Advertisement Screens of Events

I talked with @DomAman about this: It is possible to replace posters with screens that show which events are on.

Here is a small specification of it:

  • We can create events with one or more pictures
  • The raspberry PI shows the website - it can be shown on any device
  • The website switches though events automatically
  • The system works also without the Internet
  • The screen is switched off when there is no motion detected
  • The whole system can be put behind a clock that switches it off completely
  • We manage entries in one or more places and it is easy to create new ones

For a prototype, we need

  • a raspberry pi
  • a motion sensor
  • a wifi usb stick
  • a monitor
  • a plug socket
  • a relay
  • a box to put everything into: One power cable in, a screen to see - that is it.

The agreement with @DomAman is that if he builds the box, I build the software. If you like to contribute, that is nice - as of now, just us two think about this. Please leave a comment.

Ideas for a data source:

  • Events that are posted in the forum
    • if they have a picture?
  • An additional source of events specified in a certain way like
    events:
    - title: Tai Chi
      date: every Thusday
      description: join us to learn Tai Chi, costs: X money
      pictures:
      - https://example.com/thai-chi-misspellet.jpeg
      link: none
    

Possible extension: If we can plant several of these around the place, we can inform the community about what is going on! Cafe, makerspace window - wherever people walk by. How many do we need?

TODO, please comment:

  • Where would we put these?
  • should we cooperate with some hackspaces about this?
  • cost calculation for such a screen including time spent on it.

If you like to contribute, get in touch. We have it quite low priority at the moment, I think,

I found an open-source solution
https://anthias.screenly.io/
I tried to install that on the Raspberry Pi and it was not so reliable. I will see if I try another installation method next time I come around. It would be nice if we have an easy access to share what is going on in the makerspace.

I started the project here:

The reson I chose an installation from tutorials instead of Anthias is that Anthias did not work reliably and also did not set up on the Raspbian OS.

It takes me about a day to make one of them. They work quite reliably now.

At the moment, the one in the workshop room does not switch off. That is true. The relay is not working. I have a spare one and can exchange it. It is a good long-term test for the 230V relays.


Update 10.3.2023: The screen should work now. I think, I just plugged the relay in at the wrong pin.