Yodeck bakes Raspberry Pi into digital signage all over the world
Until not so very long ago, digital signage was used sparingly. Dynamic displays that flip through various images were reserved for big, fancy companies with lots of resources to throw at what is essentially a moving poster. Cost was a massive factor here, but now the technology is small and affordable enough for pretty much anyone who wants it: fast food outlets all showcase their wares by flipping through pictures with giant prices, and I no longer have to squint at a long list up above head height to decide whether I want to go large. Ten-year-old me thought this shit was only possible in The Jetsons.
Perfect to drive displays
Speaking of affordable, small computers, it made perfect sense when we started seeing Raspberry Pis popping up inside checkout screens at supermarkets, and in dynamic directional signage directing customers around large Swedish furniture shops. Athens-based company Yodeck jumped on the trend at just the right time a decade ago, before the scene exploded, and built their offering around our hardware. Now their Raspberry Pi-powered digital signage is in 135 countries all over the world.
Raspberry Pi-powered signage from Yodeck
Yodeck specialises in an easy-to-manage setup that shows content sent to clients’ displays from a user-friendly content management system. A Raspberry Pi 4 sits neatly with the screen in the nice case you see above, and runs a Python application that looks after everything at the display end of things. Yodeck’s Raspberry Pi-powered solution allows content playback, scheduling, and device management to be handled remotely, as well as supported remotely by their team in case of any hiccups. This means companies with multiple screens in multiple locations can make sure customers see consistent information wherever they are. So if a fast food franchise owner wants to cut the price of an item on their menu, they can do this just once, and the change will be happen across all their restaurant menu screens immediately. Half-price margheritas for all!
We really like what Yodeck is doing with our tiny computers, so we’ve published a customer story all about how the company started, what industry challenge they were looking to solve, and how Raspberry Pi proved to be their perfect match. Give it a read.
14 comments
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Jonathan Pallant
I didn’t have “swears on the Raspberry Pi official blog” on my bingo card, but I’m here for it.
Raspberry Pi Staff Liz Upton
*Waves rudely*
Thiago Silva
Considering how rare these are lately, not sure I’d want people to know where my company is using them 😁.
manuti
Totally agree!!!
Jeff Huyler
I think this is wonderful for the raspberry pi organization. When will you be able to get your strongest supporters (makers, diy, etc) resupplied with these wonderful boards? I would prefer to see sufficient quantities produced to fill you Current Demands before you go looking for new areas of consumption!
Thanks.
Raspberry Pi Staff Liz Upton
So! Things are starting to look up pretty significantly already; I know I’m singing a very old tune here, but please keep an eye on rpilocator.com. We are gradually coming back into a stocked position for everything, but it’s happening a product at a time: Zeros are pretty much in free flight in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, and Asia, SA and Australia are coming online. 3A+ is everywhere. 4s are coming back and will just continue to get better. Thank you so much for your support and understanding; it’s killing me having to deal with some of the very personal animus here (I promise that I, personally, have not been engineering a global supply chain crisis since 2019, despite what some people on social media seem to be saying!)
William Stevenson
Fear not! I’m sure most of us recognise that commercial companies had to be kept going, as this keeps RPi growing, or at least staying viable, which is to the advantage of us all. I already had a 3+ and a 4 4GB, so I was lucky- but I’m still waiting for a couple of Zero 2Ws!
Gordon77
Good news. It will be great to see Pi4s back. :)
Wesley
I ran across Yodeck probably 4+ years ago when looking for a solution to do some basic digital signage with a Pi. Their plan of allowing a single screen for free allowed test driving and deciding that it would work well. Ended up with four of them at work and one at church. They have worked very well.
Leon
I’ve been using yodeck at work.
We’ve got a manufacturing site with 15 screens showing production data, announcements and such.
Every screen has a pi400 attached to the back.
Raspberry Pi Staff Ashley Whittaker — post author
Niiiiice!
Stephen
Last month I used one of my original B boards to create a rolling welcome screen for reception at work.
Displays information for visitors, including loading times, first aiders on site and Friday fire alarm test times.
Running RISC OS with BBC BASIC.
Also have one recording 12 power meters for factory substation, one displaying production data, another to VNC into one of the SCADA PCs, cheaper than £4k HMI being used previously, and one on my desk for nefarious work related stuff.
Had to use some from my own collection, acquired when supply was good. Looking forward to when that returns.
@Liz, still waiting for one with wheels and a sandwich! :-)
Raspberry Pi Staff Ashley Whittaker — post author
Sounds cool Stephen! Is this part of your job or do you just love this stuff and volunteer your skills alongside your day job?
Stephen
Hi Ashley, bit of both. I work at a brickworks, involving automated processing of clay, forming, drying, handling, firing and packaging. Part of my job is collecting and analysing data and looking for ways of improving the production process, targeting areas for improvement and implementing solutions. If something interests me, I may follow the project up at home in my own time.