Here is what has been described as a development demo board running Python which is unique in that it combines both an e Ink display and a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller. Designed by the UK-based company Pimoroni, the Badger 2040, as the device is named, features a small 2.9-inch monochrome e-ink display having 296 x 128 pixels. That makes for a pixelated display but serves the purpose nonetheless. Also, as the name should imply, the Badger 2020 can be used as a personal badge for identification when attending conferences or while at the office.

As the website Electronics Weekly reported, the Badger comes with a 264 KB RAM and a 2 MB QSPI Flash storage of which 1 MB is reserved for the OS and the remaining 1 MB is available for storage. The front features five buttons that are user-programmable while there is a white LED light as well which serves as the indicator. The rear includes a reset button and a boot button. The Badger however does not come with an integrated battery. Instead, there is the JST-PH connector for attachment of the power source, which has been specified as a 2.7 – 6V battery.

There is no integrated charger as well though there is another power input option as well as a USB Type-C port for programming. Lastly, there is the four-pin JST-SH Qwiic-STEMMA QT connector onboard which serves for the attachment of I2C peripherals. As mentioned on the website, Pimoroni developed the C++ and MicroPython libraries while there is also the option to program the device using CircuitPython.

“Our C++/MicroPython libraries contain some nifty software tweaks to let you get the most out of your Badger. You’ll get best performance using C++, but if you’re a beginner we’d recommend using our MicroPython build for ease of getting started,” the company stated. “CircuitPython drivers are designed to work on a bunch of different microcontrollers so you won’t get the fancy RP2040-architecture specific tweaks that you’ll find in our library, but you will get access to all the nice conveniences of Adafruit’s ecosystem.”

Worth mentioning, we have seen a smart badge before that has been designed to translate and convert speech to text in real-time.

Meanwhile, you can have more detailed info on the Badger 2040 via the YouTube channel Gary Explains.

The post The Badger 2040 includes an E Ink display and Raspberry Pi MCU on a single board first appeared on Good e-Reader.