Mixed Reality Interaction: From Second Life to Pachube to Arduino to LED Display, Photosensor, Servo, Etc.

National University of Singapore researcher Jungho YEOM has been developing some cool mixed reality interfaces connecting Second Life to various real world inputs. Interactions of an avatar and virtual objects in Second Life are relayed through Pachube, the real time sensor data service, then to an Arduino board. Through this process, for example, a photosensor can change the color of an SL wall, based on the amount of real world light detected. In other interface, a real world servo turns in the direction an avatar is facing. In yet another demo, he uses a similar process to send SL chat messages to an external LED display. Think of the possibilities, and read more on his blog.