Raspberry Pi Portal

In order to ease communication between all offices, each location is equipped with one or several always-on communication portals.

Hardware

The equipment consists of 4 parts:

• Computer: Raspberry PI with 4GB RAM.
• Webcam: Logitech Webcam C930e.
• Microphone: Jabra Speak 410 MS.
• Screen and Sound output: LED TV e.g. LG LED Smart TV 32LK540BPTA.

Setup

• Connect the Webcam to the first USB 3.0 input on the Raspberry PI.
• Connect the speaker/microphone to the second USB 3.0 input on the Raspberry PI.
• Connect the first miniHDMI output from the Raspberry PI to an HDMI port on the TV.

Troubleshooting

• If no sound is sent to the TV, there can be two main solutions:

  • Plug the Mini-HDMI in the first slot.

  

  • Force HDMI output using this guide (config.txt).

• Reduce power consumption and board temperatures by updating the firmware

Software

For conference calls, we use the web-based application Whereby.

It allows each portal to have a dedicated always-on room:

Configuration

Log in to Nimble account of Whereby via the Chromium browser.

One logged in to Whereby, edit the settings:

• Set Webcam to use Logitech Webcam C930e.
• Set sound input to Jabra Speak 410 MS.
• Set sound output to the LED TV or to Jabra Speak 410 MS.

Autostart Whereby

In order to make the Raspberry Pi fully operational without a mouse and keyboard, Whereby -- via the Chromium Browser -- must be configured to start on boot.

We have decided to use systemd instead of autostart (easier to configure) to have full control on when the application boots. Since Whereby is web-based, the application must wait for thw wifi connection to be working.

1. Create a new Unit file: sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/whereby.service.
2. Paste the content of the file /systemd/whereby.service and edit <USERNAME> with the actual account handle used.
3. Reload systemd to recognize the new service: sudo systemctl daemon-reload
4. Start the new service on boot: sudo systemctl enable whereby.service.

License

This project is Copyright (c) Nimble. It is free software, and may be redistributed under the terms specified in the LICENSE file.

About

This project is maintained and funded by Nimble.

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