7.5-inch e-ink display is powered completely by NFC

guest · Mar 18, 2020

7.5-inch e-ink display is powered completely by NFC
$70 display sips just enough power from an NFC data transfer to flip e-ink pixels
March 18, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/03/7-5-inch-e-ink-display-is-powered-completely-by-nfc/

NFC is usually only used to for quick text transfers, like a tap-and-pay transaction at a register or a quick data transfer from an NFC sticker. A company called "Waveshare" is really pushing the limits of NFC, though, with a 7.5-inch e-ink display that gets its data, and its power, from an NFC transfer. The $70 display doesn't have a battery and doesn't need a wired power connection.

E-paper (or e-ink) displays have the unique property of not needing power to maintain an image.
Once a charge blasts across the display and correctly aligns pixels full of black and white balls, everything will stay where it is when the power turns off, so the image will stick around.

You might not have thought about it before, but in addition to data, NFC comes with a tiny wireless power transfer. This display is designed so that NFC provides just enough power to refresh the display during a data transfer, and the e-ink display will hold onto the image afterward.
The amount of power you can transfer over NFC depends on the design of the object and the reader, but Waveshare warns that some phones might not put out enough power.
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NFC data transfers max out at a whopping 424 kbit/s. While that's enough for an instant transfer of credit card data or a URL, the 800x400 image the display needs will take several seconds.
If you want to use a phone, an Android app will convert your image into several different black-and-white styles and beam it to the display.

There are a lot of instances when a display like this wouldn't work, but it could be useful for things like notices, menus, conferences, or hospitals. With no wires and no power requirement, it's certainly easy to install.
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