Car thing but for a desk instead (Desk thing)
Summary
Spotify has this device they call Car Thing. It’s a screen that’s supposed to go on your car (unsafe much?) and allow you to choose music and see what is currently playing at a glance. I would like that, but available for my desk, as I don’t have a car (nor do I need one).
So my plan is to, using a Raspberry Orange Pi, a web server, a 3D-printed enclosure, a speaker, and a touchscreen, make something that allows me to see which song is playing (and album artwork, author and year), which song is next in the queue (and author), from which playlist/album, duration of the song and rough progress bar (can’t be too exact because it will mostly comunicate through the API), basic controls (pause, skip, go back), and a sleep timer function (pause the music after a certain time).
The whole device would be built inside of a 3D printed structure, which would include a support for a Homepod mini (as I’ve heard that its sound is fairly flat and just a little bit of EQ makes it sing). The only problem is that streaming the music directly from the Pi would be very hard due to it being a very basic computer, which could reduce the quality of the music).
Plan
- Measure all of the parts, design, print, and sand a piece (or a few) that allow me to keep all of the tech parts together.
- Assemble the device and plug all of the tech in.
- Design a web interface that connects to the Spotify API and displays the data.
- Run the web interface on the local device, connect the speaker and voilà! A
cardesk thing.
Bill of materials
Product | Supplier/Link | Cost* |
---|---|---|
Touchscreen | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07PHFQF7W | $56.43 |
PLA filament | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07R6PL63K | $23.42 |
Electric plug | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B06XXNPLJ9 | $09.56 |
MiniHDMI->HDMI | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07PHFQF7W | $06.10 |
Homepod Mini | (Apple Store) | $99.00 |
TP-Link TL-WN823N | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0088TKTY2 | $09.25 |
Flat USB->USB | https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0953LJ84W | $10.80 |
Red paint (detailing) | (Supermarket) | $05.00 |
Current total | $217.06 |
*Price is after EUR->USD conversion. Actual price may vary by ±5% due to currency fluctuations. Prices include VAT/IVA.