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
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.
-
Critical Linux Vulnerability Found to Impact SMB Servers
A Linux vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10 has been found to affect SMB servers and can lead to remote code execution.