Raspcontroller
Les Pounder needs an easy way to see what all of his Raspberry Pis are up to, but he’s too lazy to move from the sofa…
Les Pounder needs an easy way to see what all of his Raspberry Pis are up to, but he’s too lazy to move from the sofa. It’s time to try a handy Android-based solution…
Remote control of a Raspberry Pi is typically handled via SSH or VNC. But Raspcontroller, a free app created by Ettore Gallina and available from the Google Play Store, aims to solve all of our remote connection problems at once and does it in a friendly and clear manner. This may not be the first app to tackle this challenge but we think that this may be the one that will rise to the top.
Installation of Raspcontroller is a breeze; we tested it on our Android 10 smartphone and an older Android tablet. Initial setup which requires SSH access to the remote Pi is simple. SSH connections can be secured using passwords or RSA keys, a nice touch for seamless connections. You can connect and control multiple Raspberry Pis from one app using their hostname/ip address, and can name each Pi to quickly identify them.
Once connected, you have access to a list of commands. From the basic SSH Shell to custom user widgets, this app provides what you need. There is basic GPIO control, enabling you to read the current state of the GPIO and also control individual pins on the GPIO – handy for very basic control such as blinking an LED.
A file manager provides a graphical means to work with files. If your Raspberry Pi is operating as a server then CPU, RAM and disk monitoring are all available via the app; you can even set the Pi to ‘Wake on LAN’ and powercycle the Pi remotely. General process management and information on the Pi, including detailed information on every aspect, is also available via the app.
But what else does Raspcontroller offer? The biggest and most welcome feature is a remote camera controller. You can view a live stream from the camera, and take control to capture a photo, all while sat on the sofa. You can control the quality, exposure and white balance of the image. This would be a great asset for a Pi-based nature camera. The app provides pre-configured tools for use with popular sensors such as temperature sensors (DHT11/22, DS18B20, BMP) and Raspberry Pi’s own Sense HAT, from which you can read sensor data and control the LED matrix. If your favourite sensor is not on the list then fear not, as you can write a script on the Pi and see the results in Raspcontroller thanks to the user widgets section. This only provides a read-only function, so we cannot send any data back to the Pi, but simple sensor-based projects can now share their data directly to your phone.
The app provides resources and guides for common tasks such as installing operating systems, working with the camera and basic Linux commands. In the Pinouts and Diagrams section we find detailed schematics for the GPIO and projects involving LEDS, relays and sensors, all of which are clear and easy to follow. In fact the app provides quite the offline resource library, so if you are ever in the field using a Raspberry Pi to fix a problem, you have tools to hand to debug that pesky issue.
If the free app is enough to whet your appetite then the full ad-free version is £2.69 from the Google Play Store, and quite frankly it’s worth spending the price of a coffee (not in Bath!–ed) for this handy app. There have been other apps like this, but Raspcontroller is the most robust and accessible we have used. Give it a go – it will likely become part of your Raspberry Pi toolkit.