[xipho]

Nice. I've thought of various similar applications (probably because I saw such somewhere). For example conferences require lanyards with passes attached. Most contract with some company to handle all their creation, then also require you (more or less) to use their app to get a schedule, etc. Why not create a generic, re-usable pass (like OP) that attaches to your lanyard, has some basic features at a glance (schedule, your favorite emoji), and could of course be used to track or facilitate flash-gatherings as needed. IIRC defcom did something like this, I'm thinking more generic.

I think scientists I know would snap something like this up so they didn't add to their kilograms of plastic pass/lanyard waste (if conferences can be roped in to adopting them). Level them up with rare editions (conference awardees could be given titanium frames to swap over), etc. and you have a playing-card-esque market for professionals who go to 3-5 conferences a year, and a flashy feature that conferences would like to offer, etc.

Another use- digital cards that can help care practitioners communicate with their audience: "can you hand me the cards the tell me how you feel?" (cards that describe your symptoms). Customize those pictures, icons, graphics on the card as needed, on the fly, per patient type, etc. Think everything from kids bullied at school to medical and law offices where communication can be a barrier.

[toyg]

Have you heard of our lord and saviour the Pimoroni Badger? https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/badger-2040?variant=39752... I have one and it's awesome. They upgraded it recently with wifi: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/badger-2040-w?variant=405...

They have similarly-shaped stuff in color too, like the Tufty https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/tufty-2040?variant=400369... and the Inky https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/inky-frame-5-7?variant=40...

[gknoy]

This looks really neat. Now I'm tempted to see if I can get one and have a way to render a conference schedule on it. :D

[xipho]

This! Now make them required at conferences (easily done because professional societies), someone sell the service. We have to pay $600 just to go to present our papers, make it cost less by $50 if you come with your own.

I for one welcome our new badger overlords.

[bluGill]

Is this really better than physical cards? There are electronics here, and electronics tend to go obsolete fast. If the old one is obsolete in a year or two there was so little reuse that everyone is better off with old fashioned paper/plastic. You would have to commit to not coming up with a better model every year - but if you do that someone else will compete by coming out with the better model instead. Which is to say you can't win.

[xipho]

I completely agree. Thinking more along the lines of- whether or not something is better may not drive a market, people loved Tamagotchi but vanilla stuffed animals last generations... but Tamagotchi still work for many.

Something that has dirt simple utility (you have a visual que that can be rotated that indicates to staff processing thousands of people an hour that you're payed) without requiring a phone that can do all that and more maybe be generically useful.

[SiempreViernes]

If you try to sell something on the basis of "so they didn't add to their kilograms of plastic pass/lanyard waste", the question of whether it actually saves anything is clearly relevant.

I'm also confused why you think receipt that can be rotated is somehow a difference maker, have you ever encountered on that can't be?

[xipho]

> question of whether it actually saves anything is clearly relevant

Agreed. Just like re-usable plastic bags are now possibly worse than 1-time use unless they themselves are used many times.

> A receipt that can be rotated is somehow a difference maker

This is the concept behind metro bus services in many places I've experienced, the driver glances at the color of your ticket and knows it's nature and whether you can keep riding or not. Don't know if that's a difference maker for conferences.

Looking for "badgers", or a syncronized icon instead of time/date etc., possibly coming at you in many different forms (phone, paper forms, etc) seems like it might be quicker. It might also cut down on people losing their badges (they are more valuable to them) and requiring re-prints ... which happens a lot, this is grasping.

[ziggy_star]

Can you really put a price on fun? No fun allowed? Why do we even need playing cards in the first place that's a waste of good paper.

I get the argument here but you really should keep things in perspective. E-waste is a real and massive problem. This is a tiny tiny project it is neither here nor there.

Say it blows up and becomes extremely popular (it won't)? Like any other piece of electronics solutions will be available. Cross that bridge when you get there.

The fun and education aspect is in fact better than physical cards and worthwhile.

Also if we really think deeply about it this project may end up being better for the environment not worse.

[oopsallmagic]

Don't forget the e-waste aspect... You can recycle paper easily, but several rare earth metals and e-ink all mashed together are much more difficult, and require a lot more energy to produce.

Honestly, this is exactly the kind of overconsumption that got us to where we are. I don't care what someone's favorite emoji is, quite frankly, and I don't think it's worth strip mining the Congo just to do a Neat Thing. Use a printer, do it for the sake of your grandchildren's future.

[johannes1234321]

And then place a few crayons at the venue if you care about the smiley.

[xipho]

It's not just paper, perhaps at least run the numbers? Though I completely agree it's likely more environmentally costly.

My initial thought process evolved from coming back from yet another conference, and tossing yet another lanyard (colorful plastic, metal clips) and plastic covering into the garbage. I have done this probably around 50 times. So think replacing 100-200 of these for an academic, far, far more for con staff, sales vendors, etc.

[foobarchu]

One of the hurdles you would have to overcome is convincing all of the conferences to go with these reusable e-ink badges.

Let's say all the organizers are convinced...why not use a common, non-electronic badge instead, since you have everyone agreeing to a common standard anyway? Perhaps something simple where the conference organizers can print out a paper slip (recycled paper even!) that you insert so they get some customization.

[johannes1234321]

There is still the main purpose of those things: Verifying people are allowed to enter.

That is (aside from sponsors, who want their logo there) a reason why it looks as it looks and having it somewhat different from event to event.

A shared programmable batch would require scanning them while entering each room, which creates bottlenecks at doors and more effort as each door needs staff and tech (and as soon as you have staff and tech at each door you can also provide all information there, thus the gain of being able to share information into the badge is gone) and you get to privacy issues.

And then half the badges people bring are broken and most participanta didn't ever have one/lost it/forgot it.

[xipho]

> One of the hurdles you would have to overcome is convincing all of the conferences to go with these reusable e-ink badges.

This is the only thing that matters buisiness-wise, its what I'd expect people who frequent HN do routinely, pitch. It doesn't have to be logical, fun, environmentally friendly, it just has to make it to their level of control. I've seen very illogical things become "standard" with little or no questioning for why it is now this way for no other reason than someone was very good at expressing "this is the way it is and should be" (i.e. they where very good at BS).

[xipho]

I'm not putting steaming poo on my badge, it's the concept of customization that's easily shared- "For the social let's all use our lab's logo, and tonight we can use our student org's logo, and tomorrow for the society meetup we could put a picture of the organism we study". Conversation starters (perhaps I do want to put poo on my badge) in what is a social event with many rapidly-changing sub-contexts. Sticker and pin collecting is fun though, so maybe not such a compelling use-case.

Smaller meetings provide markers for name-tags all the time, that's different from the conference-provided ID I'm required to wear in a conference of 6k+ people.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

Make it hackable and they'll probably be around forever.

[edye]

I know of CyberBadge from Poland, which is making a very primitive version of what you're describing. They don't have a screen, just an array of programmable led lights. People use them at events. https://cyberbadge.net/

[xipho]

Cool. Badges, commemorative pins, small tradable items are mainstays at cons, conferences etc., their market doesn't need to be created, it's their to be fed.

So make this type of thing work across time and you have created value to someone, which means a marketable product, at least in the Slashdot sense of ?, ?, 3... profit!.