Senior citizen-friendly video telephony system with a Raspberry Pi
Conclusions
The term "plug and play" seems a bit like overkill for this video telephony system, but once network access is configured, the Jitsi meeting has been given a name in the code, and the email account is set up, all you really need to do is plug the Raspberry Pi into a suitable CEC-enabled TV.
To make a call, the user then just presses a button and waits for the other party to join the Jitsi session. The first time you do this, you should go through the steps with the mouse and keyboard connected to disable one-off notifications, check the CEC response, and enable the microphone and camera. After that, grandma and grandpa should be able to manage the system.
The original source for the project from Instructables [9] is a few years old and ultimately only provided some inspiration and a starting point. The video telephony system described here configures the audio devices, controls the TV set, and automates everything with a single button.
If I had found a solution to purchase, then this project would never have taken off. But for a newcomer, the potential learning effect is massive, especially if you do not simply copy the code, but also look up what it actually does. Most importantly, it produces results that have a tremendous utility value.
Infos
- Jitsi: https://jitsi.org
- WebRTC: https://webrtc.org
- Jitsi Meet: https://meet.jit.si
- msmtp: https://marlam.de/msmtp
- CEC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Electronics_Control
- "Raspberry Pi Raspbian Power on/off GPIO button": http://www.barryhubbard.com/raspberry-pi/howto-raspberry-pi-raspbian-power-on-off-gpio-button/
- WebRTC test page: https://test.webrtc.org
- Audio and video test for WebRTC: https://webrtc.github.io/test-pages/src/audio-and-video
- "Video Calling on Raspberry Pi 3": https://www.instructables.com/id/Video-Calling-on-Raspberry-Pi-3
« Previous 1 2 3 4
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
News
-
OpenMandriva Lx ROME Technical Preview Released
OpenMandriva’s rolling release distribution technical preview has been released for testing purposes and adds some of the latest/greatest software into the mix.
-
Linux Mint 21 is Now Available
The latest iteration of Linux Mint, codenamed Vanessa, has been released with a new upgrade tool and other fantastic features.
-
Firefox Adds Long-Anticipated Feature
Firefox 103 has arrived and it now includes a feature users have long awaited…sort of.
-
System76 Refreshes Their Popular Oryx Pro Laptop with a New CPU
The System76 Oryx Pro laptop has been relaunched with a 12th Gen CPU and more powerful graphics options.
-
Elive Has Released a New Beta
The Elive team is proud to announce the latest beta version (3.8.30) of its Enlightenment-centric Linux distribution.
-
Rocky Linux 9 Has Arrived
The latest iteration of Rocky Linux is now available and includes a host of new features and support for new architecture.
-
Slimbook Executive Linux Ultrabook Upgrading Their CPUs
The Spanish-based company, Slimbook, has made available their next generation Slimbook Executive Linux ultrabooks with a 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake CPU.
-
Fedora Linux is Coming to the Raspberry Pi 4
Thanks to significant work in the upstream, the upcoming release of Fedora 37 will introduce support for the Raspberry Pi 4.
-
New Linux Ultrabook from TUXEDO Computers
TUXEDO Computers has released a new 15" Ultrabook running Linux.
-
GNOME 43 To Bring Some Exciting New Features
GNOME 43 is getting close to the first alpha development release and it promises to add one particular feature that should be exciting to several users.