A kiosk or smart display is a full-screen application running on a secure device, with the sole purpose of driving that display to provide specific information or a particular function at that location.
Ubuntu is popular for these applications thanks to its excellent security track record and widespread developer familiarity. We compiled this guide to a reference kiosk architecture to enable anybody, anywhere to make a highly secure kiosk using any of the popular application display frameworks - HTML5/web, X11, or native Wayland.
Since these devices are often left unattended for long periods of time, and run in sensitive environments like airports, hospitals and public areas we also want to raise the bar on security and update management. So this tutorial includes the option to use Ubuntu Core, which is a minimal, self-updating OS for your application to run on.
You can also integrate touchscreen or keyboard capabilities, which enables this tutorial to serve for industrial control interfaces and any environment where user feedback is needed.
What you’ll learn
How to create a graphical kiosk on Ubuntu Core running a single full-screen demonstration application. We’ll also discuss the basic architecture and its security benefits.
What you’ll need
- An Ubuntu desktop running any current release of Ubuntu or an Ubuntu Virtual Machine on another OS.
- A ‘Target Device’ from one of the following:
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A device running Ubuntu Core.
This guide shows you how to set up a supported device. If there’s no supported image that fits your needs you can create your own core image. - Using a Virtual Machine (VM) You don’t need to have a physical “Target Device”, you can follow the tutorial with Ubuntu Core in a VM. This guide shows you how to set up an Ubuntu Core VM.
- Using Ubuntu Classic You don’t have to use Ubuntu Core, you can use also a “Target Device” with Ubuntu Classic. Read this guide to understand how to run kiosk snaps on your desktop, as the particular details won’t be repeated here.
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A device running Ubuntu Core.