Large digital calendar/whiteboard thingie next to the hallway door

I have been thinking about wanting something like that for a long time. I know we have the technology, but there are no turn-key solutions. Not that I’m aware of, or they are extremely expensive, like corporate solutions maybe.

So, the thing I have in mind.

Since I have an extremely poor memory I need a large touch-enabled display next to the hallway door, so I can see important things there when I leave home.
I’m thinking an 80cm x 40cm (about 31.5" x 15.7") screen would be perfect. At this point, it’s all fantasy anyway, so the exact measurements are not that important.

Requirements:

  • Touch-enabled screen.
  • The scribbled crap on the whiteboard needs to survive the device restarts when the power goes away.
  • It has to be WiFi-capable since I can’t get an ethernet cable there without it looking hideous, otherwise, I would use PoE. I don’t have power there either, but that’s going to be easier.

What the board would show:

  • Full date
  • Calendar that syncs from my mailbox calendar
  • Whiteboard where I could scribble additional information, lists, and so on (hence the touchscreen requirement)

The existing panel is for looking at who’s outside at the door and letting them in remotely. I don’t know what it’s called in English. It’s powered over PoE from the basement.

I think the hardest part is finding a touch-enabled display this large.

What I need from you is how to build such a contraption. Parts mainly, I think.

Hardware-wise it’s pretty limited;

  • Touchscreen monitor like the Iiyama Prolite T2455MCS-B1
  • VESA mounting kit to mount it to the wall
  • Rapsberry Pi 5
  • housing for RPi 5
    Said RPi 5 is already WiFi-enabled so you’re sorted there. Of course the RPi needs power, so any power feed needs at minimum 2 outlets (one each for the monitor and PRi)

Obviously, you need software too. Raspbian is the default OS for RPi installs and a good starting point for making this work, but beyond that is out of my competence so I can’t advice you there.

Not cheap, but you can get stuff part for part to suit your budget.

HTH!

Not quite true, you would be amazed what is available nowadays:

Otherwise, I agree a RPi solution would do just fine for this task, combined with a tiling VM or something.

Thanks!

I’m probably going with the T2755MSC-B1 model (27" WQHD).

The screen, VESA mount, Pi 5, and all of its additional thingies are just under 700€, excluding shipping costs and outlet extension underneath the setup.

Instead of the multiplug, I’m going to install one of these:


I’m assuming you can insert the monitor plug AND the Pi USB-C cable at the same time. Haven’t used these kinds of outlets.

If I did my math right, that is just shy of 90cm diagonal (33 inch)

Since the rise of customer-operated PoS-terminals, there is a selection to be had for this use. The downside is price, because these units tend to be really pricy!

Iiyama, Philips, Samsung, LG, etc. have displays for your application.

Or alternatively, a monitor with an OPS-slot.

I was looking for a 32" display and I wasn’t able to find a touchscreen over 27" that was over FHD resolution.

I hadn’t even heard of OPS. I did a quick search and looks like it would make the whole thing extremely expensive. I need just one unit for personal use.

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Looking into it, that seems to be an unfortunate no-mans land, for both selection and resolution.


I would get a used OPS-module via the usual suspects.


Edit: You could just get a regular monitor and install one of those IR-touch-frames on top.
https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=32"+touch+overlay

Reminds me of this project I saw a long time ago

You probably can pair it with home assistant for voice detection

Now for the touchscreen if you can’t find a 32 inch touchscreen you can do something similar to diyperks by at a smaller scale

Alternatively if the touch is for navigation, this might be cheaper
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/154258-turning-a-standard-lcd-monitor-into-touchscreen-with-a-5-wall-mounted-sensor

Great :stuck_out_tongue: Now I want the weather on the display as well :roll_eyes:.

I want a simple setup though, no cloud-based voice assistants, no “AI” and such.

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I saw these frames on Amazon as well and I have no idea if these things work or how well they work and I’m not going to trust Amazon reviews :stuck_out_tongue:.

The 27" Iiyama WQHD touchscreen is 513€, whereas the cheapest 32" UHD monitor + the touchscreen overlay frame would be around 398€.

Something just occurred to me regarding writing on the whiteboard. I don’t want to use my sausage fingers to write on the screen and would rather use a stylus.
Can I use a random stylus to write? Does the stylus need to be Bluetooth-enabled if I don’t require anything fancy from it?
I have a Surface stylus. I have no idea if it can be connected to multiple devices or if it even works with non-MS products.
There are fairly cheap styluses available as well. Samsung and noname/unknowns.

If memory serves, at least the IR-touch-monitors from NEC/Sharp work with anything. Question is if the add-on frames work the same as the factory installed good stuff.

Yeah the original video used a raspberry pi. You probably can substitute the Alexa for home assistant + a local llm run on the Nvidia jetson or ollama on your network