- Fri Oct 02, 2015 10:46 pm
#185038
I am a web developer, so my programming knowledge lies in the world of Python, PHP and Javascript. I am a complete newbie to circuit programming, and not really sure where to begin.
The first project I want to tackle is a magic mirror that displays time, and current weather, like this: https://github.com/HannahMitt/HomeMirror
The catch is, I don't want to use a tablet because I want to customize some behavior.
1. I want an ultra-low profile motion detector that I can embed behind the mirror to sense when I've walked into the room, to turn on the screen.
(https://www.sparkfun.com/products/242) A bulky sensor like a PIR won't cut it.
2. I need wifi access so that I can reach out to a weather service API
3. A very small, cheap CPU unit that can output a signal to a simple a 7" frameless LCD, and run a Python program (or whatever programming language is necessary)
4. A way to read the data from the motion detector to decided when to turn on the screen
5. A way to power all of this through normal AC house current.
I feel like a Raspberry Pi is too bulky - I don't need USB ports and things, I just need something that can run a super basic program, work with wifi, has CURL for making API requests to a web service, and output VGA to an LCD screen. What are my options?
The first project I want to tackle is a magic mirror that displays time, and current weather, like this: https://github.com/HannahMitt/HomeMirror
The catch is, I don't want to use a tablet because I want to customize some behavior.
1. I want an ultra-low profile motion detector that I can embed behind the mirror to sense when I've walked into the room, to turn on the screen.
(https://www.sparkfun.com/products/242) A bulky sensor like a PIR won't cut it.
2. I need wifi access so that I can reach out to a weather service API
3. A very small, cheap CPU unit that can output a signal to a simple a 7" frameless LCD, and run a Python program (or whatever programming language is necessary)
4. A way to read the data from the motion detector to decided when to turn on the screen
5. A way to power all of this through normal AC house current.
I feel like a Raspberry Pi is too bulky - I don't need USB ports and things, I just need something that can run a super basic program, work with wifi, has CURL for making API requests to a web service, and output VGA to an LCD screen. What are my options?