RBox (RemoteBox) is a lightweight Linux distribution built with Buildroot, designed for IoT devices that need reliable connectivity over the public internet. It runs on low-cost hardware and uses XMPP chat messaging for remote control — no cloud services, port forwarding, or dynamic DNS required.
The Raspberry Pi image provided here works only on Raspberry Pi B+.
Key features
- Runs on Raspberry Pi B+, BeagleBone Black, and BeagleBone Green
- Small update image — under 20 MB for Raspberry Pi, under 10 MB for BeagleBone
- Over-the-air updates with dual-boot failsafe against power outage or network failure
- Always-on XMPP chat-bot keeps the device accessible via any Jabber server
- Remote GPIO read/write via chat messages
- Health monitoring commands
- GSM SIM management with Huawei E173 USB modem — read/send/delete SMS, dial USSD codes, voice dialling
- Open source — hosted on GitHub
Applications
- Home automation — control relays and sensors via GPIO
- Remotely deployed GSM SIM management — SMS gateway, balance checks, etc.
Deploying RBox on Raspberry Pi B+
- Create two XMPP accounts on a public Jabber server (tested with jabber.de, xabber.de, ubuntu-jabber.de) and authorize them to chat with each other
- Download the RBox SD card image
- Decompress with 7-Zip or your preferred tool
- Write the image to the SD card using Win32DiskImager
- Remove and re-insert the SD card — a
bootdrive appears - Create
xmpp-login.txton the boot drive using this template — replace the sample credentials with your device's XMPP username and password - Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi, connect an Ethernet cable, and power on
- On your phone, open Xabber and log in with the master XMPP account
- The Raspberry Pi should appear online — send
Helpto see the list of available commands - Send
Sysupdate;rebootto update to the latest RBox image — see the full command reference
RBox is in active development. Contributions and feedback are welcome — leave a comment or open an issue on GitHub.
SOURCE CODE
github.com/hackboxguy/brbox — RBox sources and build instructions
6 comments:
tried with r-pi B. looks like nothing appear on my screen when boot. any idea?
before powering the raspi, ensure that raspi-hdmi-out is connected to monitor, else, during bootup, raspi checks if monitor is connected, if not, then it turns off HDMI.
I have found R Box one of the best system when we talk about Linux system for IoT,. I liked your blog post and appreciate the share you have made to deal with the public understanding
Anyway to manually install RBox without having to use a clean SD card?
currently working on a automation server, the old jabbed system I was using isn't working and would like to try RBOX as its replacement.
Thanks
Anyway to manually install RBox without having to use a clean SD card?
currently working on a automation server, the old jabbed system I was using isn't working and would like to try RBOX as its replacement.
Thanks
Oh, we have our own Jabber/chat server, we would like to avoid using google anything..
Redlance305: yes it is possible, here are the instructions.
https://albert-david.blogspot.de/2018/01/remote-accessing-raspberry-pi-over.html
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