pi_kiosk

The configuration files and scripts here are derived from the tutorial at https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-kiosk/. That tutorial assumes you are starting from a full Raspbian install. Starting with Raspbian-lite requires installing several basic dependencies such as lightdm and chromium-browser and isn't recommended. The default user, pi, is used here as it is in the tutorial.

Follow the tutorial to install the needed dependencies and configure kiosk.service so the kiosk can be managed by systemctl. Then copy one of the bash scripts to /home/pi/kiosk.sh and, if needed, customize the URL or URLs. It is recommended to install the xsession file as /home/pi/.xsession so that the kiosk browser is the only window running on the display.

Notes

• JDG, 2021-05-07: I've added a lightdm.conf file under ./lightdm to this repo. Copy this file to /etc/lightdm/ to prevent the RPi from going to sleep.

• JDG, 2021-05-07: I've also added an ansible playbook under ./ansible that will modify the /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf file, if needed, to prevent the RPi from going to sleep. If you copy the file in the previous bullet, you don't need to run the ansible playbook.

• JDG, 2021-05-07: The chromium-browser command-line options have been modified to eliminated user input. This allows the weather videos to start automatically without user input.

• The locations of Boot Options and Desktop Autologin have moved in recent versions of raspi-config, but they are clearly labeled.

• The monitor I used to test is not native 1920x1080 and I had to try a few of the options for that resolution in raspi-config to find the one that worked properly (mode 82). This may or may not be an issue with true 1920x1080 displays. The kiosk.sh script will also need to be modified if a different resolution is used, namely the --window-size parameter.

• A Raspberry Pi 3B with 1 GB of RAM was able to handle toggling between the TCS weather and observer pages without any issues. The system load averaged around 2.5 out of 4 available cores. The CPU temp held steady at 60 C with the case open at 18 C ambient. Putting the cap on the case raised the CPU temp 2-3 C. A Pi 4 should be able to handle this task much more easily and should run cooler.