Smart digital signage solution using Raspberry Pi
Digital signage is a technology that enables businesses to display diverse content on screens, enhancing communication, engagement, and brand presence. It uses screens to convey information, advertisements, and brand messages in real-time, allowing for remote management and content updates.
The Raspberry Pi, an affordable single-board computer, offers a powerful, flexible, cost-effective solution for deploying digital displays. Its compact design, robust processing capabilities, and compatibility with signage software make it an attractive choice for various applications. Raspberry Pi has gained significant traction in the digital signage market, supporting wayfinding, messaging, marketing, and outdoor advertising.
By utilizing Raspberry Pi, businesses can harness the benefits of digital signage without incurring the high costs associated with traditional hardware, enabling more customized, efficient, and scalable displays. Raspberry Pi-powered signage systems enhance audience engagement across diverse settings, making them an accessible and sustainable option for businesses seeking to implement high-quality, scalable signage solutions.
This discussion will explore the advance features, success stories and real-world digital signage implementations using Raspberry Pi.
Application and types of digital signage
Smart digital signage systems have applications in various industries, including multi-touch video walls, dynamic advertising displays, QR-enabled digital menu boards, interactive kiosks, IoT projects, digital window displays, large-scale global networks, smart outdoor digital billboards, smart door signage, and AI screens for trigger-based content display.
Digital signage displays include digital directory displays, which enhance navigation and information access in extensive facilities, while electronic message signs provide real-time updates and promotions. High-definition advertising monitors increase marketing impact, customer engagement, and monetization. These displays vary in size, resolution, and functionality, making it crucial to compare features to select the right product based on specific needs.
Digital directory displays offer real-time information and navigation assistance through interactive LED walls or smaller traditional displays in malls, office buildings, and hospitals. These displays are helpful in fast-paced environments, helping shoppers find stores and discover promotions, aiding employees and visitors with navigation, and guiding patients to departments and services.
Electronic message signs are digital displays designed to share information and advertisements in real time, typically via LED screens. They can be used to promote sales in airports and train stations. They can also provide directional assistance in healthcare facilities.
Advertising monitors are strategically placed in high-traffic areas to capture potential customers' attention. These digital screens display targeted marketing content, promotional offers, and advertisements. These monitors are particularly effective because they feature dynamic, interactive content such as videos, animations, and product demonstrations, which are more engaging than static signs. Starbucks uses advertising monitors to promote new products and customer reviews, resulting in a 25% increase in foot traffic and higher sales of featured items.
Essential features of digital signage
Essential features include content automation, remote accessibility, content scheduling, audience analytics, integration with other systems, interactive capabilities, high-resolution displays, robust content management software, and the ability to personalize content based on audience data.
Figure 1: Block diagram showing various interfaces for digital signage system
Figure 1 shows the smart digital signage block diagram. It consists of MCU-based AI/ML vision and application processor-based solutions that allow infrastructure providers to quickly deploy digital signage. MCUs with AI/ML vision capabilities are ideal for object detection, facial recognition, and real-time analytics in digital signage applications. These are energy-efficient and consume low power, enabling features such as audience tracking and targeted content display. Applications processors handle computationally intensive tasks like 4K video rendering, multimedia playback, and advanced AI/ML models for predictive analytics, enhancing the performance and user experience of digital signage systems.
NFC allows viewers to access promotional content, make transactions, download apps, or receive personalized information by tapping their NFC-enabled devices (smartphones) on signage displays. This technology is prevalent in retail, advertising, and smart environments to enhance customer experiences. Ultrawideband (UWB) can improve the user experience by enabling precise location-based interactions. Advertisements can also be personalized based on the exact position of the user. UWB also supports secure, accurate, real-time tracking, helping businesses analyze customer behaviour and optimize content placement. GPIO ports enable integration with sensors, buttons, or external devices to trigger specific events or interactivity in digital signage systems, such as user engagement or system monitoring.
Remote content management
The wireless connectivity and security portfolio complements both new and existing designs for secure data and communication. WiFi provides wireless connectivity for remote content updates, real-time data integration, and centralized control of signage networks. The security module enhances system security by enabling secure data transmission, authentication, and encryption to protect against cyber threats. Audio Amplifier powers audio output for multimedia content, ensuring clear and loud sound for videos, announcements, or advertisements.
Digital signage networks allow network owners or managers to control the content displayed on screens remotely. The process involves deploying the network, gathering content assets, scheduling content, playing content, and receiving player feedback. Users must connect the screens to the internet or a local computer network using Ethernet, Wi-Fi®, or cellular (3G/4G) technology. Content assets are loaded into a digital signage content management system (CMS) software, which can be accessed by multiple parties using a web browser, local LAN, or embedded in the media player itself.
Once content assets are loaded into the CMS software, they can be scheduled into playlists instructing each device to display content at a specific date and time. Devices regularly check in with the CMS server to provide status updates, automatically downloading the necessary content assets and instructions. Downloaded assets are saved to a local storage area and played according to the playlist instructions. Players generate a compliance log as they display content, which is sent back to the CMS system to confirm proper functioning.
Remote management allows for changes and queries of local sensors and controls on a machine-by-machine basis or in user-selected groups. Remote diagnostics run automated scripts to test equipment and generate reports on preset schedules. Software revision control deploys remote software and firmware updates to devices over the network, while graphics display real-time information about devices. Centralized data collection gathers data from all devices and analyzes it either on the user's server or in the cloud. Data analytics and reporting using built-in reporting tools or web-based APIs to export data to the location and format the user chooses.
Choosing the proper hardware for your digital signage needs
For successful deployment, it is vital to choose the correct hardware. It is essential to consider all available options and determine what best suits your specific requirements. Key factors to evaluate include digital signage player hardware, display screens, media players, touchscreen kiosk hardware, and video wall hardware. These factors can significantly impact the success of your digital signage setup.
First, consider the environment in which your digital signage will operate—indoors or outdoors. Select screens that can tolerate the elements and have integrated cooling systems to prevent overheating. Consider the lighting conditions in the area to ensure the screens are easily visible to the audience. Lastly, consider the device's power consumption. Energy-efficient devices should consume minimal power, and some come with built-in sensors that adjust brightness and power usage based on lighting conditions. This feature conserves energy and prolongs the device's lifespan.
Digital signage hardware can display information, advertise products and services, and entertain customers. Additionally, touchscreen kiosk hardware is useful for interactive applications where users interact directly with the content via a touchscreen interface. Video wall controllers provide multiple outputs from a single source, allowing images from different sources to be shown simultaneously across various displays, creating an impressive visual impact without compromising the quality or performance required by professional audiences.
A digital signage or media player is central to any system, providing the necessary computing power to run content on displays. These displays can range from small single screens to large video walls and touchscreen kiosks, depending on your needs. Media players offer access to content such as videos, images, and interactive applications displayed on one or more screens throughout a venue.
When selecting connectivity technology for digital signage, consider the amount of data needed and the frequency of content updates. Cellular low-power wide-area (LPWA) technologies are ideal for long-range communications at low bit rates and are suitable for text-based digital signage use cases. However, for real-time video-delivering smart billboards and digital signage, more efficient technologies are required. These solutions should range from performance IoT to higher LTE categories and 5G broadband. 5G offers higher bandwidth and can enable AI applications like facial recognition for customized content delivery. For smart signage solutions that constantly change content, choose technologies with real-time capabilities. LPWA is unsuitable for complex digital signage use cases like video but is more cost-effective than other options. Retailers should leverage LPWA's affordability if the data transmitted is not too high.
Advantages of digital signage
Digital signage offers numerous benefits for businesses, including enhanced customer engagement, improved customer experience, increased sales, better internal communication, affordability, and brand building. In retail and hospitality, digital signage can directly impact sales by promoting products and services in an appealing and informative way. Using digital screens in high-traffic areas to display promotions makes customers more likely to make impulse purchases. Outdoor digital signage can also increase foot traffic, encouraging more people to enter and eventually purchase products.
Digital signage provides several advantages over traditional signage, including cost-effectiveness, real-time content updates, targeted advertising, brand building, environmental sustainability, data insights, increased safety, and entertainment. While initial setup costs may be higher than traditional signage, businesses can save more money over time. Real-time content allows businesses to react immediately to changes, keeping customers informed and engaged. Targeted advertising can be customized based on particular times of day, customer demographics, or store locations, making promotions more effective.
Digital signage also helps businesses visually communicate their personality, values, and identity by using colors, taglines, and logos to reinforce their message across all screens. Additionally, it supports sustainability efforts by reducing paper waste and minimizing the need for constant printing. Data-tracking capabilities enable businesses to analyze customer interactions and preferences, tailoring future content for maximum effectiveness.
Digital signage also enhances safety by communicating safety instructions or evacuation routes to customers and employees, ensuring everyone remains informed and protected.
Why Raspberry Pi is best suited for this solution
The Raspberry Pi is a popular platform for digital signage due to its affordability, power, reliability, and high-quality design. It is available globally and offers remote support and troubleshooting for digital signage displays. The support team can remotely monitor the device screen and Raspberry Pi hardware status. The Raspberry Pi 4 / 5 is the perfect media player platform for creating customized disk images running Player/Linux, allowing customers to build their own DIY Raspberry Pi media players. Raspberry Pi's superior power, video/URL playback capabilities, lower cost, and flexibility make it a compelling choice for designing player devices, from case and power supply.
Raspberry Pi 5
The standout feature of the Raspberry Pi 5 (Figure 2) is its capability to build smart digital signage, integrating a powerful computer with a 2.4 GHz quad-core, 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, a VideoCore VII GPU, and 4 GB or 8 GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM for multitasking and resource-intensive applications. It delivers a 2-3x increase in CPU performance, making it faster and more responsive.
The device supports 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for seamless wireless connectivity. It also offers a variety of I/O options, including two USB 3.0 ports for high-speed data transfer, two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet with PoE+ support, and 2×4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers. Additionally, it features a PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for connecting high-speed peripherals.
Figure 2: Block diagram showing all the components of Raspberry Pi 5
Raspberry Pi Compute Modules
Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are system-on-module variants of the flagship Raspberry Pi models. They are especially popular for industrial and commercial applications, including digital signage, thin clients, and process automation. While some applications use the flagship Raspberry Pi design, many users prefer the compact form factor and on-board eMMC storage offered by Compute Modules.
Compute Modules are available in multiple variants, differing in memory and soldered-on Multimedia Card (eMMC) flash storage capacity. Like SD cards, eMMC provides persistent storage with minimal energy consumption. However, unlike SD cards, eMMC is specifically designed to function as a disk and includes additional features to enhance reliability.
a. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (Figure 3) is a system-on-module that delivers the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi 5 in a form factor designed for embedded applications. It features a quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor, dual 4Kp60 HDMI outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, and an optional fully certified wireless module offering Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth connectivity.
With various RAM and eMMC flash options, the Compute Module 5 enables users to harness the robust hardware and optimized software stack of the Raspberry Pi 5 in custom systems and form factors. It includes additional I/O interfaces and is available in variants without eMMC flash for greater flexibility.
Figure 3: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5
b. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (Figure 4) is a powerful and cost-effective solution for professional signage displays in retail environments, passenger information systems, and quick-service menu boards. It features a quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 processor, VideoCore IV GPU, hardware video encoding/decoding for H.265 and H.264, OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics, 4GB LPDDR2 SDRAM, and 32GB of on-board eMMC storage.
The Raspberry Pi OS is optimized for digital signage, and its open, modular design allows for customization to meet individual usage requirements. Additionally, it supports smart connections to the Internet of Things (IoT) for enhanced digital signage and presentation applications.
Integrators can take advantage of open-source solutions compatible with various operating systems, while users can leverage third-party Content Management Systems to manage their signage needs effectively.
Figure 4: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4
c. Raspberry Pi IO boardRaspberry Pi IO Boards provide a way to connect a single Compute Module to a variety of I/O (input/output) interfaces. Raspberry Pi IO Boards are breakout boards designed for development or personal use, providing various functions such as powering the module, connecting GPIO to pin headers, connecting camera and display interfaces to FFC connectors, HDMI to HDMI ports, USB to USB ports, activity monitoring to LEDs, eMMC programming over USB, and connecting PCIe to connectors for storage or peripherals. Compute Modules are small, lacking ports and connectors. IO Boards provide a way to connect Compute Modules to various peripherals.
Figure 5: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 IO board
Figure 5 shows the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 IO board. It features a HAT footprint with a 40-pin GPIO connector, PoE header, 2x HDMI and 2x USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 with PoE support, M.2 M key PCIe socket, microSD card slot, MIPI DSI/CSI-2 combined display/camera FPC connectors, real-time clock with battery socket, four-pin JST-SH PWM fan connector, USB-C power (using the same standard as Raspberry Pi 5), and jumpers to disable features like eMMC boot, EEPROM write, and USB OTG connection.
Raspberry Pi AI HAT+
The Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ is an add-on board (Figure 6) with a built-in Hailo AI accelerator for Raspberry Pi 5. It features a built-in neural network accelerator, turning your Raspberry Pi 5 into a high-performance, accessible, and power-efficient AI machine. It provides 13 or 26 TOPS performance, making it suitable for everything from entry-level applications to more complex neural processing, with the ability to process multiple concurrent models and AI tasks. The AI HAT+ communicates using Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe Gen 3 interfaces. The Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ is fully integrated into Raspberry Pi’s camera software stack, taking advantage of the neural network accelerator to run post-processing tasks such as object detection, image segmentation, and pose estimation. It supports common frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch, allowing you to build AI-powered smart digital signage.
Figure 6: Raspberry Pi AI HAT+
Success stories of the digital signage solution using RPi
The adaptable and robust features of Raspberry Pi have revolutionized digital signage. Businesses can use this versatile and affordable platform to create impactful signage systems.
Yodeck - Signage
Yodeck is a digital signage platform designed for small and budget-conscious businesses. Users can create professional content quickly by using its extensive library of free templates and apps. The company initially faced challenges with its PC-based solution's high costs and limited scalability. To address these issues, the team developed a Python-based application for Raspberry Pi, effectively managing content playback, scheduling, and device management. This platform automatically pushes content to client devices, ensuring consistent messaging across various displays and locations. Yodeck's innovative insights into industry requirements and Raspberry Pi's capabilities have established a reliable and cost-effective digital signage solution, solidifying its position in the competitive market.
Yodeck chose Raspberry Pi because it is affordable, powerful, reliable, and delivers high quality in a compact form factor. Its availability in many global markets aligned with Yodeck’s international ambitions. The ability to provide remote support and troubleshooting for Yodeck’s digital signage displays was crucial, and access to the underlying code of Raspberry Pi’s Linux operating system made this easily achievable. It is essential that both customers and Yodeck’s support team can remotely monitor each device’s screen status and the status of the Raspberry Pi hardware itself.
Figure 7: Yodeck’s digital signage system
Yodeck's cloud-based platform allows remote screen control, enabling content updates anytime, anywhere. Its scheduling feature automates content appearance, targeting specific times of day or special events. Yodeck also uses industry-standard encryption and protocols to keep content safe and prioritizes security, using industry-standard encryption and protocols to keep content safe, particularly for businesses handling sensitive information. This makes it an ideal choice for businesses looking to streamline their digital signage setup and management.
Yodeck’s content management system allows users to create playlists and screen layouts using photos, graphics, and video clips they upload. The company offers a range of hardware options. Models include the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with a 16GB SD card and an Argon40 Neo case; the hardware is accessible to anyone signing up for a year-long Yodeck subscription. However, Yodeck also works with any Raspberry Pi model, including NEC displays fitted with Raspberry Pi Compute Modules 3 and 4.
XOGO
The XOGO Mini 2 is based on a Raspberry Pi 4 running a custom XOGO Player/Linux image. XOGO’s custom software transforms it into a media player that pushes content to a display. The Mini 2 is wireless-enabled, allowing users to control and play content stored on its SD card using XOGO's Player app on any smartphone. Access is restricted by a security code; entering this code allows the user to send playlists securely from their app to the Mini 2. The XOGO Mini 2 is housed in XOGO's custom silent, fanless enclosure and ships with an HDMI cable and an international power adapter, providing customers with a plug-and-play setup experience.
Figure 8: XOGO Mini 2 along with digital signage display
Screenly digital signage players
Figure 9: Screenly digital signage players
Digital signage players render content from an online Screenly account to users' screens. Each screen requires a digital signage player. The Screenly Player is a Raspberry Pi-based digital signage device with an arm64 architecture. It can render 1080p Full HD videos, images, and web content, making it ideal for deployments with just a few screens. Screenly has features that simplify digital signage management, aiming to eliminate the complexities of digital signage and make it accessible to everyone in just a few clicks.
To achieve this, the digital signage software allows users to manage their signs from any location. Users can log in to the Screenly web interface to update and manage their digital signs remotely. With Screenly, users can display images, videos, motion graphics, and live web pages in 1080p Full HD resolution.
Screenly’s digital signage API enables users to integrate their digital signs with existing business databases and enterprise software. With this API, digital signs can automatically update content based on predefined parameters. For example, hotels and entertainment venues can advertise events with low sign-up numbers on their lobby displays. At the same time, retail clothing stores can promote different clothing options based on local weather conditions. Screenly’s API empowers digital signs to harness the power of real-time data.
NEC large format displays - Sharp NEC RPi4
Figure 10: Sharp-NEC MPi4 Kit WiFi
Based on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, NEC Large Format Displays is an open-platform solution that enhances display performance for various visual applications. This modular and exchangeable slot design ensures future-proof operation. The module is compatible with numerous open-source solutions from the global Raspberry Pi developers' community. The NEC Interface Board hosts the module, which offers features for intelligent digital signage support, such as the Watchdog Timer and Real-Time Clock for scheduling. The module's Ethernet and USB interfaces allow easy integration into networks or external devices. It is a smart combination of computing power and professional signage displays for various applications.
This open platform supports various operating systems, making it ideal for digital signage software providers and integrators. The MPi4 Kit WiFi is highly reliable due to its industrial-grade components and advanced heat management. It is also affordable, has high performance and low energy use. The MPi4 Kit WiFi has proven to be a worldwide success story, with high reliability and an unmatched price-performance ratio, making it attractive for professional applications. As shown in the figure, the MPi4 Kit WiFi also has a built-in WiFi module and an external antenna for optimal communication when slotted into the display.
