the workbench. I will test it in a classroom tomorrow.
BTW. The Math captcha questions are getting harder. Good thing I have a degree in Mathematics;)
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Outlook
The current (released) software was developed in about a day and meant to be a clone of Johnny’s software. I actually spent quite some time in the last days to improve the software. I changed most of the “inner workings”, but the GUI was revamped as well.The image on the right is the current state of the new user interface. What do you say? I also want the new version to be better integrated into Mac OS X. I thought that might be a good idea since most users are on a Mac so far. It would be great if someone could make an Icon for the program…
Feedback is as always appreciated.
Uwe
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Looks good
Uwe
I will download the newest version immediately. The interface looks very “Macish”. Also, I tested the Apple Remotes (the small white ones that come with the Mac Mini and other Macs) and it works very well. Take off the dispertion bar at the top of the remote and the LED is in the right corner. I will test some more, but this looks great.
Thank you for your efforts.
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Jim Hays on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
New Version
Do you have the new version posted? I tried the download link but got the same one I already had.
Great job.
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Jim Hays
Not ready yet
I’m sorry but the new version is not ready yet. I just wanted to show the current state. I recognize that I didn’t really make this clear, now that I read my last comment again. It will take me probably another week or so. Stay tuned…
Uwe
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It Works!!!!
I had tested this with the Apple Remote as the IR pen on an LCD screen and it worked well.
I then to the Mac Mini to one of our conference rooms and tested it with a projector onto a whiteboard. I had a bit of trouble getting the Wiimote placed so that:
1) The entire screen was recognized. and 2) The Wiimote was not too far away to “see” the IR source.
Once I found the right place for the Wiimote, it worked well.
I’m not ready to roll this out to all of our classrooms. (Not sure I could get that many Wiimotes:) But I am ready to test it with one of our teachers.
I may try the IR pen that I made. I suspect that the IR LED in my pen is a bit stronger than what is in the Apple remote. (I used the same LEDs that Johnny used in his demos.)
Exciting times.
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Josh on Wiimote Whiteboard
Apple remote?
How did you guys get the black cover off the Apple Remote!?
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Remote as IR pen
I just want to point out that a remote control is no good substitute for a “real” IR pen. The problem is that most remote controls (including the Apple remote) emit flashing IR light. This causes a constant press and release of the mouse button when used with my program. While remotes are good to do some initial testing they are definitely not suitable for “productive” use.
Uwe
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Remote as IR Pen
Uwe is correct about the Apple remote. I did test it thoroughly. (I have about 100 of them and it would have been nice to use them instead of building pens.) They worked well when I tested on a 17” LCD monitor. But when I moved the test to a real whiteboard with a projector, the Wiimote did not “pick up” the remote nearly as well as the pen that I built with the LED’s that Johnny suggested. Even my crude pen - LED soldered to a switch soldered to a Radio Shack batter holder (AA) held together with electricians tape - worked far better than the Apple remote.
I have since made a pen out of the dry erase marker housing. It works much, much better.
I have it in a 5th grade class now being tested by one of our teachers.
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Descalzo on Wiimote Whiteboard
Mac Version
I’m posting here as well as on wiimoteproject.com. I am using this in my classroom, and I am having the Apple built-in bluetooth problem. It seems to get a bad signal, and I’m sure it has to do with the builtin bluetooth module. I think another guy had this problem too.
Also, what kind of bluetooth dongle works with this on my macs that don’t have built-in bluetooth?
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Bluetooth Issues
blockquote>… I am having the Apple built-in bluetooth problem. It seems to get a bad signal, and I’m sure it has to do with the builtin bluetooth module.
That’s too bad. But there is nothing I can really do about it.
Also, what kind of bluetooth dongle works with this on my macs that don’t have built-in bluetooth?
That depends on the BlueCove library. I asked about it in the bluecove-users group.
One thing you can do is to start the program with enabled debug-mode for BlueCove: java -Dbluecove.debug=true -jar WiimoteWhiteboard.jar
That will cause BlueCove to print out lots of debug messages on the command line. Record them (first for the built-in and then for the external module) and send it to me.
Uwe
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Builtin Apple Bluetooth
I am using the built-in Apple Bluetooth without any problem.
Try this:
Delete the Wiimote from the Apple Bluetooth devices. Run Uwe’s program. Press buttons 1 and 2 on the Wiimote Wait for it to “sync”.
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Mike Swanson on Wiimote Whiteboard
Apple Remote
OK, now I am intrigued. I am going to try this over the next few days. Jim, I have been reading on the other list, as well (I don’t respond on that one).
Have any of you tried this to work with pens for more flexibility?
http://www.filewell.com/iRedLite/
Mike (Illinois Tech Director, as well)
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Mac Bluetooth Compatibility
blockquote>Also, what kind of bluetooth dongle works with this on my macs that don’t have built-in bluetooth?
BlueCove works with any device supported by Mac OS X.
Uwe
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Descalzo on Wiimote Whiteboard
PowerPC Bluetooth
OK, my story so far: I have a MBP with built-in BT, and a TiBook without BT, but a dongle. I got it to work with the TiBook with the Kensington dongle finally, by repetition. I kept deleting it from devices and re-running the jar file. Eventually it took. Boy, that was a pain.
Sadly, however, I still don’t have any more success than I did before. The pen picks up a little better than it did on the MBP, but it’s still unusable. This is odd, because it works on the MBP under Boot Camp/Windows XP with Johnny Lee’s software.
So the only hardware change is still the BT adapter. Windows uses the Logitech one, while OSX can’t. I’ll have to test the Kensington dongle with XP, but I’d really like to pair the WiiMote to the Apple Built-in BT under XP. I haven’t been able to do that yet.
If anyone else has some more ideas on what I could try I’d love to hear it.
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Anonymous on Wiimote Whiteboard
It works with the Mac Intel and 2 flashlights. I have a special kind with led light that I place under the Mac, then I use the flashlight instead of the pen. It’s hard to callibrate though, so I will have to get or make an IR pen for more accuracy.
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Julien HORS on Wiimote Whiteboard
It works on XP too
Hi,
Nice job !
I work as a technology teacher in France (12-16 years old childs). As my school is quite poor ;-), I have to find different ways not to waste the money, and this software is a good one ! Several things are locked by our administrator, I hope that java will allow me to run the whiteboard. I was using the original software, but I think your job is full of promises (I’m waiting for the right click implement ;-)) I’m running on XP SP2 with a F8t012 belkin dongle on a toshiba laptop (home) and I’ll try with xp/2K at school.
One question : Java 6 is installed one my computer, but I had to add “Java Advanced Imaging” in the jar archive to make it work. Is it normal ?
Thanks, see you soon.
Julien
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Julien HORS
Windows & JAI
Hi Julien, it’s nice to hear that someone is actually using it on Windows :) Which Bluetooth stack did you use? I never got it running on my PCs but I borrowed another Bluetooth dongle from a friend to do some further testing.
One question : Java 6 is installed one my computer, but I had to add “Java Advanced Imaging” in the jar archive to make it work. Is it normal ?
I’m using Java Advanced Imaging (JAI) to do the transformation from the position of the IR light the Wiimote sees to the position of the mouse cursor on the screen. I thought JAI was bundled with all JREs. Thanks for pointing out that this is not the case!
Uwe
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Update
The new version of the software will be available as Mac application bundle and “generic version” that will run on all platforms. I’m currently trying to figure out which license I can use. Don’t worry, the program will stay free to use. I also want to include some help that covers the basics.
Uwe
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Julien HORS on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Stack for windows
Hi,
I use Widcomm stack.In fact, I left everything set to default (except my JAI problem).
Thanks again for your job.
Julien
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fbocquet on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Thanks a lot for your great job !
I tested your software this morning with my MacBookPro and Leopard 10.5.2 and it works fine ! Thank you very much :-)
Francois from Grenoble, France
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Descalzo on Wiimote Whiteboard
OSX Woes
Well, here’s the new story. I got an IOGear BT stick and plugged it in. It works better than the Kensington or the built-in BT from the MBP.
But still not good enough. It picks up smooth and steady when I aim the pen right back at the wiimote, but when I use it as a pen to draw on the board/monitor, it picks up nothing, or very very little. It’s very jittery (if visible at all!) when I aim it at the screen. In fact, I ran a test with it and only got it to pick up a reliable signal from the IR pen when I had the wiimote less than 4 feet from the screen.
Then I BootCamped into Windows XP and tried it there. I used the IOGear stick and Johnny Lee’s software and everything was wonderful. Then I tried it with your software and it was horrible. Just like before. I tried it (in Windows) from only 6 feet away and it would not pick up any IR dots. When I used Johnny’s program it was fine.
What could be causing this? What else could I try?
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Descalzo on Wiimote Whiteboard
More info
In case anyone is curious, I am using an IR pen made from a Radio Shack IR LED and one AAA battery. I don’t know if this helps. Any ideas on how to make a brighter pen?
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Re: OSX Woes
Hi Descalzo,
I’m honestly clueless why you’re having this problem since I assume you’re using the exact same setup (same monitor, IR pen, etc.) to run both tests. I also can’t imagine that it is a Bluetooth issue.
It picks up smooth and steady when I aim the pen right back at the wiimote, but when I use it as a pen to draw on the board/monitor, it picks up nothing, or very very little. It’s very jittery (if visible at all!) when I aim it at the screen.
Same here. But my IR LED is too weak and I actually haven’t used Johnny’s program on Windows to do a comparison. I’ll do some more tests…
Btw: The new version is out!
Uwe
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Brendan on Wiimote Whiteboard
Error sending data
Hi
I wanted to use this, because it would be very usefull as a teacher. But there’s one problem. I got myself a wiimote this afternoon, but when I start your program I keep getting the error-message: ‘Error sending data’
Am I missing something?
Brendan
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Nebulous on Wiimote Whiteboard
Heya, I tried it briefly on
Heya,
I tried it briefly on a Macbook, with an Apple remote. That worked, and I could sortof ‘click’ (cover was still on the Apple remote, and of course it flashes rather than lights up), but some time of random clicking, I got the “Error sending data” as well.
Other than that, it did work, and that’s great! Going to consider putting together a pointing device (pens suck as a form factor, I’m gonna see if I can find what I want :))
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Brendan
Re: Error sending data
Did the programm immediately quit after the error message or did it continue to work “normally”?
Btw: I just uploaded pictures of the IR pen I made (also slideshow on this page below the demo video).
Uwe
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Anonymous on Wiimote Whiteboard
No, the program didn’t quit. I can only click ‘ok’ on the error-message, but then it reappears. Forced stop works and also pushing the home-button on the wiimote. If I do that and I instantly restart your program it works. very strange indeed.
Brendan
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TechTeacher on Wiimote Whiteboard
re: Error Sending Data
Dupe of Brendan’s problem with same configuration (MB & a Remote). Here’s the java stack trace:
java.io.IOException: Error sending data! at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.sendCommand(WiiRemote.java:502) at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.requestStatus(WiiRemote.java:809) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteDataHandler$1.run(WiimoteDataHandler.java:98) at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:613) Caused by: java.io.IOException: Connection closed at com.intel.bluetooth.BluetoothStackOSX.l2Send(Native Method) at com.intel.bluetooth.BluetoothL2CAPConnection.send(BluetoothL2CAPConnection.java:113) at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.sendCommand(WiiRemote.java:498) ... 3 more java.io.IOException: Error sending data! at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.sendCommand(WiiRemote.java:502) at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.requestStatus(WiiRemote.java:809) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteDataHandler$1.run(WiimoteDataHandler.java:98) at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:613) Caused by: java.io.IOException: Connection closed at com.intel.bluetooth.BluetoothStackOSX.l2Send(Native Method) at com.intel.bluetooth.BluetoothL2CAPConnection.send(BluetoothL2CAPConnection.java:113) at wiiremotej.WiiRemote.sendCommand(WiiRemote.java:498) ... 3 moreThis happens consistently 60 seconds after the wiimote connects. Does the code do a status check on the wiimote then?
More info: the previous release did not have this problem. Also, when run with BlueCove debug enabled, nothing appears abnormal.
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to TechTeacher
Error Messages
Hi, I also got the Error sending data! once today. I looked around the WiiRemoteJ forum and found this:
Right now errors message are simply forwarded to the GUI. The reason for that is they would otherwise be unnoticed and the user has no idea what’s going on. I cannot really do anything against these errors since they come from libraries that I just use. I can only change my program to behave more “nicely” when they occur. Instead of displaying a blocking error message there could be an “Error Log Window” or something like that. In case of severe errors the program could gracefully reset itself to initial state or do a reconnect (I have to investigate into that). Other suggestions?
More info: the previous release did not have this problem. Also, when run with BlueCove debug enabled, nothing appears abnormal.
I guess that’s because all errors were simply ignored :)
This happens consistently 60 seconds after the wiimote connects. Does the code do a status check on the wiimote then?
Yes, I do a status check every minute to update the battery level. Does the program work normally until the error occurs?
Uwe
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George on Wiimote Whiteboard
Wii Remote and Mac Connectivity issue
I can’t get my MBP to connect to the Wii remote. Is there a process i must follow? Do I need more than just the remote? My bluetooth was on, discoverable. Im running 10.5.1 I have not upgraded to 10.5.2 yet. Could that be the issue? It baffles me as to why i can’t view the remote. Does it show up as a ‘wii remote’?
In the preferences when I did a search, I had selected ‘All Devices’, as there wasn’t an option for remotes…but i only picked up cell phones.
Any suggestions would be helpful!!!
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Connection Procedure
Hi George,
I can’t get my MBP to connect to the Wii remote. Is there a process i must follow?
everything is described in the help files accessible via Help ? WiimoteWhiteboard Help in the current (Mac) version of the program. Post again if you still have trouble connecting.
Im running 10.5.1 I have not upgraded to 10.5.2 yet. Could that be the issue?
I’m running 10.4.11.
Uwe
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Julien HORS on Wiimote Whiteboard
It works on windows, but I can't use it...
Hi,
I was happy to see that this software works on my laptop screen, but I can’t use it on a real white board… When the wiiwote is 3 meters far from the whiteboard, The IR dot is not “seen” by the wiimote… It works fine with johnny’s soft (up to 6 meters), but when I use your soft (exactly with the same hardware configuration), I can only use it up to 1 meter… My IR pen is made of an IR led running at 3V, 130 mA (Not the problem, because it works whith johnny’s soft), no flashes are used…
I don’t know where it comes from…
Regards.
Julien
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Anonymous on Wiimote Whiteboard
eratic pointer
Thanks for the tips Uwe. I was able to connect the two, however I have a very hard time calibrating anything with my ir pens. One of them is IR LED with 940nm, but I need to have the wii remote almost directly over the pen, otherwise nothing happens. If I use the apple remote, it works but only a bit. I can calibrate, but I find it’s choppy when moving around the screen.
Could it be that my IR LEDS are not powerful enough?
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Strange
Hi Julien,
It works fine with johnny’s soft (up to 6 meters), but when I use your soft (exactly with the same hardware configuration), I can only use it up to 1 meter…
Descalzo apprently has the exact same issue. I guess one has to find out the differences between the different Wii Remote libraries, used in my and Johnny’s program, to solve the mystery. That could be difficult…
I actually got my program working today on WinXP SP2 with a recent WIDCOMM stack. Now I can test the difference between my and Johnny’s program as well.
Hi George?, I guess you take a look at the wiimoteproject.com forums, especially the support forum for the Wiimote Whiteboard. I’m sure you’ll find valuable information there.
Uwe
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George on Wiimote Whiteboard
FINALLY: IT WORKS
Finally, I got this thing to work. My IR LED were the problem. I took one out of an old remote and switched it and voila…worked like a charm. I find opening folders to be a bit challenging but other than that it works.
Only wish I could ‘draw’ without being in a drawing program…like being able to make circles or write on the screen when a web page pops up. OH well…beggers can’t be choosers though.
Do you accept donation?
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to George
Drawing & Donations
I’m glad you got it working, George.
I find opening folders to be a bit challenging but other than that it works.
I guess that’s because you’re always jittering a little bit with your hand and the sensor values are also not always stable. It’s less of a problem if you use it with a big screen or projector though.
Only wish I could ‘draw’ without being in a drawing program…like being able to make circles or write on the screen when a web page pops up.
Yeah, that could be cool. But I don’t think this functionality should be added to the program. In my opinion, a program should only do one ‘thing’ but do this really well.
The good thing is that you can just use existing programs which make use of the standard mouse. I found Desktastic with a quick search. It apparently does all what you want, I haven’t tried it though.
Do you accept donation?
I actually put a PayPal donate link (“buy me a drink”) on this very page under Support when the new version came out. Donations are gladly accepted as a form of “Thank you”. I do however not accept donations as a form of payment for requested features. My motivation behind this software is not financial.
So decide for yourself if you want to make a donation :)
Enjoy, Uwe
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Julien HORS on Wiimote Whiteboard
Wiiremote library
Dear Uwe,
It seems that you use the same library as wiiremote. I had the same (low range) problem when I used wiiremote : Dots where invisible if I was too far (> 1m), so it seems that the library is the key of the problem…
Regards.
Julien
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George on Wiimote Whiteboard
Error Message as well
BTW, I’m also getting the error message. It really only becomes a problem when I need to re-calibrate the screen, as the error message doesn’t allow for that, which means I must FORCE QUIT. Other than that little bug, it works okay.
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Julien HORS
Low Range Problem
Hi Julien,
I directly compared my to Johnny’s program today. I have the exact same issue of a low range with my program.
It seems that you use the same library as wiiremote … so it seems that the library is the key of the problem…
What library (“wiiremote”) are you talking about?. I use WiiremoteJ. I’ll take a look at the Wiimote library that Johnny uses in his C# program. Unfortunately I cannot compare it to WiiRemoteJ since it’s closed-source. I’ll talk to the developer of WiiRemoteJ…
BTW, I’m also getting the error message. It really only becomes a problem when I need to re-calibrate the screen, as the error message doesn’t allow for that, which means I must FORCE QUIT. Other than that little bug, it works okay.
Does that mean that software is working fine although the error message pops up? This bug will be fixed in the new version for sure. I started to implement some sort of Error Log that can be displayed on demand…
Uwe
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