E Ink made a name for themselves in the e-reader industry since the very first Kindle and Sony e-readers. Reading on these devices were easy on the eyes and the battery life was amazing. E Ink has found that exclusively relying on e-paper sales is a losing proposition and they had to diversify. One growth avenue has been digital signage, which now accounts for 15% of their sales. Today, Visionect and E Ink have announced a new generation of development kits to enable the fast development of battery powered and wireless digital signs. The kits are specifically targeted for indoor and outdoor display systems where power and readability are key requirements.
“These signage kits are the ideal tool for any signage integrator,” said Matej Zalar, CEO of Visionect. “Not only can they be used for prototyping a signage system, but also for the development of the final system design. The kits make it possible for a design team to quickly start deploying content on ePaper right out of the box.”
Visionect has integrated its intelligent hardware and software platform with E Ink 9.7 and 13.3 inch e-Paper screens to create wireless connected signs that depict crisp images while consuming very little power. The easy-to-use development kits are perfect for hassle-free prototyping on E Ink’s technology and are the shortest path to a proof-of-concept prototype, demo or a pilot in a custom signage project.
Visionect’s development kits feature Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, with a 9.7” E Ink PearlTM display with a 1200 x 825 pixel resolution, or a 13.3”Pearl display with 1600 x 1200 pixels and 16 level grayscale. Monitoring and managing the signs takes place using the Web browser on your smartphone, tablet device or computer. The digital signs’ hardware is precisely optimized for the lowest power consumption possible; paired with intelligent software that improves energy use even further, it enables the electronic paper to easily run on a solar panel.
I think these new development kits will allow people to think outside of the box. How about parking signs, keypads to open doors, meeting room signup forms, or digital menus?
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.