I have been playing around with a couple of Raspberry Pi computers. These are single board modest devices (they will run Linux just fine but do not have the memory needed for Windows) that have taken the world by storm. They are cheap enough ($35 or so) that you can dedicate one to a specific task instead of having to use a stand-alone Windows box. I have been having a blast with mine.
Here is one sucess story about a company who used a Raspberry Pi to control their office - from Monterail:
How we built a truly Smart Office system based on Raspberry Pi
Last year, when Monterail decided to change their office to be a bigger and better-designed place , they decided that it should also be smarter. I was introduced to the team as a person who could make this happen. I collaborated with Monterail during the renovation of their new home and then finally joined the team.
The “Smart” part
Such a huge project cannot start without a good, long workshop about our needs and requirements. After a thorough workshop we decided to have the following features:
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- light control,
- conference and call room occupancy signalization,
- individual access codes for the main doors for each team member in a centralized database,
- audio system with a wireless music streaming option,
- separate, manageable audio experience in the restroom,
- five TVs with the ability to manage the content displayed on them,
- kitchen LED lamp color management,
- ability to control everything via a web application (desktop, mobile, phone and panels mounted on the walls).
After that, the automation system project was done and the whole office concept was ready to be implemented in real life. The entire hardware side of the smart office had taken place during the construction work done by the renovation crew. Of course, there were some small complications during whole venture, but everything ultimately ended up as we wanted.
Lots of pictures and details at the link - this is the kind of thing that the Raspberry Pi was made for. There are lots of programming libraries out there so you do not have to reinvent the wheel.
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