Skip to main content
  1. Blog
  2. Article

Alex Cattle
on 29 November 2019

Build smart display devices with Mir: fast to production, secure, open-source


Industrial robots, home appliances, advertising screens, office information boards… devices of every type around us are getting connected. As they do, their screens turn from single purpose displays to reconfigurable, multi-purpose smart display. As the amount of code required to build these displays, the production time and maintenance burden have increased, this has prompted device manufacturers to reconsider how they can build smart display devices faster and more securely based on open source frameworks.

Mir is a library for writing graphical shells for Linux and similar operating systems. Compared to traditional display servers, it offers numerous benefits that are important for IoT devices: efficiency, speed of development, security, performance, and flexibility. All are required by the devices of today, and even more so for the devices of tomorrow. In this whitepaper we’ll explain how Mir, alongside Ubuntu Core and Snapcraft, lets developers build devices that are ready for the future of IoT, while offering stable, secure and performant solutions to the problems the industry faces today.

In this whitepaper you will learn:

  • The history of Mir and why it was developed to solve reusability and security issues in IoT2
  • The technical architecture of the Mir display library and how Mir compares to alternative IoT technologies
  • Example use cases of Mir and how to get started on your smart display project with Mir
Download whitepaper

Related posts


ilvipero
3 April 2026

Ubuntu Summit 26.04 is coming: Save the date and share your story!

Ubuntu Article

Following the incredible success of Ubuntu Summit 25.10, we are thrilled to announce that Ubuntu Summit 26.04 is officially on the horizon. If you are new to the Ubuntu community, every new release of Ubuntu comes with an Ubuntu Summit – an event that takes place twice a year and serves as a showcase of ...


Massimiliano Gori
31 March 2026

How to manage Ubuntu fleets using on-premises Active Directory and ADSys

Cloud and server Article

The “hybrid fleet” is today’s reality: organizations diversify operating systems while Microsoft Active Directory (AD) remains the dominant identity “source of truth.” IT administrators must ensure Linux machines, like Ubuntu desktops and servers, behave as first-class citizens in this environment. Efficient Linux management demands unifi ...


Massimiliano Gori
30 March 2026

How to Harden Ubuntu SSH: From static keys to cloud identity

Cloud and server Article

30 years after its introduction, Secure Shell (SSH) remains the ubiquitous gateway for administration, making it a primary target for brute force attacks and lateral movement within enterprise environments. For system administrators and security architects operating under the weight of regulatory frameworks like SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, ...