El cheapo Smart Board

Smart boards are quite expensive. The best ones uses a huge LCD or plasma screen with a touch-sensitive overlay.

Some of the cheaper ones uses a projector mounted above the board. Johnny Lee used the Wiimote to create an even cheaper smart board.

I haven't used a smart board with the same technology but I guess the constant shadow by the operator would be annoying for all involved. Rear projection is a possibility but it requires a lot of extra space and an additional sensor in front of the screen.

Enter Microsoft Surfaces - a similar setup with a frosted glass plate embedded into a table with the projector and a Wiimote under the table makes a lot of sense. It will both save a lot of space and make interaction between meeting participants easier.


Both the Wiimote and the projector is mounted on brackets under the table. The light from the IR pen is strong enough for the Wiimote to detect it with its IR camera.

The most expensive item (apart from the computer) would be the projector.

A full version would probably use some custom hardware rather than a wiimote. Extra environment brownie points for an integrated battery charger for the IR pen are available :-)