A DIY enthusiast by the name Alex Thiele has come up with something interesting in the form of a picture frame sort of thing – except that there is no frame as such – using a color E Ink display that rests or is fitted on a wooden easel. Thiele named it the Portrayt and will show AI-generated images either via human intervention or the system does so automatically.
Also, as Hackster.io pointed out, much of what the Portrayt does has a lot to do with the underlying software at work with the hardware side of it being pretty much straight-forward. For the end user, it’s going to be fun as they just have to type in a few words and the device will come up with a new art piece in no time. No wonder, the Portrayt, with such capabilities, can enliven anywhere it is placed, be it your working area, your study table, or whatever.
For the Portrayt, Thiele said he used a Pimoroni Inky Impression 5.7-inch 600 x 448 color E Ink screen that is capable of showing seven colors. The color E Ink display that takes 30 seconds to refresh also acts as the HAT or hardware attached on top. As already stated, the hardware bit didn’t bother Thiele much as all he had to do was attach the E Ink display to the Pi and connect the entire setup to the power source. Also, given the very nature of E Ink panels, the Portrayt is extremely power efficient and will consume power only when the image refreshes.
Rather, the real magic is with the software which generates the image via Stable Diffusion API. Users have the option to either add a prompt manually that would form the basis for the art to be created or let the system update the display automatically at a given time interval. Users will also have the option to enter a single prompt or use a combination of two different prompts before zeroing in on one of the animation frames. Next, OpenCV gets into the job and downsizes the image into seven colors. It is then displayed on the E Ink screen.
Thiele said the entire project is open source with all the codes available on GitHub.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
