reactable

[RRe...@gmail.com]

so those of you who were at the meeting yesterday know we got a
prototype of the reactable semi-working. so in order to actually get
it working in a respectable fashion we need a few things. an
appropriately sized mirror (about 15" x 15"), and a computer capable
of running the software for image capture and analysis. i have a
computer we can use for this purpose, however if anyone has something
better (its needs to have at least one available PCI slot for the NTSC
capture card) the computer i have is running win xp using a intel
celeron d 3.06 ghz with 1-2 gigs of ram its a blank machine so it'll
run pretty quick however we may need a bit more juice than that. so if
anyone can bring something better i can just slot the capture card
into it. any help will be appreciated.

-Ryan

[Phil Smith]

I'm seeing a 65bit dec alpha box going by on freecycle: "Working,
loaded with 64-Bit Windows NT(!). Floppy, CD, and Zip drives. No
monitor, accessories or power cord." No idea how it stacks up, but
hey, free box.

[Crusoe]

Also, yeah, my laptop's webcam works better under linux, once I got
the video card driver issue resolved... ;)

Guess I should get hacking on my multi-touch library some more.

-Daniel

On Apr 5, 4:19 pm, Phil Smith <phil.h.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm seeing a 65bit dec alpha box going by on freecycle: "Working,
> loaded with 64-Bit Windows NT(!). Floppy, CD, and Zip drives. No
> monitor, accessories or power cord."  No idea how it stacks up, but
> hey, free box.
>

[Crusoe]

Meh, my laptop can run the software just fine. I have a firewire
webcam coming in. But yeah, we can try the security cameras as well if
Ryan or someone can find a capture card.

Also, Ryan brought along these real cool microwave-based motion
detectors. All they need is power, and they output a signal on 2 wires
when they detect motion. Someone with a voltmeter and basic electronic
knowledge can probably figure it out.

The Dec box was powerful in it's day, but my notebook may be faster
now.

-Daniel

On Apr 5, 4:19 pm, Phil Smith <phil.h.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm seeing a 65bit dec alpha box going by on freecycle: "Working,
> loaded with 64-Bit Windows NT(!). Floppy, CD, and Zip drives. No
> monitor, accessories or power cord."  No idea how it stacks up, but
> hey, free box.
>

[Crusoe]

So we have 2 solutions for image capture. Security cameras, and the
firewire webcam

RRegio: I think the Celeron box you have should be able to run the
image processing/capture adequately.

So all we need is the mirror.

[Crusoe]

Just got the firewire camera in. 640x480, very nice picture.

I managed to scrape off most of the IR filter, and I found some
exposed color film negative to use as a visible light filter. I
suspect I will need to muck with it more at Saturday house.

-Daniel

[Phil Smith]

Nice. I'll go see if I can't scrounge up a small mirror.

[Crusoe]

Ok, so we kinda got it working. The firewire camera picked up a good
clear image. But with the visible light filters, not enough IR
backscatter was available for the camera to see.

So the next plan of attack is to either use a ir rimlight around the
display surface, and finger touches will break the internal
reflection, scattering light to the camera. Or mount some IR LEDs
underneath, and use these so that finger touches cause IR backscatter.

I found some VERY powerful IR Leds online, 0.5-3W. I will probably
pick up a few.

-Daniel

On Apr 9, 9:04 am, Phil Smith <phil.h.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Nice.  I'll go see if I can't scrounge up a small mirror.
>

[Crusoe]

Also, the other half of work involves a DLP or homebrew LCD projector.
I have a overhead projector being dropped off today. Found it for $30
on craigslist.

Next, we'll need another LCD monitor to take apart.

-Daniel

[Phil Smith]

In the end we'll only need one or the other, right? Having both
around being goof for exploring alternatives.

[Ryan Reggio]

i have another one we can use its a desktop monitor. its not all that
big but i think it will work for our purposes. i think its about 15"
or so. i don't know how big the surface of the projector is. however
that will limit how big the lcd screen can be as if its too big there
will be space that the projector doesn't hit with light. i would think
15" or smaller would be a good place to start.having a screen that is
too small is ok but if its too big.... then we start to have problems.

-Ryan

[Phil Smith]

(bulb + 15'' lcd) == projector that needs a bigger mirror, or a way to
work without it. The ones we have are 1'x1'

[Ryan Reggio]

maybe I'm thinking of the wrong thing. when he said projector i had an
image of an old over head projector, the same kind they used in school
classrooms and such. however maybe he was talking about something
else. if its one of those old overheads then all we need to do is set
the lcd (after taking it apart of course) on top of it. and viola
instant lcd projector thingy.... it should project a 15 inch screen.
however if the lens works on anything other than a 1 to 1 ratio then
it could be ether bigger or smaller... if its smaller then yeah wee
need another mirror... if its bigger though were all set.if i remember
correctly the over head projectors work by shining a light through a
lens, you set the transparencies on the first lens. then you had the
part that stuck up like an antennae. that part i think was made up of
two convex lenses and one normal mirror angled at 45 degrees. if thats
the case all we'll need to compensate for is the image being
reversed... which could prove problematic i suppose we could just tip
the overhead on its side after taping the lcd to the projector... that
way its projecting vertical rather than horizontal... lol but i guess
we'll see next saturday...

On Apr 13, 9:37 am, Phil Smith <phil.h.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> (bulb + 15'' lcd) == projector that needs a bigger mirror, or a way to
> work without it.  The ones we have are 1'x1'
>

[Phil Smith]

oh duh, right.

[Crusoe]

Yep, its a old overhead projector.

Just got it, it has a roughly 6 foot throw distance, with a image size
of around 3x3 feet. So we are still going to need a mirror, roughly
20x20 should do. That will allow for a 3 foot or so tall table.

A small LCD panel should work good. Only part of it will be visible
anyways.

On Apr 13, 11:25 am, Phil Smith <phil.h.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> oh duh, right.
>

[Crusoe]

So, updates on this thread,

* Overhead projector throw distance is too long to use. But it does
work as a movie projector.
* May be able to find a old DLP for cheap on Craigslist
* Working on the software ends of things
* Lion and I came up with some fun ideas for video games on the table,
where bystanders could either help/hinder the player.

Asteroids style game, people touching the table create additional
asteroids, and by 'dragging' their finger can launch it in a
direction.

Horde of bugs game, like Alien Syndrome. Outside people watching the
game can help the player by squishing bugs with their fingers, drawing
barriers, using a fiduciary id to stamp out life packs, weapons/ammo,
autogun turrets, etc.

> > >> >> > > >> > > > prototype of thereactablesemi-working. so in order to actually get