Arduino® UNO™ Q intranet web server helps this business run

Michel Willems runs a photography and print shop in Ontario, Canada. Like all business owners, Willems is always keen on improving efficiency because even small changes can have a big effect over time. He has found it useful to have easy access to important information, so he decided to leverage an Arduino UNO Q to build a simple intranet web server that helps manage operations — tracking everything from current sales and passport office wait times to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions.

Intranets are local and usually small networks, typically used by businesses and organizations to provide access to resources like databases and shared storage. They’re like the internet on a miniature scale. And like the internet, they rely on web servers to host content that users can access from their computers or smartphones. For this project, Willems used an UNO Q to create his own affordable and lightweight web server.

Because the UNO Q runs Linux, there are many compatible web server software packages available. But in this case, Willems didn’t need to the heft of a fully featured package. Instead, he programmed his own server in Python that grabs the relevant data and makes that available on the network. Some of that data comes from local sources (including sensors built into the device), while some of it, like the regional weather forecast, comes from online APIs.

And the UNO Q offers a big bonus perk in the form of its onboard microcontroller. Through that, it can monitor buttons, switches, sensors, and more. It can, for example, react to a button press by showing corresponding data—the same data published by the server—on seven-segment displays. It can also update the information the server provides to users on the network, such as the local temperature and humidity.

While Willem tailored this particular web server to his own needs, it demonstrates that you can use an UNO Q to build your own version that works for your own requirements.