Community Built E-ink Laptop Project
Sunday, 28th March 2021, at 11 am PST
I’m a community organizer, educator, software engineer, hacktivist, and agent of social change.
My interests are in exploring community-building, social justice, education, and leveraging technology to address social problems.
In the past, I’ve worked as a labor rights organizer, a teacher, and I’m currently an Expert In Residence at Resilient Coders.
Alexander Soto
Boston, MA
(aka ”alexsotodev”)
Project Lead
Core Team
I'm an independent contractor- I provide tech support services to IT companies.
My hobby interests are in building technology (e.g. FOSS hardware & software) and making it easier to use and more accessible.
In the past, I have worked in technical support roles for IT companies in wireless networking, help desk, and hardware repair.
Giovanni Lostumbo
Chicago, IL
(aka ”initrd”)
Core Team
Manuel is repsonsible for various marketing and community management acitivties across the whole EI2030 initiative.
He's been an early adopter and big proponent of emerging technologies including electronic paper as well as cryptocurrencies.
His work setup and station is designed around paperless eink devices. On his day job Manuel works as an Account Executive at a German publishing house.
He has also been an IT Specialist and Network Administrator with the German government and the automotive industry with a stint in New York. He has also served as Marketing Manager at various startups.
Manuel Zeiler
Munich, Germany
(aka ”m10r-vc”)
Core Team
Our students spend 20 weeks with us, learning object-oriented programming principles, through the vehicle of full stack javascript; that's vanilla JS, React, Express, Node, and PostgreSQL.
Resilient Coders
Objectives
- To generate interest in the idea of creating an e-ink laptop.
- To unite and increase our numbers.
- To iterate, test ideas, document, and show our work.
- Create a crowdsource campaign after the successful creation of a minimum viable product.
- Bring the MVP to a manufacturer and build at scale.
Working Groups
- Led by one or two people as leads.
- Research focused or revolve around a deliverable.
- Defines a metric/cost for who the device is for.
- Working groups are time-boxed defined.
- A "template" provided for the working groups to start and self-organize.
Working Groups Contd.
- The working group documents its process in a designated website, forum, Github, a build log.
- Share resources/knowledge/material/monetary.
- Generate interest, share our work with others.
- Iterate, iterate and iterate.
State of the Ink
What we have done so far...
We are growing!
- We've had 42 new members join our community!
- More people are viewing out forums, in particular the working groups.
- Continuously engagaging people and communities in social media platforms, Twitter, Reddit.
Thank you for joining our community!
We are growing!
A structure is emerging!
- Working Group Categories in forum.
- Templates for starting a working group.
- EI2030 Github organization.
- Github repository for each working group.
- New channels in Discord for working groups.
A structure is emerging!
Outreach Efforts
- Ambiq Micro
- Northwestern University
- TU Delft
- Emcraft
- Greenwaves Technologies
- PULP Platform/ ETH Zurich
- SiFive
- ARM
- Norcott.co.uk
- Samsung
- Intel
- Dreamchip.De
- Rdot Displays/Ynvisible
- Micromagic
- IMEC
- Sparkfun
- GroupGets
- Embox
- E-peas
- Epishine
- Powerfilm
- Cap-XX
- Bootlin
- Konsulko
- E-ink
- Astrohaus
- beck-elektronik
- Variscite
- Toradex
- Boundary Devices
- Pi-Top
- Slimbook
- XY Tech
ACTIVE
Working Groups
PaperTop
- PaperTop as an initial prototype for an eink laptop.
- Working Group: PaperTop thread
- Presented PaperTop at the Monthly Pi-Top Session.
-
Next Steps
- Extending the cables of the ES133TT3 panel
- Connecting and fitting everything to the Pi-Top
- Working with Pi-Top team to complete the prototype
PaperTop
Low Power
NEW
Working Groups
Laptop case design
Name : Research: Laptop case design
Objective : An ongoing group that researches the design of a laptop case to use with a non-emissive display. Group members will define, ideate, prototype, and test ideas.
Audience : General, modders, DIY,
Timeline : Ongoing
Members : @alexsotodev, looking for members.
Contact : contact@alexsoto.dev or Discord
Looking for :
- Digital Fabrication
- DIY/Creatives/Modders
- Researcher
- Onshape, Fusion 360, OpenSCAD
i.MX7/8 and Drivers
Name : Research: i.MX7/8 and Drivers
Objective : An ongoing group that researches the NXP microcontrollers i.MX7/8 with the intention to use with as a laptop with an e-ink display. Group members will research the I-MX7Dual, I-MX8ulp, EPDC, waveforms, reverse-engineering.
Audience : General, modders, DIY, engineers
Timeline : Ongoing
Members : @alexsotodev, looking for members.
Contact : contact@alexsoto.dev or Discord
Looking for :
- DIY/Modders
- Researchers
- Knowledge of C, programming, embedded dev
Porting Linux to Ambiq Apollo 4
- New Research Group (April 14-5/13)
- Goals
- Porting Linux to Ambiq Apollo platform
- Determining system requirements for apps
- Bootloader development (Coreboot-like/Petitboot)
- Multiboot “app as an OS” or kexec method
- Continue spreading the word and bringing more folks on board.
- Further defining and bringing clarity to the project.
- Ramp-up state: formalizing tools, forum, templates
- Writing an article that summarizes the information shared here
- Building community, building relationships, building openly
Next Steps
Thank you!
