[andars]

How do you go about setting up a custom device file like that (/dev/whiteboard)? Is it just writing a device driver?

[mxfh]

I think you could just hook up an old pen plotter to your whiteboard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_pwzqPk6Gg

[EDIT] whatever it has been done before:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pen+plotter+whi...

But this of mechanic is certainly unique and adds a lot of clumsy robot charm.

Wonder how easily you could store human inputs with a kind of (reverse) Pantograph type device for reproduction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph

[agwa]

The author says the device is a USB modem. So, under Linux, the author could have simply written a udev rule to use the name "whiteboard" for that particular USB modem's device file.

[m-ou-se]

Indeed. It's just a udev rule with: SYMLINK+="whiteboard

[seryoiupfurds]

And even under plain-Jane Unix, you can name a device file whatever you want.

[zachrose]

I'm also wondering why not skip all the protocols and put a clock on the robot? Either way, cool project!