103
Battery/Chargeable e-ink displays integration (feddit.uk)
submitted 1 month ago by GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world
10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Has anybody on here had an experiment with the supermarket tags?

My understanding is that you get a bunch of the tags, somehow get a base-station/transceiver working with them, and push data as images.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's had a go. I quite fancy having some little displays around the house with useful info for the room.

top 10 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 25 points 1 month ago

Can you link a source where to buy them or a model? I don't have any information. But I'd be interested, too.

[-] skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl 22 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

They're generally sold in bulk to supermarkets. You can get them in the usual Chinese supplier websites for a few dollars each, or scour ebay for old ones that stores may sell when they switch systems or whatever.

Someone has already made a home assistant integration for a few types of labels: https://openepaperlink.de/

[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 9 points 1 month ago

Thank you very much. That seems like a nice addition to my little smarthome. But there are quite a lot of options available. Maybe I can learn something, too. It'd be nice to push some messages through the house and have the weather and train delays available in the bathroom in the morning (for example).

[-] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 10 points 1 month ago

My first integration is going to be putting my standard "going out" dashboard by the front door.
Being able to glance and see UV index, temperature, rain probability is dead useful.

[-] JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 22 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Hey, I developed some of these for a different use case at my job.

Generally they use BLE servers to query and update every BLE device one after the other.

I would venture to guess that these tags have a ublox BMD-3xx variant controlling them and you can connect via Bluetooth low energy every X hours.

If you just want the displays they use, here are some kits:

https://www.tinytronics.nl/nl/displays/e-ink

[-] qupada@kbin.run 8 points 1 month ago

It's also quite common for updates to be sent using a ceiling-mounted infrared transmitter, like this brand which is common where I am:

https://www.pricer.com/products/devices/electronic-shelf-labels

People have figured out the data formatting to update some of the lower-security variants (including that "Pricer" brand):

http://furrtek.free.fr/index.php?a=esl

[-] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I have a few Pricer* ones and they're a pita to use.

Have to build an IR blaster to program them.

You also can't use them once the battery is flat or if you remove the battery because it uses volatile memory to store the firmware.

[-] davad@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

it uses volatile memory to store the firmware

What the what?!

[-] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yuuup, they use an ASIC too.

Here's an attempted teardown https://www.youtube.com/live/AN0CMmFQIi0

Also interesting: http://furrtek.free.fr/index.php?a=esl

[-] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

Check out these maybe:

https://dmitry.gr/?r=05.Projects&proj=29.%20eInk%20Price%20Tags

http://furrtek.free.fr/index.php?a=esl

There's more but I'd have to search for it, it's a good starting point though.

this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
103 points (97.2% liked)

homeassistant

11825 readers
88 users here now

Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk