You can use a Raspberry Pi to control this flip display

Most microelectronics projects aren't as black and white as this one. Today, we've got a fantastic display to share, which was put together by maker duo Kelly and Kathy. Instead of a more traditional screen like an LCD panel, they've used a custom array of flip discs. In the demo, they're using an Nvidia Orin Nano, a system we've reviewed. However, the team confirms there's no reason you couldn't use a Raspberry Pi 5 instead.

If you've never heard of a flip disc or flip dot display, it's not surprising. These aren't very common and are definitely in their niche category of screens. They feature an array of tiny round discs with distinct colors on each side. In today's project, the panel is designed using black-and-white discs. They can flip around rapidly for real-time effects using a series of electromagnetic pulses.

According to the team, the idea was to use AI to add a fair bit of interactivity to their flip disc display project. To pull this off, they're using an Nvidia Orin Nano as the main board. It can handle voice input while outputting video in real time. That said, the duo suggests a Raspberry Pi could be used in its place, with a slight drop in quality.

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Kelly and Kathy compiled a detailed breakdown of the project. It consists of nine Alfazeta brand panels laid out in a 3x3 formation. The final build consists of 3,528 individual flip discs. The project website has more about the hardware side of the project and even some design diagrams.

The display has a few different features built into it so far, including a Spotify interface that produces album artwork, an app for showing local weather information, and even a tool that pulls RSS feed information from the New York Times. The source code for the project has been shared on GitHub for anyone interested in checking it out for themselves.

Visit the project page for an in-depth look at how this flip dot screen works, and be sure to check out our list of best Raspberry Pi projects for more exciting creations from the maker community.