HATs and other add-ons • Fast parallel Eink HAT

This is a proof-of-concept that Martin Fasani and I created to see how well it would work. Parallel Eink displays, the kind found in ebook readers and vertical market devices, are challenging to use because of their unique power requirements and high speed data. The RPI Zero 2W used in the POC is able to provide fast image generation and parallel data to push the displays to their limit. My idea is to create a retail product (RPI HAT) that's very affordable compared to other parallel Eink solutions because the RPI is doing all of the work. The PCB only has the TI Eink power controller and the FPC connector.

https://youtube.com/shorts/LwGyGYwzwRU?feature=share

In the video above, my FastEPD library (https://github.com/bitbank2/FastEPD) was modified to use the RPI instead of an ESP32. It also makes use of my AnimatedGIF library (https://github.com/bitbank2/AnimatedGIF). This setup can also show the Linux framebuffer on the display to act as a slow Eink monitor.

The display is a 6" Kindle 1024x758 (older generation) 34-pin parallel display. These can be recovered from dead Kindle's or purchased new and used direct from China.

The purpose of this post is to gather feedback about interest in such a product. The "HAT"+display could be sold at retail for a similar price to existing HATs with the slower SPI epaper displays.

Statistics: Posted by bitbank — Sat Nov 15, 2025 12:32 pm

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