Controlling IR pens

The combination of control of IR (infrared) pens with the ability to interact with movement on one projection surface uses innovative algorithms developed by LavaVision (owner and operator of the Motioncube platform) as part of completed projects research and development. Elaborated interactive modules allow to obtain multiinteractive surfaces with full precision of IR pens.

The principle of operation simplified

• Motioncube built-in IR pen control works with a camera that needs to be mounted next to the projector.
• For control, use the IR pen which emits infrared light.
• From a practical point of view, the whole thing works on a similar principle as controlling the pens on interactive whiteboards. Motioncube allows you to combine on one interactive surface the interactive floor mode (motion control) with the interactive whiteboard mode (control of IR pens).
• A necessary condition for this type of control to work on the projection surface is that the camera is positioned so that it can see the infrared light emitted by the pen. For this purpose, you should also remember about the selection of the pen in terms of the emitted wavelength of light that your camera will see.

Requirements

To enable light pen control on the projection surface, your hardware configuration should meet the following conditions:

• Requires a camera that can only see in the infrared range (cannot see visible light).
• Infrared light must not fall on the projection area.

Recommendations

Set up your working environment so that the projector image is projected onto the projection surface from the side. The camera should also be mounted on the side (optimally next to the projector) so that it can observe the infrared light emitted by the pen when it touches the floor.

IR pen control will work correctly for these two configurations indicated on the Working Environment page:

• Option 2: Wall mounting
• Option 3: Set on a tripod