UkieLab AInk — AI-First E-Ink Canvas Firmware

UkieLab AInk — AI-First E-Ink Canvas Firmware

AInk reimagines the e-paper display as a device designed to be operated by AI agents rather than humans. Instead of traditional apps and menus, AI agents discover the device on the local network via mDNS (_aiscreen._tcp), read its capabilities, and send JSON drawing commands to render anything on the 800x480 black-and-white e-paper display.

Key Concept

The interaction model is fundamentally different from traditional displays:

• The AI agent decides what information is shown
• The AI decides when it should appear
• The interface is generated dynamically
• The user simply glances at the device

Features

• 17 drawing operations — lines, rectangles, circles, ellipses, arcs, polygons, text, PNG images, gradients, flood fill, clipping, QR codes
• Always-on HTTP server — device stays awake with WiFi active, ready for commands
• mDNS discovery — agents find the device automatically
• MCP + OpenAPI specs — machine-readable API docs served from the device itself
• Named zones — define regions for partial updates without full redraws
• Double-buffered framebuffer — dirty-rect detection, background EPD refresh
• OTA updates — firmware updates from GitHub releases, no USB required
• Captive portal WiFi setup — easy configuration, factory reset via triple-press

Getting Started

Requires PlatformIO (VS Code extension or CLI):

git clone https://github.com/BatsIhor/UkieLab-AInk.git
cd UkieLab-AInk
# Flash via PlatformIO

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Blog Post: Introducing the AI-First Display