Many system integrators strive to support industries like smart buildings, but lack in-house IoT engineering resources. The SECO Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 turns the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 into a rugged industrial HMI that supports development suites like Docker, Node-RED, and TensorFlow Lite out of the box. When combined with open-source software stacks, web developers can use the Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 to create ready-made smart sensing platforms complete with automated alerts, anomaly detection, dashboards, over-the-air (OTA) update capabilities, and more.
Creating custom control systems with integrated human-machine interfaces (HMIs) is a fairly standard project for most system integrators. But building connected, intelligent control and data visualization solutions - in other words, Internet of Things (IoT) systems - requires additional expertise that isn’t always available from in-house engineering teams.
To efficiently display information and streamline management of large networks of devices, modern industrial HMIs render tailor-made dashboards, run local artificial intelligence (AI) inference, integrate both web APIs and fieldbus protocols, and connect to edge-to-cloud workflows. Full-stack web developers employed at every system integrator can take on some of this work, but are likely inexperienced in delivering large chunks of an end-to-end control and data visualization system. Just consider the laundry list of poorly documented hardware and various toolchains used in the creation of modern HMIs that must be pored over before development can even begin.
To address these issues, the https://clea.ai/Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 combines an industrial-grade, high-definition touch display with a fully pre-configured software environment. The result is a ready-to-use platform that streamlines hardware and software development for teams tasked with building intelligent HMIs.
Ready Out-of-the-Box for Rapid, Industrial-Grade Development
The Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 is built around the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) and features a capacitive 10.1-inch multitouch display housed in a robust aluminum chassis. Its IP66-rated front panel ensures protection from dust and moisture, and the fanless design promotes maintenance-free operation and long service life, even in harsh industrial environments.
At its core, the Pi Vision integrates a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 processor clocked at 2.4 GHz, supported by up to 8 GB LPDDR4 SDRAM with error-correcting code (ECC). Extensive interfaces, including Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, and serial, ensure optimal flexibility for connecting sensors, actuators, and other external devices required when building systems to customer specifications.
The included Raspberry Pi OS provides a familiar environment that helps many full-stack developers rapidly prototype HMIs for edge applications. For more advanced Linux users, SECO’s Yocto Linux-based Clea OS can extend this software platform through commercial features such as secure over-the-air (OTA) updates, container management, and remote access for enterprise-grade fleet management.
On top of the OS, Pi Vision’s pre-installed development environment is a major advantage for full-stack developers who are less familiar with interfacing with HMI hardware. With Pi Vision, sensors and peripherals connect via I²C, UART, or USB, enabling easy integration of both standard modules and custom sensor boards.
All platform hardware drivers come pre-integrated, as does support for tools like Docker, Node-RED, TensorFlow Lite, and the Edge Impulse machine learning development and deployment platform. Applications built on top of this tool suite can be containerized, intelligently versioned, remotely maintained, and securely distributed via OTA updates.
Above all, the Pi Vision 10.1 CM5’s compatibility with the Raspberry Pi ecosystem enables system integrators to easily move from idea to prototype to industrial application on a single platform that can be both a development platform and the core of a connected industrial system.
Collecting and Processing Data using MQTT and Node-RED
In practice, today’s industrial control HMIs capture, process, and provide visualization of data from multiple sources in real time - with smart building deployments being a prime example. Here, a proven combination is using MQTT and Node-RED, both open-source technologies designed specifically for IoT applications and supported by Pi Vision. Together, these components form the foundation for Building Data Lite (BDL), a cost-effective, open-source system for scalable indoor environmental monitoring.
In BDL deployments, sensor nodes collect environmental data like temperature, humidity, or sound levels via MQTT topics, and Node-RED workflows subscribe to these data streams. Developers can quickly create and visualize Node-RED dashboards using real-time widgets to render interactive charts, gauges and time-series graphs as display information on the Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 HMI. Alternatively, data can be stored within databases for historical analysis.
Thresholds can also be defined to trigger alerts, or AI models can be interfaced directly with Node-RED workflows and automatically trigger MQTT broadcasts when an anomaly is detected (for example, CO₂ spikes or rising noise levels).
Docker provides a key capability in modularizing this kind of system. By containerizing applications, developers can operate Node-RED workflows as independent, easy-to-maintain services that update automatically.
SECO’s Clea OS is an industrial-grade operating system based on Yocto Linux that is pre-configured with the services required for reliable Docker operation. Clea OS is packaged with a device management agent called Edgehog that enables remote management, deployment, and updates of connected devices using Docker application containers.
For system integrators managing multiple client environments, this approach offers a major benefit: Once configured, each Node-RED workflow can be rolled out to many devices, without modification, regardless of hardware differences or local system states. Similarly, developers can use Docker to run other applications in containers and keep each system component isolated and separately updatable.
Containerized components may include Node.js or React dashboards, MQTT brokers, sensor drivers, or a complete dashboard or BDL server. Containers can be exported as pre-configured images and cloned to additional Pi Vision systems—ideal for multi-building rollouts.
Conclusion
The Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 combines robust industrial hardware with a modern, open software environment. Together with a comprehensive technology ecosystem, it forms a flexible platform that covers the end-to-end spectrum from sensor data acquisition to intelligent analytics - everything a resource-limited system integrator needs to create sophisticated IoT deployments like smart building automation.
Thanks to a pre-installed stack featuring Docker, Node-RED, MQTT, Edge Impulse, and more, full-stack web developers can get started immediately with the Pi Vision 10.1 CM5. No hardware integration or complex setup is required.
Pi Vision is more than a traditional HMI solution: it is an edge development platform that empowers system integrators to deliver fast, secure and scalable IoT solutions, from initial concept to reliable field operation.
Early Access to Pi Vision 10.1 CM5 is now available - Pre-order now!