whiteboard
Latest
Johnny Lee's Wii-nnovations blow TED's collective mind
We've all witnessed the incredible ways that technomancer Johnny Lee can put a Wiimote to good use, but apparently, attendees of the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference were unaware of the handheld peripheral's vast potential. You can actually hear their minds crackle, then implode as Lee shows off two of his cost-efficient tech demos -- the multi-touch whiteboard, and 3-D head tracking (which was further confirmed to be in EA/Speilburg's Boom Blox as an easter egg). Like all Johnny Lee videos, we can guarantee this to be the coolest thing you've seen today -- unless, of course, you've just watched the entire "American Ninja" quintology.
Wiimote enables amazing doodling device
Johnny Lee, last seen letting his fingers do the waggling, is back with more Wiimote mods that put Nintendo's own work to shame. Using the Wiimote's infrared camera, an IR light attached to a pen, and some custom software, he created a virtual whiteboard system that allows him to control a computer touch-screen style using either a projector or an LCD.If you have an LCD and something capable of emitting infrared light (or have access to a Radio Shack), and if you can Bluetooth your way to Wiimote awesomeness (which we unfortunately cannot), then really, you should be messing with this right now.
Wiimote repurposed for multi-point interactive whiteboard
While certainly there's been no shortage of Wiimote hacks, the number of genuinely useful ones has been considerably more limited. It looks like you can now add one more to that list, however, as Johnny Chung Lee (he of the Wiimote finger-tracking hack) has now upped the usefulness even further with a makeshift multi-point interactive whiteboard. There's a bit more involved with this one than just a Wiimote, however -- namely, an IR-emitting pen (or two), which the Wiimote tracks while relaying all the necessary information back to a PC. That, as the video after the break shows, allows you to turn any surface into a multi-point whiteboard with the use of a projector, or turn any LCD screen into a touchscreen, of sorts. Best of all, Johnny has kindly provided the necessary software free of charge, so hit up the read link below if you want to give it a shot.[Via Hack a Day]
Hitachi announces StarBoard FX 77 Duo multi-touch whiteboard
While the jury's still out on the potential dangers of whiteboards (really), Hitachi is fearlessly forging ahead with its StarBoard line of big-screen interactive displays, with the company today announcing its 77-inch FX 77 Duo model (the non-Duo FX 77 is pictured above). The big selling point here is the board's support for dual inputs, which will let you get a taste of that multi-touch business everyone is so big on these days. Otherwise, the board looks to be a fairly standard affair, with 24 customizable buttons included to keep your presentations running smoothly, and software provided to remotely link up to 50 of the whiteboards together. While there's no official word on a price from Hitachi just yet, at least one retailer appears to be taking orders for them right now for $1,600.
Whiteboard projectors are / aren't dangerous: UK schools edition
Don't look now (for serious, we really mean it), but yet another health scare is taking those in England by storm, and this time whiteboard projectors are to blame for inducing panic in the hearts of mums and dads everywhere. The quarter-million academic projectors that have been installed all across the UK are now the focal point of an ongoing study, which suggests that a "viewer's peripheral retina could be overexposed even when they are not actually staring directly into the beam." Protesters are suggesting that the brightness be toned down to no more than 1,500 lumens, and a number of sensitive teachers and students alike have reported "dazzle effects" after looking at the board for an extended period of time. We could wonder if anyone actually expects the school systems to revert back to chalk in order to get things done, but more interestingly, who's up for swapping their PJ out for an RPTV (you know, before your retinas dissolve)?[Via The Register]
M-11 copyboard prints directly and saves to USB dongles
We know that the sight of a whiteboard is an instant turn off for all the bored execs and high schoolers out there, but if you're still reading, you'll be happy to know that the Plus Vision M-11 copyboard is more than just a mere whiteboard (although it's not quite a smartboard). Using an optical sensor placed behind a large white screen, the M-11 can output your boss or teacher's scribbly diagrams to either an attached laser printer or an included USB drive, all without the extra cost of a computer and projector. Needless to say, the M-11's print outs will likely just result in even more ignored paperwork than usual, but thanks to the cost saving nature of the system, at least you'll be able to miss assignments and deadlines safe in the knowledge that your school or business saved money setting them. A printer must be purchased separately, although it seems as if the Plus Vision guys have seen fit to make it work with more than one specific model. The USB port dumps PNG files straight to any type of flash drive, so anyone in the room with a personal dongle should be able to pick up your ideas in a relatively hassle free manner. We're seeing the M-11 selling online for around $1,700, and it should be available now.[Via EverythingUSB]