Unattended browser kiosk with Android Mini-TV

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Jeff Piazza
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Unattended browser kiosk with Android Mini-TV

Post by Jeff Piazza »

I recently bought an "Android Mini-TV" device and used it to set up an information "kiosk" at our most recent derby event.

The "mini TV" is a small device running Android that plugs into a (newer) TV via the HDMI interface. Android, of course, is Google's operating system for smart phones and tablets, among other things. (Despite the device's name, you have to provide your own TV.)

In my case, I used an MK808b from GeekBuying (http://www.geekbuying.com/item/MK808B-D ... 13213.html). I reflashed the ROM, mainly to provide 1080p output, but I could have used an unmodified version at 720p. The device has more than enough processing power to display text-based web pages. I haven't explored its video handling capabilities.

At the event itself, I brought along a USB mouse for set-up, which consisted primarily of joining the wifi network and pointing a browser to the kiosk page of the web-access pages I posted over in the Software forum. Once the device is set up, you can unplug and put away the mouse, thus protecting your kiosk from unwanted changes by audience members. (No mouse, no keyboard, no touch screen = you, the race organizer, have full control over the device.)

(Actually, I tried my hand at writing my first Android app, rather than use the stock browser, to get a full-screen display, and to facilitate diagnosis if a good connection wasn't readily established. That turns out not to have been particularly necessary, but it was a fun learning experience.)

The main kiosk display is the live "on deck" presentation, showing who's up for the next heat, as well as the times from the last few heats. The auto-scrolling feature really let the kiosk be unattended and not take up any of the race coordinator's attention.
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birddog
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Re: Unattended browser kiosk with Android Mini-TV

Post by birddog »

Very cool!
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