ShopView Kiosk — Radar-Driven Real-Time Operations Display

Overview

ShopView Kiosk started as a replacement for a static dry-erase calendar in a construction shop: manual updates, no remote visibility, and constant “what’s next?” friction. The kiosk is a physical interface layer for the Paarth OMS: a Raspberry Pi runs a fullscreen browser view, reads presence from a 24GHz FMCW radar (RD-03D), and maintains a live WebSocket connection so schedule and pipeline changes appear instantly—whether they happen in the shop or remotely.

Core Features

Radar-based motion detection — Presence without cameras; works in low light and through minor obstructions.
Smart display behavior — Screen stays dimmed or off when idle; wakes when someone approaches to save power and extend display life.
Real-time sync (Socket.IO) — Jobs moving stages, schedule changes, and task updates push to the display with no refresh.
Kiosk deployment — Raspberry Pi on Ubuntu: auto-login, browser launches fullscreen to a single app URL, minimal OS interaction.
Remote + local parity — Office and field updates propagate to the shop display in real time.

System Architecture

Remote users interact with the Paarth backend (Node.js + Express + Socket.IO). The kiosk browser maintains a WebSocket to that backend. A Python process reads the radar over UART (/dev/ttyS0), interprets presence, and drives wake/sleep behavior for the display stack.

Hardware

Raspberry Pi (Ubuntu)
RD-03D 24GHz radar sensor
HDMI display (wall-mounted in shop)
Breadboard and jumper wiring for prototyping

Why It Matters

The whiteboard was static, local-only, and high-touch to keep accurate. This system is presence-aware, always tied to live operational data, and motion-activated so the board stays in sync with reality instead of drifting behind it.

Built to complement Paarth — scheduling, job tracking, and workflows stay authoritative in the OMS; the kiosk is the always-on shop view of that same system.