## CyberBadge activated! Sometimes I look at the ordinary things and just see Raspberry Pi inside. Of course, in real life, there is no Pi inside, so I need to build it in there myself. Recently I found a [minimalist wallet](https://gist.github.com/dmi3/26d3924f5b4600e5dc5197d1c3da7f43#user-content-wallet) (or badge) and transformed it into an eInk CyberBadge! [![With eInk display](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-title.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-title.jpg) [![Original wallet/badge](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-original.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-original.jpg) To me, the wallet looked like a perfect sci-fi themed frame for an eInk display. Resulting in some kind of smart badge. In this case, even Pi-zero is too much, so I was looking for ESP32 based bord. [Badgy](https://www.tindie.com/products/sqfmi/badgy-iot-badge/) could be the option, but unfortunately, it is out of stock for a long time. Good thing I've discovered LILYGO® TTGO T5 series. [V2.8 model](https://developer.run/52) would be too big (require some frame cutting or (un)soldering), but [V2.3](https://gist.github.com/dmi3/26d3924f5b4600e5dc5197d1c3da7f43#user-content-lilygo23) fits just right! Even some space left for the battery. Original wallets back panel are unscrewable by a 1.5mm t5 screwdriver and enclose LILYGO® TTGO T5 V2.3 and 290mh battery perfectly. For a front panel, I've cut a screen-shaped hole in a credit card (wallet originally intended to hold credit cards), then glued it with a carbon film to look nicer. See: [→ Bill of materials](https://gist.github.com/dmi3/26d3924f5b4600e5dc5197d1c3da7f43#cyberbadge) [![Front](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-plain.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-plain.jpg) [![Back (back panel unscrewed)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-bottom.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-bottom.jpg) Also, the wallet has openings on both sides, allowing access the on/off switch (with a screwdriver) and USB port (if you have a really flat cable). [![Left](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-left.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-left.jpg) [![Right](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-right.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-right.jpg) Note that the screen is monochrome, not grayscale (no greyish mid-tones like you might have seen on Kindle). It has only 2 colors, so I need to get pixel-perfect black-and-white images. To get a [nice looking monochrome](https://surma.dev/things/ditherpunk/index.html) photo I went on pipeline: [remove.bg](https://www.remove.bg)→Ajust levels in Krita→[ditherpunk](https://surma.dev/lab/ditherpunk/lab.html)→[Img2Code](https://github.com/ehubin/Adafruit-GFX-Library/tree/master/Img2Code). [![Wear](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-wear.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-wear.jpg) [![Original](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-original.jpg-300x.png)](pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-original.jpg)
As a bonus let me share some pixel perfect-images, if you want some design: ![aurora](pic/cyberbadge/aurora.gif) ![security](pic/cyberbadge/security.gif) ![uac](pic/cyberbadge/uac.gif) ![security_bw](pic/cyberbadge/security_bw.gif) ![cyberpunk_chinese](pic/cyberbadge/cyberpunk_chinese.gif) ### FAQ > **Q:** Why do you need that? > **A:** I don't know. My conference speaking days are over, and will there be any conferences at all? It was just a cool thing to build, that's all. > **Q:** Why are you keep making all these [weird devices](https://www.google.com/search?q=site:developer.run+%22%23DIY%22). Do you guys not have smartphones? [©](https://outline.com/74LNqf) > **A:** You know, sci-fi movies promised us cool devices like Multi-Pass. But all we've got are boring glass rectangles with no character. So I need to have some cool stuff from that alternate timeline :) 🏷️DIY 🏷️ESP32 🏷️LilyGO 🏷️CyberPunk 🏷️SciFi ---