E-ink displays have fascinated me for years now. Since their arrival in 2012, their proliferation through store shelves, wristwatches, e-readers, and many other devices has taken off like a storm. Their customization possibilities, low financial cost, and incredibly low power draw make e-paper displays an interesting option for many-a projects. But for the longest time, your only coloration options were “on” and “off” for each pixel, however that changes with new options like the Inkplate 6COLOR display.
This display board packs a lot of add-ons in its 5.85-inch space. Powered by a built-in ESP32, the display can be controlled over WiFi or Bluetooth, so updating the displayed image is a breeze. Plus, the board is set up to work over I2C or SPI communication protocols, giving you flexibility for whatever the project may need! All that, along with additional GPIO pins and an open-source Arduino library from the seller themselves, means it will be no time before you’ve got this display up and running. And as if that wasn’t enough, the board also features a microSD card reader, a Real-Time Clock (RTC) module, touchpad inputs, and the option between a cable or a rechargeable battery for power. As is the draw of many e-paper displays, the power consumption of this huge display is impressively small, drawing a microscopic 18 µA when in deep sleep mode.
This board is just the latest in a long list of immaculate e-ink displays offered by e-radionica. Even if you’re not in the market for an e-paper display, they have a plethora of sensor breakouts, relay boards, and communication boards available for purchase. (All of which are in a very stylish purple PCB design!)
