DIY polaroid camera features E Ink display, Raspberry Pi, coding sourced from ChatGPT

June 6, 2023 By Sovan Mandal Leave a Comment

The latest modding project by Nico Rahardian Tangara aims to bring the charm of a Polaroid instant camera into the digital age, Tom's Hardware reported. To achieve this, the enthusiast combines a Raspberry Pi 3B+ single-board computer with a Waveshare 2.7-inch E Ink display HAT. It has a resolution of 264 x 176 pixels and can only display four shades of gray.

The choice of an E Ink screen makes sense because, similar to analog photos, the last image displayed remains visible indefinitely, even when the display is disconnected from the power source. The display includes four buttons that can be programmed freely. One of these buttons has been modified to execute a script when pressed, causing the connected Raspberry Pi Camera Module to capture a photo and display it on the screen.

What's interesting is that this script was created using ChatGPT, demonstrating that such projects can be implemented by users with minimal programming knowledge thanks to artificial intelligence. The remaining buttons allow the user to remove the displayed photo from the screen or show a previously saved image representing the project name "Digital Polaroid."

The housing was designed in Blender and Snapmaker and then produced using a 3D printer. Unfortunately, the camera does not have a viewfinder, so it is not possible to see what will be captured in the photo before taking it.

With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.

Filed Under: Technology