MrJoshua
Josh McKinnonA solar powered, e-ink bus stop sign with real-time bus times. This is a very good combination of neat technologies.
James Henstridge (@[email protected])
@ko @corduroy It doesn't look like the product is still offered on their website, but here's an archive of the product description: https://archive.is/MO5Fc It's two 13.3" 1600x1200 e-ink panels. They are currently selling a version built with a single screen for 900 euros though: https://www.visionect.com/shop/place-play-13/
Johannes 
@corduroy Americans be like "what is this magical 'bus stop' thing you're talking about"
Polychrome 
@corduroy thats a big eInk screen!
earthtopus@corduroy what is the coldest temperature an e-ink screen like that is rated for
@earthtopus no idea but where these are deployed in Sydney, Australia, the temperature doesn’t get much lower than -2°C or so.
@corduroy I was worried it was going to be that Mediterranean a climate; I would love to see them locally, but it always gets below -20°C in the winter here
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕@earthtopus Typical environmental range is 0--50C.
Andrew Cowie@dredmorbius @earthtopus @corduroy you're right. The upper bound on that range might be a problem here.
Grant@corduroy reminds me of a moto razr
Kevin Karhan 
@corduroy Also it's even more accessible than paper whilst avoiding the need to reprint plans everytime they change schedules and routings...
Propably uses a @Raspberry_Pi #Pi0 with a cheap WWAN modem.
@kkarhan More than that even as the e-ink display shows current estimated arrival times.
As much as I dislike smartphones these days, that capability alone is an absolute game-changer when using public transit.
And unlike many other digital signage options, e-ink works well both at night (illuminate the display) and exceptionally well under direct sunlight. The lower contrast is often easier to read / less harsh on the eyes than paper would be.
Niclas Hedhman@corduroy
My brother used to do these kind of things 10-20 years ago (not e-ink, but...), and the biggest problem he had was vandalism and theft.
Solar panels were stolen, whole display units were stolen and he has a lot of stories about how vandals destroyed "vandal proof" equipment. Will work in Japan, China and where surveillance is ironclad (which is then a bigger problem), but put it in an American big city and see how long it will last...
tusooa 
西风 
@Polychrome @niclas @corduroy @SigmaOne it's never about culture. it's about poor people who have to rely on stealing things to feed themselves. you have to reach a solution to the systematic problem.
LR@niclas @corduroy @Polychrome @SigmaOne ah yes, why work on improving social cohesion when you can have *checks notes* "ironclad surveillance" instead
Well, this was in Sweden, one of the model country of the USA left, with "social cohesion" until recently.
It doesn't take many idiots (and I would guess there are juveniles) to ruin "nice things". Why do they do it? Impress friends? Bored? Growing up in kindergartens and schools without learning proper social behavior? Parents who don't care?
I don't know, your guess is as good as mine.
Please explain why a poor person has a greater determination(!) to destroy than a less poor one?
Determination; a far amount of my brothers work was about designing indestructible signs. E.g; bus stop poles, both in cities and countryside. People would climb the 3 meter (10ft) pole, and break the sign at the top, just bend it. They went up 8mm aluminium plates, and a machined joint to stop this. There were signs that people still tried, perhaps now a challenge.
@niclas @corduroy @SigmaOne poverty is probably not the right word, as i do not necessarily mean financial poverty. Broken windows theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory) is also a good starting point.
Apocraphilia@niclas @corduroy @Polychrome @SigmaOne yeah, that was my first thought too - this seems like a nice thing that we definitely can't have.
Tim N7KOM@corduroy damn that's cool.
Gothian@corduroy I love the idea
europlus 
Cysio 
@corduroy e-ink is such an underrated technology and should be explored way beyond the e-readers
onion@corduroy must cost a fortune, that size eink display ?
Paul-Vincent Roll (he/him)@corduroy oh Boy I want this giant eInk screen 😱
Walter@corduroy
There’s one I use a lot that has a mysterious silver button. Press it, and the screen’s backlight illuminates and a screen reader activates.
There’s one I use a lot that has a mysterious silver button. Press it, and the screen’s backlight illuminates and a screen reader activates.
@winghongchan that’s neat. Now I’m curious what these things are like at night, I’ll have to go back and find out.
maloki 🍍
@corduroy This is fucking brilliant!!
Mx Autumn 
@corduroy I noticed my local Coop had recently updated to eink price tag displays.
I guess the technology has gotten cheap enough that even the big eInk displays like shown on this bus stop sign are viable.
Very cool!
vagabond
jsl@Hamishcampbell @corduroy
Saves the council/ operator from having to send somebody out to each stop to change the route sheet. Allows for real-time updating.
But yes, a QR code that can be scanned with your phone does the same cheaper -- except for the minority of users who don't have a phone/ can't use one.
So, not an easy decision.
Saves the council/ operator from having to send somebody out to each stop to change the route sheet. Allows for real-time updating.
But yes, a QR code that can be scanned with your phone does the same cheaper -- except for the minority of users who don't have a phone/ can't use one.
So, not an easy decision.
PulkoMandy@jsl @Hamishcampbell @corduroy how many engineers to design and build this thing and keep it running, compared to that one guy updating paper-based timetables?
JanC@pulkomandy @jsl @Hamishcampbell @corduroy You forget the whole crew that has to drive vans around the country to check & replace all those paper sheets at every stop...
@janc @pulkomandy @jsl @corduroy
Yep, its a complex interaction of technology and social norms. is the high-tech or the low tech the best path is a real question?
Ross McKay@corduroy yeah, there's a few of them around Newcastle (Australia), they're really nice. Easy to read, and fantastic for stops that service a dozen different routes.
Elisabeth Anderson 
@corduroy That is brilliant! Electronic displays have a terrible environmental cost so this is such a good option!
pia massaro@corduroy and it's visible under the scorching sun!
Codepope@corduroy What is it like when it updates/refreshes?
BenAveling
Richad A@corduroy "You're not bringing that e-reader to bed, it's too big." :-P
Dusk :anim_teams_cat: @corduroy The problem is that if they put this here someone would break it/ vandalize it the day they install it
mmu_man@corduroy let's see how it wears out in the sub but it's definitely neat!
Johann-Tobias Schäg@corduroy how do they look in the dark though?
@freemin7 good question, I’m going to have a look next time I can.
Kate@corduroy that is the biggest eink i have ever seen.
wakest likes your bugs ⁂@corduroy what was the front surface made of? cause this is gonna get continually tagged and scratched until its unreadable...
Spoontaneous Consumption@corduroy Oooh, thats so cool!
D Ingram@corduroy We had 10" or so e-ink screens on bus stops in Brisbane for a little while, but they got replaced by paper signs again. Nice while it lasted.
Jürgen Hubert@corduroy I want to have a color e-ink photo display that I can hang on my wall in a few years. This can then cycle through the thousands of pictures I have taken over the decades.