HiPo is a 3.52-inch black and white e-Paper Display that can be updated through NFC without the need for external power and offers an alternative to the 4.2-inch and 7.5-inch NFC-powered e-Paper displays from Wareshare that also operate without battery only using the data and power from NFC to update the image.
Alternatively, Guangdong SID Technology’s HiPo display can also be connected to an SPI adapter board allowing the users to connect it to an STM32 board provided by the company, but it could also be used with Arduino boards, ESP8266 & ESP32 hardware platforms, Raspberry Pi SBCs and MCU boards, or any platform with an SPI interface.
HiPo specifications:
- Controller – Ultrachip UC8251 all-in-one driver IC with timing controller for E-tag applications
- Display
- 3.52-inch B&W e-Paper display with 360 x 240 resolution (model name: SE0352N01-MNG-A0)
- 3 seconds refresh time
- On-chip display RAM
- White reflectance above 30%
- Contrast ratio above 8:1
- Ultra-wide viewing angle (no number provided even in the datasheet)
- Pure reflective mode, Bi-stable display
- Adapter boards
- NFC reader to update the display through a mobile phone or other NFC transmitter
- Board for connection to 3.3V SPI host from 1 to 5 Mbps
- Dimensions – 74.5 x 49.7 mm
- Temperature Range – Operating: 0 to 50°C; storage: -20 to +70°C
If the display is connected to the NFC reader board (green) you’d just typically tap with your smartphone to power it and update the image. The mobile app is not released yet and will be available for Android. If you don’t need NFC, and rather run your own program, the company provides an adapter board plus an STM32 development board, as well as source code samples for Arm’s Keil IDE which can find on Github together with some datasheets and PDF schematics.
The HiPo e-Paper display is now listed on Crowd Supply with a $3,000 funding goal. Two rewards are offered either the display with the NFC reader for $36, or the STM32 devkit for $96. Shipping is free to the US but adds $12 to the rest of the world. Backers should expect their perks to ship by early January 2023.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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These are good example of energy efficient designs. A few decades ago I wondered if one day it would be possible to harvest the energy from IR photodiodes to permit to wirelessly program some flash devices using IR transmission. Things have evolved a lot, we’re now using radio rather than IR, and NFC/RFID tags are programmed this way, but among the programmable devices are also e-paper displays nowadays, with instantly visible applications. These will only really succeed once the extra cost for the device becomes lower than that of a CR2032 battery though.
Cheap flexible plastic SoC will be the key IMO. At present if I recall right, 8 bit core.
A bit pricey and still requires physical contact for an update. Wi-Fi energy harvesting for remote update would be better for large retail stores, for example.
Put an LED to harvest ambient light…
The project is dead: https://www.crowdsupply.com/guangdong-sid-technology-co/hipo/updates/project-suspended
Backers will get their money back. If the credit card used for payment is not valid anymore, you’d have to contact Crowd Supply before June 7 to update the payment method.