DIY Electronic Paper Display

An anonymous reader writes "LinuxDevices.com has an article about a development kit for prototyping device displays based on electronic paper technology. The kit includes a 170dpi, 6-inch (diagonal) SVGA (800 x 600) EPD (electronic paper display) module supporting four shades of gray, and a small computer module that runs the display. EPDs provide bright, high-contrast, thin, lightweight displays that remain legible under 'any lighting condition' -- much like newsprint. Once an image has been 'printed,' no power is needed to hold it."

Comments

It took them long enough

[AKAImBatman]

I don't know about anyone else, but I've been looking for a dev kit like this forever. Even just as an E-Reader (what the dev kit is preconfigured for) the possibilities are tremendous!

I'm a bit annoyed that it's taken 30 years since Xerox first developed the idea, but at least it's here now. Just imagine if this technology catches on. No more need for paperback books (you can keep all the latest on your pocket reader), technical books can finally be portable now that page graphics can be shown in detail, and eye strain will reduce considerably as your eyes can lock onto something that's actually there rather than simulated by a beam of light.

Re:It took them long enough

[AKAImBatman]

Just to add to my post...

GOOD GRAVY THIS SUCKER IS EXPENSIVE! 3,000 for a DEV BOARD? Maybe if eInk thought about pricing a more reasonable dev board, they could get more hobbyists onboard. More hobbyists == more market experience. More market experience == more products made. More products made == more $$$ for eInk.

Cripes, you'd think didn't actually want people to use these things.

Re:Sounds familiar

[AKAImBatman]

To expand:

1. Hi-Res Palm Pilots are 300x300 whereas this first-gen dev kit is 800x600.

2. In theory, eInk has all the contrast of paper. In practice it often has a slightly grey background, but still plenty of contrast in comparison to computer screens.

3. This effectively means that the processor can be put in a wait state or possibly turned off when the screen isn't being updated. For ebook readers, watches, and personal organizers, there's even the possibility of using something REALLY low power like a PIC since you're only updating the screen on very rare occasions.

LibriE electronic book

[Bemmu]

I have used the LibriE electronic book mentioned in the article, which is available in Japan. I felt that it was an adequate replacement for a book, with an easily readable screen. Changing the page had some delay, but on the other hand so does changing the page of a real book. I imagine that the target audience of this are people wishing to read books on crowded Tokyo trains. Since less space is required this could be a good book replacement, after the cost comes down a bit. Biggest problem for their target group surely must be reading newspapers on the train, since they require a lot of space to open. It would be nice to see them provide newspapers for easy download to these devices.

Re:Sounds familiar

[LiquidCoooled]

I've seen figures of around 0.5-1.0 seconds per pixel full addressing for these type of displays.
Whilst not quick enough for movies (as you point out), would be perfectly acceptable for virtual paper :)

heres a link to an article mentioning the 1second refresh
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/052301/Prototype_sho ws_electronic_paper_potential_052301.html

"In addition, although the transistors allow a switching speed of about 2.5 milliseconds, the total time for an image to change smoothly is about one second; typical LCD's pixels are refreshed 70 times a second. "Currently the electronic ink, and not the transistors, limit the speed,"