inkyshot VS GassistPi

Since balena is a remote-first company we put a lot of thought into making sure we try to connect with each other and have fun. In the past one of the ways we did this was to spend a week, once or twice a year, to physically collect together and spend time with each other. We call these sessions Summit, and there will usually be some swag there, such as devices and SD cards and sensors, t-shirts and hoodies and snacks. However, for obvious reasons, in the last couple of years we have been unable to fly the team around the world and spend time together in the same building, so our summits have had to move to a virtual event. The first time this happened, in 2020, a group of people at balena decided to build a project (the inkyshot ) and send one to everyone on the team as part of the swag box. The idea was that it was connecting to all be receiving the same message, initially about summit itself, but latterly to share quotes and insights.

As the micro USB port for the power source is underneath the Pi and Inky pHAT when standing up for display, I thought it best to relocate the power source to the back of the Pi so the power source wire could come out the back of it, allowing me to display it neatly on my desk. The 3D printed case is designed to allow the power source cable to come out the back of it too.

Very nice! Reminds me of the inkyshot project that was posted here awhile ago. I printed, built and modified one to send messages to my girlfriend for Valentine's day. Balena is also very convenient for it as I can modify the code to add more messages in the future.

Here's the 3D printed case design files if you're interested.

I am thinking about adding Google Assistant using https://github.com/shivasiddharth/GassistPi I am not sure if I will stick with that or later switch to an on-device solution.