Wiimote Virtual Room Designer

In this article, Thijs Brilleman demonstrates how to create, using C# and XNA, a room designer from a mash-up of cheap components.

Hardware Setup

To get this working, you only need a digital projector, a Wiimote, a few cheap components, and, of course, a computer. The latter won’t need a lot of horsepower; I’m even able to run it on my $300 netbook with an acceptable framerate! Let’s take a look at how to prepare these items before we get working on the software.

Creating the tabletop display

First, let’s create the poor man’s version of the Microsoft Surface table. If you are like me and aren’t burdened by a fat bank account, just take some ugly photo-in-a-frame off the wall and lay its protective sheet of glass down on a table-without-tabletop. Trust me: as long as you don’t sit on it, it works like a charm! Now go to a nearby grocery store and buy some white fat-free paper. Tape it on top of the glass to create your DIY projection screen. You may also tape it to the bottom side, but in my experience it will start hanging down after some time has passed. As shown in the video, use an inclined mirror and a projector connected to your computer. Now you have your own backlit tabletop display!

Making the display interactive

Now comes the trick: making the display interactive. Enter the brilliant Nintendo Wiimote. Simply put it in a stable position facing the mirror on top of the projector, preferably right above the lens. The Wiimote contains a high-performance camera that can simultaneously track up to 4 infrared light sources. Now, if you fashion a simple infrared pen (or do it the easy way and buy one online), the Wiimote can track its position all across the display!

Read more: Coding4Fun

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