Pervasive Displays Inc and Texas Instruments launch E-Paper kits for the Internet of Things

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Nov 04, 2013, 07:00 ET

TAINAN, Taiwan, Nov. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pervasive Displays Inc (PDI), designer and manufacturer of electronic paper modules for commercial and industrial display applications, today announced that along with Texas Instruments (TI) they are making development and accessibility of E-Paper easier for TI developers. TI developers can now use TI chipsets, development tools, and reference designs to create innovative ultra-low power applications with E-Paper. The new PDI BoosterPack for the MSP430™ LaunchPad community and PDI AdapTag development kit are focused on enabling ultra-low power applications to work easily with embedded and wireless components. Developers using PDI displays with TI's CC430 and MSP430 devices will experience reduced development time, and reduced development risks, which translates into faster time to funding.

E-Paper is a fast growing technology that is replacing traditional printed paper signage, tags, and labels found in commercial, industrial and retail applications. It has printed paper-like readability, high resolution, high contrast, 180-degree viewing angle, reduces paper waste, and is an ideal TN/STN Upgrade. PDI E-Paper displays are an ideal fit for applications with ultra-low power requirements that use battery or wireless charging and power sources.

"We are pleased that Pervasive Displays is pairing TI's ultra-low power MSP430 microcontroller (MCU) family with their E-Paper displays to enable differentiated battery-operated, or even battery-free E-Paper applications," said Emmanuel Sambuis, general manager, MSP430 MCUs, TI. "Developers can now also take these applications a step further to enable over-the-air updates that refresh E-Paper displays remotely and eliminate the need for frequent battery changes."

The PDI EPD BoosterPack is targeted at the MSP430 LaunchPad community. There are three models available (1.44", 2", and 2.7" EPD's), which include an extension board and bridge cable. The EPD BoosterPack connects easily by direct socket to the TI LaunchPad. The source code, development tool and documentation can be downloaded at http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/kits/ext_kit.

In addition, PDI and TI have created the CC430 AdapTag E-Paper wireless development kit which features:

Radio frequency (RF) on 433MHz
Configurable for network ID, network address, communication channel, transmission power, cycle time and encryption key.
Designed to work easily out of the box. Sample source code, development tool and documentation are available at http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/kits/adapTag
Designed for ultra-energy efficient devices that work wirelessly for multiple years on coin batteries. Supports updating image data on EPD by USB directly or via RF wirelessly. The "Advanced Low Power Star (ALPS) protocol stack" is co-developed by TI and PDI.

The ALPS stack is designed to carry EPD size information, communication command packet, battery capacity, ambient temperature, radio signal strength and data. The AdapTag development kit can help you reduce development risk and time for RF applications such as Electronic Shelf Label, Smart Tags, Reusable transit item and Internet of Things.

"The CC430 technology platform offers the industry's lowest power, single-chip RF microcontrollers. Collaborating with Pervasive Displays, whose products focus on the availability of information at the right time and place, delivers development tools to expand the Internet of Things," stated Terje Lassen, industrial product line manager, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, TI.

For more product information, visit www.pervasivedisplays.com, or the Texas Instruments LaunchPad web pages:
http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/MSP430_LaunchPad_(MSP-EXP430G2)

The PDI/TI EPD BoosterPack and the PDI/TI AdapTag CC430 Development Kit are now available from Digi-Key.

SOURCE Pervasive Displays Inc