Setting up Circuit Playground Bluefruit (aka CPB) + E-Ink Gizmo for use with Bluefruit LE Connect is simple & only requires loading one new firmware file.
Connect your CPB + E-Ink Gizmo to your computer using a micro USB cable.
Double click the Reset button at the center of the CPB. You should see the CPB's NeoPixels turn green, then a new drive named CPLAYBTBOOT appear on your computer.
Drag the image_eink_upload_V3.uf2 file onto the CPLAYBTBOOT drive. When the file is finished copying, the CPB will reboot and its NeoPixels will turn off.
Connect App to CPB
Make sure your iOS or Android device has Bluetooth enabled, then open the Bluefruit LE Connect app.
On startup, the app will begin scanning for nearby Bluetooth LE enabled devices.
When the app detects the CPB, it will be displayed in the list of detected devices as Bluefruit52. Tap the Connect button to the right of the Bluefruit52 label.
Send a Test Image
After connecting, the app will display a list of modules to choose from.
Tap the row labelled Image Transfer.
The Image Transfer module starts with the Adafruit logo as a default image. Above the logo, you'll see a list of controls for formatting image data. The most important control is Resolution – it should be set to E-Ink: 152 x 152. If it's not, tap the resolution button to change it.
Tap the Send button at the bottom of the screen to transfer the image to your CPB + E-Ink Gizmo.
After the transfer has completed, the E-Ink Gizmo's display will blink several times and the image will fade into view as the e-ink renders.
Next, try sending one of your own images:
- Tap the Choose Image button
- Select a picture from your device's photo library
- Use a pinch gesture to resize the image as needed
- Tap Done
- Tap the Send button at the bottom to transfer your image.
The app converts your photo to red, white, & black pixels suitable for tricolor e-ink displays. This super simple palette and dithering give all the images a clean & very novel look – it's e-ink chic ✨
- If you're interested in customizing the e-ink upload firmware, you can find the Arduino source code here
- To learn more about the Bluefruit Connect app's Image Transfer feature and the format it uses for image data, check out Image Transfer section of the Bluefruit LE Connect guide.
- To learn all about the E-Ink Gizmo, check out the full Adafruit Circuit Playground Tri-Color E-Ink Gizmo guide.
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