I then made some changes to the configurations’ file to make the mirror return Greek newsfeed, holidays and my location’s weather report instead of the U.S. For that to happen I followed instructions on installing Noobs and Raspbian on my Raspberry Pi and downloading the respective MagicMirror Github repo. Here is the final result of the back of the mirror:Īfter my creation was complete, I had to give life to it. Here is a photo of the ongoing process:įinally, after deciding where everything would go, I glued them together, screwed what had to be firmly positioned and put a hard cover on the back to hide all cables. After fitting the monitor into the photo frame, I run some ‘simulations’ trying to figure out what the best position for every part would be. I wasted many meters of film before being able to achieve a good result. Make sure to watch multiple videos before trying it. Caution: the film application process is really difficult for novices (that includes me). I then watched a few more videos on how to assemble the mirror and started going through it. All these are displayed in the image below: ![]() To put all these together I also obtained a variety of little tools and stuff like glues, tapes, metal joints, carpentry, etc. I also purchased a wireless keyboard-mouse set to control the mirror (you can also do that using VNC viewer from your PC or laptop). I disassembled my old USB cam to make it fit in the back of the mirror so it can remain hidden. I also acquired a mirror reflective film to turn the simple glass into a mirror. I started with the ‘soul’ of the mirror, a Raspberry Pi model 3 b+, along with its power supply, a protective case and an SD card. For the framing I bought a big enough photo frame (40cm by 50cm) and for the display I purchased a used 19” computer monitor with speakers. Not enough reasons? Assembly ProcessĪfter watching tenths of relevant Youtube videos and DIYs (I have included an indicative list of them), I put together a list of things and set out to purchase them. Also you will learn a thing or two on programming (Python probably), some Linux (Raspian to be exact) and some MacGyver tricks to put it all together :). And while in its basic version it does not offer great utility, you can customize it to your needs to make very, very useful things (see my spy cam below). Well just because you can! And for the fun of it! I find it really amazing to create a ‘smart’ object yourself rather than buying it off-the-shelf and learning something new while doing it. There is a ton of 3rd party APIs out there to experiment with like Google maps, traffic reporting, Bitcoin price tracking, memo-notes, etc. ![]() ![]() And these are only served as the ‘appetizer’ in the MagicMirror platform. ![]() Its a tech gadget that combines classic mirrors and modern small computers in one entity which can inform you about the weather, upcoming holidays, report the time and date, update you with the latest news and throw one or two good words just to make your day. A Magic Mirror (or Smart Mirror) is a mirror that can do many more things than just reflect your idol – or whatever is in front of it for what it matters.
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