Inkplate 6 Color WiFi API integration and Arduino IDE setup

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Inkplate
1

Customer:

Can I use Inkplate 6 Color to connect to WiFi and update the display with API responses from a webserver? Are there any reference examples available?

Originally submitted via email support on 9 September 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Soldered Support:

Yes, that would work well. You can see project examples for Inkplate 6 here: Inkplate-Arduino-library/examples/Inkplate6/Projects at master · SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library · GitHub

One example is the YouTube subscriber counter, which fetches data from Google’s API and displays it: https://github.com/SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library/tree/master/examples/Inkplate6/Projects/Inkplate6_Youtube_Subscriber_Counter

Here’s how data is retrieved in that example’s Network.cpp: Inkplate-Arduino-library/examples/Inkplate6/Projects/Inkplate6_Youtube_Subscriber_Counter/Network.cpp at 27c55e2240e511058b618a7edc6a2f04c4f25b52 · SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library · GitHub

These examples use ArduinoJSON, a library that decodes JSON data downloaded to the ESP32, so you can store it in variables and display it. The ArduinoJSON assistant is a useful tool: ArduinoJson Assistant 6

Alternatively, you can configure your server to serve an image at a constant URL like yourserver.com/inkplateimage.jpg that renders your data in black and white, then have Inkplate wake up every x minutes and display that image. This approach makes it easier to create complex GUIs.

3

Customer:

I’ve purchased the Inkplate 6 Color and want to start using it. I’m having trouble figuring out how to actually run the example programs. I see many examples in the GitHub repository, but I’m missing information on how to use the code and upload it to Inkplate with Arduino IDE. This is my first time using Arduino IDE, so I might be a bit lost. Can you share a reference for running the example code for the first time?

4

Soldered Support:

Here’s the getting started guide from the docs: Inkplate Get Started Page — Inkplate docs documentation

Once you install the Inkplate library, the examples will appear in Arduino > Examples.

Simply connect the board via USB-C to your PC, power it on, and you’ll be able to upload code to it via Arduino IDE.