No privacy policy or data collection practices observable on-domain.
Terms of Service
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No terms of service observable on-domain.
Accessibility
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Article 2 Article 25 Article 26
Site uses semantic HTML, responsive design (CSS media queries for mobile), font sizing, and color contrast. Positive accessibility signals support inclusive information access.
Mission
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Article 27
Personal blog documenting technical and domestic innovation. Implicit mission toward practical problem-solving benefits family life and community knowledge-sharing.
Editorial Code
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No editorial code or standards observable on-domain.
Ownership
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Personal blog by Joel Hawksley; no corporate or institutional conflicts observable.
Access Model
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Content is publicly accessible, free, no paywalls or registration barriers. Supports free expression and knowledge dissemination.
Ad/Tracking
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No advertisements or tracking pixels observable on-domain.
This is super cool, and I wish something like this existed at my place, as it enables information sharing without the need for phones/actual screens that shine in your face when the lights are low or tempt you to doomscroll.
That said, the large primary display this uses is $2000. That's very hard to justify for any "normal" household, and that's without any mounts, backend, services etc.
~3000€ to show information in some random places in the house even though the household members have a device with a screen called a smartphone next to them 24/7 ?
Well, it's cool, but the usability of it all is below average.
Declutter your life and don't install any more screens in your home ;)
This is awesome but I still find it funny that he said he wants a healthy relationship with technology then goes and fits his entire house out with technology. It doesnt seem like any of this would really be useful as you'd have to enter all the useful data manually(calendar).
For example the washing machine. You dont need real time information because you know how long it takes since you've done it 1000s of times and it beeps. All these things are just managed in our heads subconsciously.
Information radiators are basically 80% of the reason I try to keep tabs on wireless power delivery. Then a Kia and Hyundai vendor thought they were going to get their wireless charging added to the EV6 and Ioniq vehicles and that’s the other 20%. Essentially they removed the transformer from the PSU and moved it to the air gap between the charging coil and the vehicle to halve the parasitic losses. You’d have a car you didn’t even need to plug in.
I’ve been following Information Radiators since practically the beginning, and wiring has always been one of its problems. First networking and now power. In homes, but also in office spaces. The best locations for radiators are often the worst for wiring.
And eInk displays move the needle because you have a device that can go completely to sleep between updates, which means it can trickle charge.
Wall-mounted dashboards are a huge life-hack, especially if you have a family. We got a 37-inch touchscreen one, running DAKBoard.
We have several kids and have been organizing our daily todos and calendars on it for several years. We used to drop the ball quite a bit due to a hectic schedule and the dashboard has helped us tremendously. Since it is mounted in the kitchen, being able to pull up recipes is a plus.
This is really cool. With a newborn in the home I've been really thinking about projects like this recently. When you have a newborn things are so busy and hectic that it's easy to get overloaded and for things to slip through the cracks so I've been really wishing I had a dashboard like this somewhere to remind me that we need to take the dogs out or show how long it's been since the baby last ate or whatnot.
I really like epaper displays for all of the reasons mentioned in the article. Shame the patent locks continue to keep prices high even though the core technology has improved enough for prices to drop.
A few years ago I came into a couple of e-ink displays that had been previously used for storefront/product pricing. The hardware to drive them was locked down but I was able to reverse engineer the panel by finding a datasheet that was close enough and hacking up an adafruit thinkink. I had a lot of fun writing my own driver/abstraction layer. I originally intended to support a bunch of different panels but ran out of steam after the first one did exactly what I wanted.
I solved a problem (not really the same problem as this, mind you) for my family
using a much older technology. I bought a big pane of glass from the hardware store,
built a wooden frame for it with a shelf for an eraser and dry markers.
I hung it up in the kitchen and now when we need to leave "sticky" notes to each
other we just write on it. We keep our shopping list on it, we write small poems
and draw funny faces. It has become a fun ephemeral space for communicating.
For those on a budget, I highly recommend checking eBay for old e-ink readers. Many of them can be rooted and are by far the most affordable way to get e-ink (plus compute).
> It has a powerful function: if the status on the display is blank, the house is in a “healthy” state and does not need any attention. This approach of only showing what information is relevant in a given moment flies right in the face of how most smart homes approach communicating their status
the best user experience is sometimes no experience
This is almost the only kind of application that makes a 'fridge with a gigantic screen on it' make sense. But do said fridges have the ability to display useful information like this?
Someone I know has one of these fridges and the screen is just a toy. Doesn't really show anything useful for day-to-day life. Although it provides amusement when it detects bald heads as eggs.
Haven't followed e-ink display for a while but $2000 for the display is surprising! Assumed these e-ink displays were much cheaper these days.. and I thought we were closer to color ones as well. Great project though!
Really happy to see e-paper home dashboards as a thing. Last month or so I saw a Melbourne public transport one, which showed times of the next tram/bus.
We tried something like this using the iPad when we moved to a new country with one year old, because there was so much to figure out and track, it felt impossible. Now after a year, it’s gone and things are more internalised.
That’s my main concern with spending time and money building something like this. We thought about everything from commercial displays, Raspberry PI and e-Paper to finally just buying a 10$ wall mount for IPad. After sometime it becomes redundant as routine is formed.
If the author happens to read this, do tell us how have you found the motivation to keep using this? Doesn’t it get redundant after a point? I get adding new information and adapting routines around can be a factor, but people don’t really change that much
The insight that a blank status area means "the house is healthy" is the best part of this whole project imo. Most smart home dashboards try to show you everything all the time and you just end up tuning it all out. This is basically the opposite approach and it makes way more sense for something you glance at 50 times a day.
I tried something similar with a Kindle a few years back for just weather + calendar and ran into the same jailbreak maintenance hell. Ended up giving up. The Visionect displays look great but $1000+ per screen is brutal. Curious if the author has looked at the Waveshare e-paper panels driven by an ESP32, they're like $40-80 for a 7.5" screen and you can do partial refreshes. Obviously way smaller than the Boox but might work as a cheaper bedroom/mudroom option for people who want to build something like this without spending $3k.
I'm interested in this as a way to manage a calendar for my mother that is showing early signs of Dementia.
If we can centrally manage her bookings and all she has to do is look at the calendar and clearly see what is happening today, and in the near future, there is a real use-case for that.
Especially as I don't live near her, and remotely managing a calendar in her house would be amazingly useful.
Score Breakdown
+0.21
PreamblePreamble
Medium F:dignity-of-all-persons F:personal-agency P:open-access
Editorial
+0.15
Structural
+0.18
SETL
-0.07
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Content demonstrates implicit respect for human dignity through family-centered design, personal agency in technological choices, and open documentation. Preamble values of equal and inalienable rights are reflected in the authors' intentional approach to home technology that respects all household members' needs and preferences.
+0.15
Article 1Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood
Medium F:equal-dignity F:reason-and-conscience
Editorial
+0.12
Structural
+0.15
SETL
-0.07
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Article emphasizes family members' equal voice in technology decisions (married couple, consulting friends). Design process reflects collaborative reasoning about shared household needs rather than unilateral imposition.
+0.19
Article 2Non-Discrimination
Medium F:non-discrimination P:inclusive-design
Editorial
+0.10
Structural
+0.12
SETL
-0.05
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Accessibility design (responsive, semantic HTML, contrast) ensures non-discrimination in information access. Dashboard designed to serve all household members regardless of technical expertise.
ND
Article 3Life, Liberty, Security
Right to life not directly addressed. No evidence of engagement with life-or-death concerns in technical blog context.
ND
Article 4No Slavery
Slavery and servitude not addressed. No observable relevance to personal technology blog.
ND
Article 5No Torture
Torture and cruel treatment not addressed. No observable relevance.
ND
Article 6Legal Personhood
Right to recognition as person not addressed. No observable relevance to technology documentation.
+0.11
Article 7Equality Before Law
Low F:equal-protection F:non-discrimination
Editorial
+0.08
Structural
+0.10
SETL
-0.04
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Implicit through inclusive family design approach and public documentation accessible to all. No discriminatory framing observed.
ND
Article 8Right to Remedy
Right to remedy for violations not addressed. Not applicable to personal technology blog.
ND
Article 9No Arbitrary Detention
Arbitrary arrest and detention not addressed. No observable relevance.
ND
Article 10Fair Hearing
Right to fair hearing not addressed. No observable relevance.
ND
Article 11Presumption of Innocence
Criminal law and presumption of innocence not addressed. No observable relevance.
+0.28
Article 12Privacy
Medium F:privacy-protection P:data-minimization
Editorial
+0.22
Structural
+0.25
SETL
-0.09
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Explicit design philosophy respects privacy: bedroom kept free of screens, local computation (Home Assistant) rather than cloud data collection, closed data loop within home. Architectural choice to minimize external surveillance aligns with privacy protection.
+0.24
Article 13Freedom of Movement
Medium P:open-documentation F:knowledge-sharing
Editorial
+0.18
Structural
+0.20
SETL
-0.06
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Content freely shared publicly; author documents design decisions openly. Ruby gem (visionect-ruby) published. No restrictions on movement within home or information sharing observable.
ND
Article 14Asylum
Right to asylum not addressed. Not applicable to personal technology blog.
ND
Article 15Nationality
Nationality not addressed. No observable relevance.
+0.22
Article 16Marriage & Family
Medium F:family-centered-design P:partnership-decision
Editorial
+0.20
Structural
+0.18
SETL
+0.06
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Explicit narrative framing around marriage partnership ('Caitlin and I'), family needs, mutual decision-making ('we set an intention'). Technology designed to serve family unit's collective interests. Home rebuilding after Marshall Fire involved family-centered design choices.
+0.20
Article 17Property
Medium P:open-source-contribution F:commons-mindset
Editorial
+0.15
Structural
+0.18
SETL
-0.07
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Author published visionect-ruby gem to public repositories. Shared design patterns and solutions freely. Mentioned contribution to Home Assistant (open-source). Reflects respect for collective creation and community property principles.
+0.19
Article 18Freedom of Thought
Medium F:freedom-of-conscience P:independent-technical-choice
Editorial
+0.12
Structural
+0.14
SETL
-0.05
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Author explicitly chose alternative paths based on personal/family values: rejected proprietary lock-in (jailbroken Kindles, local Docker installations), chose open-source integrations (Home Assistant), prioritized privacy-preserving architecture. Reflects freedom to make technology choices consistent with conscience.
+0.38
Article 19Freedom of Expression
High P:public-documentation A:knowledge-sharing F:open-communication
Editorial
+0.25
Structural
+0.28
SETL
-0.09
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Central to content: author publicly documents technical decisions, design iterations, code choices. References Hacker News discussion. Published Ruby gem. Shares design patterns without restriction. No censorship or gatekeeping observed. Structural openness (free access, no paywalls) directly supports freedom of opinion and expression.
ND
Article 20Assembly & Association
Right to peaceful assembly not addressed. No observable relevance to personal technology documentation.
ND
Article 21Political Participation
Democratic participation not directly addressed. No observable engagement with political processes.
Implicit through author's engagement with open-source community (Home Assistant contributions, visionect-ruby publication), makerspace participation, and sharing knowledge. Limited direct evidence of social welfare or cultural participation focus.
+0.18
Article 23Work & Equal Pay
Medium F:work-satisfaction F:rest-and-leisure
Editorial
+0.14
Structural
+0.16
SETL
-0.06
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Author describes project as 'passion' separate from day job serving 'over a hundred million people.' Explicitly values leisure/family time (bedroom screens-free, designing home around life quality). Work framed as personally meaningful choice, not exploitation.
ND
Article 24Rest & Leisure
Right to rest and leisure indirectly related to Article 23 framing. No specific focus on breaks or holidays observable.
+0.28
Article 25Standard of Living
Medium F:health-and-wellbeing P:technology-for-quality-of-life
Editorial
+0.18
Structural
+0.22
SETL
-0.09
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Project explicitly designed to improve family health and wellbeing through mindful technology use. Intentional design of home to support physical and mental health (light management, screen-free spaces, reducing cognitive burden via status dashboard). Accessibility features support inclusive wellbeing.
+0.25
Article 26Education
Medium F:education-through-documentation P:technical-knowledge-sharing
Editorial
+0.16
Structural
+0.18
SETL
-0.06
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Author freely shares technical knowledge, design patterns, code solutions. Public documentation enables others to learn and build. Accessible writing style supports educational access. Open-source contributions (visionect-ruby, Home Assistant PR) serve educational community function.
+0.33
Article 27Cultural Participation
Medium P:open-source-participation F:community-benefit A:commons-oriented-design
Editorial
+0.20
Structural
+0.22
SETL
-0.07
Combined
ND
Context Modifier
ND
Participation in open-source ecosystems (Home Assistant, Ruby community), shared libraries, public documentation represents contribution to cultural and scientific commons. Explicitly focused on solving problems relevant to broader community (others asking to replicate system). Rejection of proprietary SaaS model supports commons-oriented approach.
ND
Article 28Social & International Order
Social and international order not addressed. No observable relevance to personal technology documentation.
Implicit through commitment to sharing solutions with community, documenting for others' benefit, and prioritizing family/community wellbeing over commercial extraction. Limited explicit discussion of societal duties or limits on rights.
Implicit through author's rejection of proprietary SaaS control, insistence on local open-source architecture, and resistance to vendor lock-in. Design choices protect against corporate or institutional control over family data and decision-making.