NFC Ink

Express yourself. Be different. Hand-washable. Refresh. Repeat. Wear your imagination. Vibe. Then thrive. Ready, set, glow Bold moves only

Battery-free, NFC powered, sewable e-ink patch (92mm × 51mm × 1mm)

Add Outer Suede (March 2025) Latest changes incorporate a 0.8mm Suede material featuring two different plates and stitched together.

View an end-to-end demo

This product is in development and currently only works with iPhone.

Electronics manufacturing update (02/2025): US based assembler produced 15 pieces of the PCB at cost of $300/piece, which does not include the e-ink screen (and the flex PCB was made in China, a US based flex manufacturer would increase the cost to $433/piece). This would make the MSRP way above the schedule. China based manufacturer produces the same 15 pieces of the PCB at cost of $18/piece, bringing the price of US based manufacturing ideology to 16x. China Flex PCB cost at $18 + display cost of $14 = $32 before labor to assemble the device.

An additional laser cut fabric front/back plates are being produced in the US at $11/piece bringing up material cost to estimated $43.

Tariffs may increase per piece cost to 2x at $60/piece, which still dramatically beats US based prices.

Major Components: STM32 MCU, NTAG I²C for NFC & Energy Harvesting, and a 2.7inch flex e-ink screen

Inner Core The inner core is the flex PCB and the e-ink screen.

Fabric Exterior Two layers of fabric wrap the electronics inner core.

Frequently Asked Questions

What about Android? Android devices vary their NFC integration wildly, some devices even severely limiting how much power is transmitted. Preliminary testing has shown that while Android has the APIs and ability to update the screen, phones may not provide enough NFC power for a battery-free update. An Android app is planned, but a dedicated bridging device may be required for weaker NFC transmitters.
Can this get wet in the rain? The device survives droplets of light rain on a Spring day, but has not been tested with a torrential downpour.
Can this be washed? Machine wash & dry? To be attempted.
How does the iOS app work? Images can be added from the camera roll, processed for the NFC Ink screen, and stored on-device with no server communication. The device’s NFC controller updates the screen directly.