Unwrap an E Ink Dashboard for the Holidays

If you have some time off around the holidays this year, that can be the perfect opportunity for hacking on electronics. Most hobbyists have a long list of projects that they want to build, but never enough time to build them. So why not use some of your vacation time to check that list twice and knock out some builds from the top of your list?

A common project topping those lists is an E Ink dashboard. If this is on your list, you might be interested in a guide recently published by electronic engineer Marvin of MyEmbeddedStuff. Marvin showed just how easy it can be to build this type of device these days.

A Seeed Studio reTerminal E1001 Monochrome ePaper Display was selected for the dashboard because it contains everything that is needed all in one package. It comes equipped with a 7.5-inch monochrome E Ink display, an ESP32-S3 microcontroller for processing and wireless connectivity, environmental sensors, and a battery that can last up to three months on a single charge.

In the write-up, Marvin explains how the device can be programmed with Arduino IDE to fetch weather and calendar data from APIs. This information can then be combined with measurements from the onboard sensors to provide an overview of both the local weather and your upcoming schedule for display on the dashboard.

Marvin also has some tips for designing and displaying graphics, and a few hints about best practices for the software design. Take a look at the guide to get started on your dashboard today.