IM status indicated via RGB LEDs mounted behind transparent nameplates using Raspberry Pi #piday #raspberrypi @Raspberry_Pi
Reagen Ward posted this great project he made on hackaday.
I share a bullpen-style office with 3 other people, and while I love the set up, I found people would walk down our hallway only to find one of us away from our desks. In a (noble and selfless) effort to save everyone up to 8 seconds per day, I decided to visually indicate our presence using our IM status (Green = Available, Yellow = Away, Red = Busy). We have a nice side window by our door and transparent name plates, so the lights are very visible. In the photo above, I put a paper towel behind the nameplates for contrast.
The hardware is simple – A Raspberry Pi, 4 RGB LEDs, some leftover perfboard, and a ribbon cable. What was intended to be a rough prototype has remained in place since its installation, further supporting my mantra: Nothing is truly temporary.
Software is C++ using libpurple from the Pidgin project. The PoC used finch driven by Python over DBus. It was more baling wire than cement.
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Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!