Project GreyBox

Project GreyBox is a small, dedicated hardware device that supports an elderly person in living independently, reducing the need for daily reminders and reassurance from relatives.

The system consists of:

• A simple, always-on physical device with a touchscreen display. The display shows the current date and day of week, the weather (which automatically refreshes every half hour), reminders of events and appointments happening that day and a wellbeing button that triggers a digital photo frame showing family photos.

• A secure web interface used by relatives to manage messages, notifications, and monitor wellbeing signals. Events can be loaded remotely and photos added via the web UI
• Secure network communication between the device and the web interface.

The emphasis is on clarity, simplicity, reliability, privacy, dignity, and security.

The device is a simple, low-cost set-up:

• a cheap 8-inch touchscreen from Amazon.
• a Raspberry Pi 4 computer attached to the back of the screen.

The screen is powered by the RPi which reduces cable clutter. The RPi is locked down into a kiosk mode with autologin and Chromium set to autolaunch. Tailscale is configured on the device and the web UI server to secure communication.