Coding4Fun at PDC!

Coding4Fun is in attendance at the Microsoft Professional Developer Conference!  We are demoing 5 projects that will have full how-to's and will be open-sourced as well.  Drinktendr, Mind Blaster, Laser Graffiti, Augmented Reality, and Wi-Fi Warthogs are powered by .Net, XNA, WPF, Ling2Sql, WiiMote, MSMQ, Power Wheels, a Mind Set and a giant freaking laser!

Drinktendr

Ever get tired of pouring your own drink?  Have someone get upset at you since it was too strong or too weak?  Well, why not have a machine pour you the perfect beverage every time!  Drinktendr uses Linq2Sql and SQL Server to know what drinks it can make with what is on hand.  Combine this with WPF; the end user is given a top end experience.

Mind Blaster

With aliens threatening to invade Earth, it's your job to travel into outer space and destroy the alien threat…with your mind!  Wearing a brainwave detecting headset, coupled with head tracking hardware using a wiimote, use only your brain to destroy alien ships before they destroy you and the rest of humanity.

Laser Graffiti

Putting graffiti on something is not a very nice thing to do but what if with a flick of a switch, it was gone.  With a projector, an off the shelf webcam and a laser pointer, you can do just that.  Aim the laser at the building and start drawing.  Turn off the laser and it all goes away!  Using WPF and XNA, we can apply a variety of effects including fire, paint, and various particles.  This project was influenced by the Graffiti Research Lab.

Augmented Reality

We'll be showing off two AR games.  ARroller and AR Domino Knockdown. ARroller is a single-player “marble game” experienced through a 3DOF-tracked video–see-through head-worn display. The player holds a tracked board on which a virtual marble must be manipulated through a maze of obstacles by tilting and moving the board. AR Domino Knockdown is a two-player first-person-shooter. Players hold 6DOF-tracked UMPCs through which they fire virtual balls at a configuration of virtual dominos on a shared table.

Wi-Fi Warthogs

Go big or go home.  After seeing Halo, we decided we had to make some remote control wart hogs to play laser tag with.  Using Xbox controllers, a wireless network, and Power Wheel cars, we've made a game of laser tag like no other.