Can you believe this? You'd think we saw them all, but some people amaze us every day with their unique and awesome inventions. Someone just created a digital mirror powered by a Raspberry Pi 2 single-board computer and the Ubuntu MATE operating system.
Raspberry Pi 4K Magic Mirror is a DIY (Do It Yourself) devices. All you need to get started is a 39-inch 4K screen, a Raspberry Pi 2 SBC, the Ubuntu MATE for Raspberry Pi operating system, and, of course, a frame that you can make from anything you can think off.
"Here's the final product mounted on her wall. I wanted to make a "premium" Raspberry Pi Magic Mirror for my GF's Christmas present. So I used a 39" 4K screen behind a glass two way mirror, and spent a lot of time on the woodworking for the frame," said user hardcore2031 on Imgur.
A magic mirror, eh? Well, we have to admit that even if we're studying all sorts of technologies and new devices all day long, we didn't saw something like this before. Of course, it's not impossible, nor illogical. All you need is to connect the Raspberry Pi board to the 4K screen, which needs to have a webcam.
Overclocking, software configuration, and a lot of free time
To achieve such a unique device, one would need a lot of free time on his/her hands, and, of course, all the necessary tools to create the frame, especially if you'll attempt to make a Raspberry Pi 4K Magic Mirror for yourself and you follow hardcore2031's instructables.
On the software/hardware side of things, he overclocked the Raspberry Pi 2 SBC, so he needed to buy heatsinks and a pluggable Bluetooth 4.0 low energy adapter. The 4K screen used in the screenshots attached at the end of the article is a Seiki 39" TV. However, he spent a couple of months just figuring out how to output a 4K resolution from the Raspberry Pi 2 board.
The Ubuntu MATE for Raspberry Pi 2 operating system was the perfect choice when he had to configure Bluetooth, something that Raspbian was not capable of doing in an easy method. You can find the entire wonderful story of Raspberry Pi 4K Magic Mirror on Imgur, but make sure that you grab a coffee or a tea first.
The Raspberry Pi 4K Magic Mirror runs Ubuntu MATE for the @Raspberry_Pi 2! https://t.co/qdbwC84K57 — Ubuntu MATE (@ubuntu_mate) January 8, 2016 