[Visualpython-users] VPython with Real-Time Data (using the Wiimote)

[Rob S. <sa...@ph...>]

I have made available a new VPython program
( headtrack-Wiimotelib121-PY24.py )
from
http://physics.syr.edu/~salgado/software/vpython/
which receives real-time data from the
Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote).


This [Windows-only] VPython program is an attempt to emulate
the Head Tracking efforts of Johnny Chung Lee
(http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/).


SOME DETAILS...
In order to read in the real-time data from the the Wiimote,
we use the procedure presented by Nishio Hirokazu in
http://nishiohirokazu.blogspot.com/2008/01/get-values-from-wii-remote-through.html,

which uses Brian Peek's (Windows-only) WiimoteLib v1.2.1
[a library for using a Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote) from .NET.]
(http://www.codeplex.com/WiimoteLib/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=10283)

described in "Code4Fun - Managed Library for Nintendo's Wiimote (Brian Peek)"
(http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2007/03/14/1879033.aspx). To use
.NET with Python, we used Brian Lloyd's Python for .NET
(http://pythonnet.sourceforge.net/).

Ideally, we would have liked to use the latest versions of
the various software packages [which should be possible].
However, for now, the combination of versions that worked for us
[with our program] is:

- Python 2.4, VPython 3.2.9
- pythonnet-1.0-rc2-py2.4-clr1.1
- WiimoteLib v1.2.1

I'm sure there is a platform-independent solution in which
Python communicates directly with Bluetooth. Of course,
one now needs to know details of the protocol for talking with the Wiimote.

Note: This was just thrown together as a "proof of concept".
The code isn't the prettiest. The tracking and the visualization
could certainly be improved.

If you get it to work
with more recent versions of Python and the various modules
or on a different platform, please let us know.

rob salgado