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This program allows you to use the Wii Remote (Wiimote) to turn any surface into a Low-Cost Interactive Whiteboard. It is based on Johnny Lee’s original WiimoteWhiteboard program that is written in C# and available for Windows only. My program uses Java to allow for (some) platform-independence. I also provide a Mac-only version since I’m a Mac user and this is, up to my knowledge, currently the only such program for the Mac. For Windows only, Boon Jin has enhanced Johnny’s software and created the shareware program Smoothboard. There is also a SourceForge project that provides other implementations, but it is not getting much attention.
Check out the video and the other cool projects at Johnny Lee’s page if you have no idea what I’m talking about 
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Features in a nutshell
- Open source
- Runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
- Simple User Interface available in English, Estonian, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovene, and Spanish
- Camera Monitor and Calibration Details for better Wiimote placement
- Auto-connects up to 2 Wiimotes
- Right-click support, double-click assistance
- Mouse cursor smoothing
- Screen selection
- Touchpad Mode
- Update notification
- TUIO/OSC support for multitouch applications
More details in the Wiki.
Download (1.0.3)
- Cross-platform Java version
- Mac application
- Important: Does not work with Mac OS X 10.8 “Mountain Lion” after download. This is due to Bluetooth changes in OS X 10.8 that break compatibility with my application. This may solve the problem.
- Source Code
Video
Documentation & Support
You can post your comments, bug reports, feature requests, etc. at the bottom of this page. The latest documentation is available in the Wiki. You can also find out how you can help.
The wiimoteproject.com forums are a great resource for everything Wiimote. You may use this subforum to discuss everything related to my software. The Smoothboard Wiki also contains useful information for setting up your interactive whiteboard.
Infrared pens
You need a source of infrared (IR) light to use the software. Many people build their own IR pens for that purpose, usually by retrofitting some sort of marker. You’ll find all you need to know here. I started with a simple IR pen made from a battery clip.
There are also IR pens for sale if you don’t want to build one yourself. Several vendors sell different models, the IR Pen marketplace is a good place to get an overview.
You can use the coupon code uwe if you buy from IRPensOnline.com. This will give you a discount of $2 and I’ll get $1.
Compatibility
I only heard of few problems on Mac OS X, using the built-in stack. I also got reports from users who got the program running on Windows using either the Widcomm or BlueSoleil stack. It seems like Widcomm works better, see this post about BlueSoleil. You need to use the BlueZ stack on Linux, see the Wiki or this post for further instructions.
Issue on PowerPC Macs (excerpt from the WiiRemoteJ-README):
Note for Mac OS X PowerPC (PPC) users: you will have to delete the Wii Remote from your previous devices list in System Preferences->Bluetooth->Devices after each connection (every time you connect a given Wii Remote). Even then, the outgoing connection will still fail every other time. There is some sort of bug relating to HCI devices and Apple’s library. Luckily, it was fixed for the Intel Macs.
Further details can be found in the Wiki or the help files bundled with the application.
Hello, we are having problem in connectivity with the wiimote whiteboard wiimote in the process of sending commands. Suggestion to solve this problem (And also unable to complete sending files via other mobile devices – eg, mobile). Thanks!
THIS DOESNT WORK FOR MAC 10.8……..
I’d love to see a version for Mountain Lion soon. I know I’d even be willing to support a Kickstarter project to that effect, if that’s what it took. I want to support an OS 10.8 version and be able to use this. Thank you,
-John
I couldn’t connect the wimote with my MacBook ,OSX version 10.8.2.
After installing WJoy 0.6 it worked fine , http://code.google.com/p/wjoy/
Anyone knows a whiteboard for mac “OSX version 10.8.2″
THX,
hilario
do these programs work with both wiimote and wiimote plus?
Hi there,
Thanks for the Mountain Lion fix. Wiimote Whiteboard now starts normally.
However, I have been trying to connect a new (genuine) Nintendo Wiimote Plus to it, and the remote never connects to the mac. I have tried several times, including after a reboot. The log shows systematically:
FINE 08:24:28 WiiRemoteJ: Found Nintendo RVL-CNT-01-TR (2C10C1BC492E)
FINE 08:24:28 WiiRemoteJ: Nintendo RVL-CNT-01-TR is NOT a known device.
The remote was NOT paired using MacOS Bluetooth utility. I eventually tried to pair it directly with the MacOS Bluetooth utility, and the remote was recognised by MacOS. I then removed the device from MacOS. After that, same log error as above about the Wiimote not being an unknown device…
My Wiimote batteries are charged (4 LEDs), I am using Mountain Lion 10.8.2, with the latest Java update by Apple (updated a few days back).
Any idea of what could go wrong?
Advice would be much appreciated!
Cheers,
Thibaut
Hello,
do you think there will be a fix for Mac OS 10.8 ?
This is such a great tool…
Best regards,
Herre
Ben, Did you ever get a “fix” for 10.7.5?
Uwe,
The patch works great for Mountain Lion. I am able to calibrate. At first, my ir didn’t recognize the full screen. I realized that the Wiimote Whiteboard screen 1 wasn’t set for 1024×768. After I reset my screen in my system preferences, it wasn’t until I rebooted everything that it worked. (I’m a little slow, so it took me an hour to figure that out.) Anyhow, thank you once again, Uwe! You ROCK!
The software works perfectly under MacOS 10.8 Mountain Lion with the patch. Thanks for the update.
Regarding the problem with my Wiimote that couldn’t connect, it seems that this is due to the new identification of the latest version of Nintendo Wiimote. These new wiimotes identify as RVL-CNT-01-TR (you can see that in the log window), which seems to confuse Wiimote Whiteboard and prevents it from connecting. Swapping my new Wiimote with an older one solved the connection problem, as the older ones identify as RVL-CNT-01 (with -TR at the end).
Therefore, BEWARE WHEN BUYING THE LATEST VERSION OF THE NINTENDO WIIMOTE, as these newer model won’t work with the current version of Wiimote Whiteboard!
This problem also seemed to confuse SmoothBoard, but the latest version of SmoothBoard fixes this issue, as seen here:
http://www.smoothboard.net/wiiremoteplus/
Thibaut
Hi everybody,
I updated the app to work on OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion out of the box, i.e. making the launch script obsolete. Please download and try this updated version and tell me if it works for you.
Thanks,
Uwe
Uwe…you are awesome. Worked great. Thanks again for all of your hard work and patience with us all. We just love your application and could not wait to begin using it again.
One more question…is wiimote whiteboard capable of recognizing 2 ir pens simultaneously?
Hi Uwe,
thank you for te great work!
The old patch version already worked great! Somehow i had some problems syncing this new version with the WiiControl. Even by using the red sync button in the battery compartment no succes, but after removing the batteries and putting them back suddenly the syncing worked. Tried it several times and it syncs perfectly.
Great job!
Thanks,
Herre
This looks very promising. When I run it, I got “Pairing Request from: Nintendo RVL-CNT-01″ dialog and asked to enter the pairing code. I just ignored it, then dialog closes automatically and Wiimote connects with Bluetooth under Bluetooth Preference automatically. Then, I got “Connection failed. Please try again” message. How can I get it to pair with WiimoteWhiteboard?
Thanks,
Andy
Uwe,
Good to go! And yet again, THANKS!
Hey. I don’t have a wiimote so is there ANY possible way to ummmm do it without and use something else like an emulator. I have everything except the wiimote and I do not want to get one. Worst come to worst I will buy one. PLEASE IF U HV ANY POSSIBLE WAY!!!!!!!
Is there a way to allow the program to utilize a projector?
I am running Mac OS 10.7.5. When I touch the forth and last cross-hair on the calibration screen, my Mac screen goes black. pressing esc, spacebar, clicking on the screen, do not change it. I am unable to proceed. Any ideas?