Upgrading Normal TV into a Smart TV using Raspberry Pi

Abstract

Context- A television is perhaps the most common gadget in any household. Recent technological advancements have given rise to the idea of Smart TV. The general cognition of “smartness” encompasses features including but not limited to internet access, social media, live media streaming etc. Researchers have shown that people tend to like puzzles and memory games on a Smart TV more than the usual social media content. Objective- To provide additional features to a traditional TV such as video streaming, games, puzzles, health tips. TV usage analytics can prove useful to extract usage patterns and predict health effects. Methods- We use Raspberry Pi as the base hardware. The video extracted using TV tuner is analysed using machine learning algorithms. Health tips are provided based on TV usage patterns. An open source software i.e Kodi was used to provide live media streaming. Kibana was used to display analytics interactively. A web interface was developed to interact with the system. Results- We were able to implement the design in a cost effective way compared to available solutions. Additionally, health tips, puzzles, memory games were provisioned. Significance- Smart TV can provide facilities in rural areas to improve the education quality. Additional facilities such as remote health monitoring can be provided. A Smart TV can serve as a tool in providing wholesome IoT solutions.