E-Paper Development Kit for Matter
TORINO, Italy, AUSTIN, Texas, and TAINAN, Taiwan, December 12, 2024 — Pervasive Displays, Arduino and Silicon Labs today announced the E-Paper Development Kit for Matter (EPDK-Matter). The kit is the first EPD solution built on the Matter protocol, designed to enhance smart home devices with e-paper displays (EPDs) for better information and user experience.
Matter Protocol and E-Paper Technology
In the fast-growing smart home technology market, the introduction of the Matter protocol has marked a significant milestone. Matter creates a unified and secure connectivity standard for seamless interaction among smart devices from various manufacturers. This enables a truly cohesive smart home experience where devices communicate effortlessly, enhancing convenience, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
E-paper technology offers a sustainable and user-friendly display solution for smart homes. EPDs consume very little power by design, making them ideal for smart home devices. They provide clear, legible information while significantly reducing energy footprint.
Kit Contents
The E-Paper Development Kit for Matter, or EPDK–Matter, is the world’s first kit to explore the Matter protocol with EPDs. The self-contained kit includes three components designed and manufactured by Pervasive Displays: an EXT4 Expansion Board, a 2.90” e-paper screen, and an adapter board. It also bundles with the Arduino Nano Matter board, powered by the MGM240S module from Silicon Labs. Open-source libraries include Matter examples, leverage the Arduino SDK, and come with extensive documentation.
The EXT4 Expansion Board drives the e-paper screen and provides a rich assortment of peripherals. The peripherals include a 3-axis accelerometer, a temperature and relative humidity sensor, a button, an RGB LED, and a passive NFC antenna.
The high-definition 2.90” e-paper screen features 384 x 168 pixels at 144 dpi with embedded fast update. It operates from -15 to +60°C for normal update, and from 0 to +50°C for fast update. The kit also provides all accessories needed to connect the boards and start evaluating e-paper technology.
The adapter board ensures a fast and safe connection between the Arduino Nano Matter and the EXT4 Expansion Board. It is also compatible with the other boards of the extended Arduino Nano family. The additional 20-way cable is designed to connect the EXT4 to any board.
The Matter radio is driven by the Arduino Nano Matter board from Arduino, powered by the MGM240S module from Silicon Labs. The MGM240S module is a multi-protocol 32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M33 with 802.15.4 (Thread) and Bluetooth® Low Energy.
Software
The software relies on two libraries running on the Arduino SDK. The Matter library, part of official Silicon Labs Arduino Core, brings the features of the Matter protocol. The PDLS_EXT4_Basic_Matter library provides a high-level interface to drive the e-paper screens. It includes multiple examples, including two Matter devices: a remotely controlled RGB LED and a temperature and humidity sensor.
The E-paper display plays a critical role for the user experience. The E-paper display shows the QR-code to join the Matter network on a fast, easy and secure way. It also displays the values of the sensors for immediate reading.
QR-Code to join the Matter network
Temperature and Humidity sensor information
Live demonstration of temperature and humidity information
Getting Started
The kit can be used in two ways. As an introduction to Matter and e-paper displays, the kit provides ready-to-use examples to build and upload with the Arduino IDE, plus a step-by-step user guide. For more advanced designs, the dedicated GitHub repository provides source code to use and customise with the Arduino SDK and IDE.
The E-Paper Development Kit for Matter goes beyond the Matter scenario. It is ready for any IoT/IIoT application where remote display, data acquisition, and low power are critical. Target sectors include smart retail, smart factory, inventory management, environmental control (meters, HMI), and home and building automation (HVAC, thermostat).
“The multi-protocol MGM240S module, based on the MG24 SoC, brings ideal features, power efficiency and consumption to battery-powered or energy harvesting IoT devices. The full Matter support is a perfect match for the extensive range of e-paper screens from Pervasive Displays,” says Rob Shane, Vice President of Mass Market Sales and Applications at Silicon Labs.
“The Arduino Nano Matter integrates seamlessly with the extensive Arduino ecosystem, offering tools and examples that simplify Matter exploration and accelerate application development.” says Fabio Violante, CEO of Arduino. “The EPDK-Matter development kit is an excellent entry point for both makers and professionals, including those in industrial sectors. This kit inspires creativity for a wide range of home automation applications powered by e-paper technology.”
“The Matter protocol is a breakthrough innovation for the interoperability of home automation devices. The hardware and software options from Arduino, and Silicon Labs’ expertise in radio modules, made a natural choice for this kit,” says Charming Su, Vice President at Pervasive Displays. “E-paper is a perfect match with Matter for ultra-low power projects. As a leading e-paper design house and manufacturer, Pervasive Displays offers a wide range of solutions for industrial applications. Our EPDK-Matter development kit makes it easy for anyone to build ultra-low energy, high-performance applications with a display and rich sensors.”
The E-Paper Development Kit for Matter is available at the Arduino Store, DigiKey and Mouser.
See also the press on Arduino and Silicon Labs.
About Arduino
Arduino is the leading open-source hardware and software company in the world. Born to provide an easy-to-use platform for interactive projects, Arduino has grown to serve IoT, wearables, 3D printing, and embedded environments. As of today, the Arduino community includes over 33 million active users. For more information visit www.arduino.cc
About Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs is a leader in secure, intelligent wireless technology for a more connected world. Their integrated hardware and software platform, intuitive development tools, and robust support make them an ideal long-term partner for advanced industrial, commercial, home, and life applications. They make it easy for developers to solve complex wireless challenges throughout the product lifecycle, delivering innovative solutions that transform industries and improve lives. For more information visit www.silabs.com.
About Pervasive Displays
Pervasive Displays designs, manufactures and markets e-paper displays that deliver high resolution, ultra-thin form factor, sunlight readability and ultra-low power consumption. The company offers technical support and detailed documentation to help designers use e-paper technology in IoT applications including retail, logistics, healthcare, security and manufacturing. For more information visit www.pervasivedisplays.com.