LabyWiinth Update

As to fulfill the Kansas City Robotics Society's agreement to provide projects for Science City in exchange for a place to hold meetings, a few of us have decided to put together a large scale LabyWiinth game. By large scale, I mean around eight to twelve feet wide, and as tall as a table.

Obviously, there are many challenges that we face, and since we have imposed a March 1st deadline on ourselves, we have a lot of work to do in a short time. Since others in our small group are more mechanically inclined, I have volunteered to do the computer stuff. This means finding a computer that can run my wiipluspluslib code so that it can use the Nintendo Wii Balance Board as input. This computer will also have to be able to boot and start our custom software at the flip of a switch, and reliably work for 12 hours day after day. The search is on!

The CCCKC mailing list has been a wonderful resource for suggesting possible devices, and many in the group are eager to help out. I have not yet made a decision about which device to use, but I'm sure I'll have some time to review the possibilities soon. I really want to start working with the actual production device.

In the meantime, I have updated my LabyWiinth code to allow for using the Wii Remote as well as the Balance Board. This was something that was discussed, and I thought there was no reason why we couldn't use both. My plan is to write separate programs, each carrying out a single mode of operation, and then writing a shell script that will call the correct program, depending on whether someone is at the display and what they are doing. Much of this will have to be determined later.

So far, so good! Stay tuned for more updates to come!