I have been looking around the web, and I really miss a kiosk to do clean and safe installs on tablets, touchscreen computers, Raspberry Pis or wall/smart displays. What if we had a HA-kiosk firmware, simple to config by just importing the IP into the server.
What if it also automatically disabled the sidebar and automatically showed screensavers? We don’t need a full on device, just the firmware for it.
Firmware for which device?
Let me clarify my idea further:
This firmware is essentially a specialized operating system designed specifically for touchscreen devices, such as tablets, touchscreen computers, Raspberry Pis, and smart/wall displays. The primary goal is to streamline these devices into dedicated Home Assistant kiosks.
Key Features of the proposed HA-kiosk Firmware:
The firmware would allow for an easy setup process and is lightweight. By simply importing the Home Assistant server’s IP address into the device and vice versa, it automatically configures itself to connect and integrate with your Home Assistant setup, reducing the complexity and making it more accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical background.
To ensure a focused and immersive Home Assistant experience, the firmware would automatically disable the sidebar and other non-essential UI elements. This approach emphasizes a clean, distraction-free interface that’s dedicated to controlling and monitoring your smart home.
To protect the device’s screen and save energy, the firmware would incorporate an automatic screensaver feature that activates when the device is not in use.
My aim is to address some of the common challenges and limitations we face with existing setups, such as the complexity of configuring devices to work with Home Assistant, the cluttered user interface, and the risk of screen burn-in on always-on displays. By introducing a dedicated firmware, we can significantly enhance the user experience, making it more accessible, efficient, cleaner to set up and enjoyable to interact with our smart home systems.
I hope this clarification helps you understand the vision behind my proposal better? I believe that with the community’s expertise and collaboration, we can make this idea a reality and improve how we interact with HA.
What os are you contemplating will operate on all that hardware? Linux is the obvious choice, but I don’t understand it will run on esp32, which is a common device for running screens.
There is something similar being developed for a specific piece of hardware which might grow in to more.
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/lenovo-thinksmart-view-rom-os-development/
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What you need is nothing “new” as a basic you need an OS ! , with only a browser.
The OS is needed to talk with the specific Devices basic hardware functionality( The devices firmware/Bios ), and the features such as screensaver etc (to say it simple)
The Browser is need to View the Dashboard.
And you also need to be able to i.e control this browser(and update it etc) clear cache etc whatever
So don’t Call such a “Setup” for “Firmware” , it’s a “generic” OS, with an “generic” Browser Application, both which you need the ability to control/update ( Not through some "firmware-update pushed in ) and i asume you don’t mean develope HA into a Terminal-Server ?
So You can take any suited-able Device, and install a super lightweight Linux.( With Drivers support for this specific device ), then install a browser, and a shell-script ( at startup"boot", open Browser#url>fullscreen )
Firmware is typically used for basic functionality for a “very” specific Device, or series with same( or very similar) hardware specs
Firmware/BIOS (Basic Input Output System) <> OS ( Operating System ) <> APP/Browser <> TouchScreen<> your finger ( And your Voice if the OS and the BIOS/Harware Supports this )
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There have for decades been CD’s, DVD’s, USB-sticks with slim OS’s and various Software, ( I even made some my self, ever since DOS(on diskettes) which i.e open a browser at boot( for this apps specific purpose , showing html, or some of all supported program languages)
It’s Pretty cool with an OS, and Browser on DVD, no chance of getting infected on this part
I’ve been diving into this on the web, but i wasnt satisfied with what i saw. Some of these setups were pretty complex to configure for most users. Also, preferably you’d have a system that runs nothing but a kiosk browser and excludes the admin sidebars, nothing more. No app clutter or background tasks or anything alike.
How about using ha_fusion with http://homeassistant.local:8123/api/hassio_ingress/xxxxxxxxxxxx/?menu=false? I’m using this as addon.
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Also people want voice on the frontend too these days. That means also access to speakers and a good mic.
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Ok, so you didn’t/don’t have same Opinion / Vision as the tons of examples/attempts/systems other people have build ( For a specific Device/Hardware ) , and yet you are wondering why none has succeeded, making a Generic Firmware/Software, for all various Hardware ( down to the the smallest chipset ) ( And with no system-logging or nothing etc , because they are to "complex to understand anyway )
Ok, so we are almost down to 1 specific Hardware, 1 specific “Firmware/Software” and 1 Specific GUI, no matter what other people want / Like, or spend money on, The very reason none have succeeded to make anything that satisfy the “Market”, but only a handful of uses.( At a certain point in time, not in 3-5 years ahead ) ( And their own point of view )
PS: i would also, beside sound, touch, mic, preferably have motion and presence sensors build in, and a slot for mobile-phone-card, so i could call out from the device ( Just examples ! ) , beside ofcause Ethernet port and camera etc.
Unless I’m missing something, isn’t that what Fully kiosk does?
It might not operate at a firmware level, but you can set it up to run on start (and optionally manually uninstall everything else on your device). It also has support for screensaver & built in device sensors to turn the screen back on.
True, it only works for android, but that’s what most touch screen tablets are using anyway
Thanks for the tip. I have to try that out. I’m surprised i didnt find this one yet. Looks promising.
I’ve dived into Fully Kiosk, and while it does have the functionality i expect, i dont like the android part. It’s too cluttered with irrelevant processes and functionality.
since a few days i’m using a surface device running Windows 11,
those can be bought really cheap (50,-) and run my dashboard really smooth
it can be fully controlled using HASS.Agent to turn the screen on and off
and only uses about 4w when not in use
and 10 when in use
the only thing is that i can’t seem to turn off right click in any browser for windows
what is really anoying as hold is the right click when using touch
Would love to swap Windows for any other os if ther is something easy to use
but i couldn’t find anything as good,
i tried fully kiosk but the intergration is buggy and usally wont work
I was going to ask if you can run Linux on those surface things.