NEC Display Solutions Europe has formed a collaboration with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Core, and Screenly, a digital signage software solution for Raspberry Pi. This is one of several partnerships NEC has made with digital signage software companies leveraging Raspberry Pi as part of their digital signage solution. The joint collaboration facilitates a digital signage solution that uses NEC’s P and V Series 4055-inch displays and modular Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 (CM3) to deliver visual content in an integrated package for professional AV applications.
Screenly’s digital signage platform is designed to streamline the management of both small and large deployments, with targeted sectors such as retail, food and beverage, education, transport, and corporate offices, which will be able to communicate content with their customers on this platform. The player enables smooth playback of full HD videos, images, and web pages, complete with health checks and remote status monitoring. Moreover, the combination of Screenly's CMS and the flexible API enables it to be used as a standalone solution or integrated with IoT solutions into larger, more complex systems. Sensor triggers can be incorporated to make the signage more context-aware and relevant to the viewer, enhancing the overall experience.
“Companies are looking for highly reliable technologies to continue improving their adoption and use of digital signage,” said Jatin Bhatt, strategic alliance manager at NEC Display Solutions Europe. “The cooperation with Canonical and Screenly enables seamless integration of digital signage functionality and content management features into a single smart device, leveraging the power of the Raspberry Pi CM3 right inside our P and V Series displays. Together, this creates a simple but very secure, self-contained, and effective solution for digital signage applications, supporting the NEC Open Modular computing strategy.”
Ubuntu Core is a minimal version of Ubuntu targeted at IoT and embedded devices offering over-the-air updates, security built-in from the ground up, and the opportunity for additional functionality and monetization through snaps, the universal Linux packaging application format. Automatic updates simplify the update process for businesses that have digital signage installed in numerous and remote locations, while the secure platform increases resistance to screen takeover and other potential attacks. Ubuntu Core is fully supported on the Raspberry Pi CM3 to deliver a cost effective, secure, and extensible platform.
“Digital signage platforms are now an increasing must-have feature for businesses all around the world,” said Mike Bell, EVP of IoT and devices at Canonical. “By partnering with the brightest minds in the industry, we can continue to develop enterprise and embedded IoT uses for Ubuntu Core. NEC’s large-format displays with their support for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 running Ubuntu Core, offers a compelling and fully integrated solution.”
Viktor Petersson, CEO of Screenly added: “NEC’s open modular platform approach and IoT focus with Raspberry Pi CM3 allows us to push our software right into the heart of the digital signage hardware platform, providing a vibrant yet secure digital visual proposition that takes full advantage of the opportunities the IoT offers to advertisers and other organizations to personalize content and be more interactive. We look forward to working with NEC and Canonical to deliver the future of CMS digital signage.”
