BeagleBadge and Zepto: Doom on E-Ink
BeagleBadge and Zepto: Doom on E-Ink
https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/beaglebadge-zepto-doom
Publish Date: 2026-03-23 14:15:00
Source Domain: www.elektormagazine.com
BeagleBadge and Zepto were two of the more memorable things in my short chat with Texas Instruments’s Andrei Aldea: a low-power AM62L badge that can run Linux and even Doom on e-ink, plus tiny $1 MSPM0 boards that extend I/O over Qwiic. Taken together, they sketch out a surprisingly approachable way into embedded Linux, wireless connectivity, and fast hardware experimentation.
BeagleBadge and Zepto made for tow of the more interesting embedded demos in this Elektor TV interview: an AM62L-based badge that can idle for weeks, wake up to run Linux, and, yes, put Doom on an e-ink display. That sounds like a gimmick until you look at the real point of the platform: approachable embedded Linux, low-power design, and expansion without dragging half a lab onto the bench.
BeagleBadge and Zepto in Action
In my chat with Texas Instruments’s Andrei Aldea, the BeagleBoard-built badge was positioned as a friendly starting point for developers who want to learn Arm and embedded Linux without starting from a bare module.
he platform combines dual-core A53 processing, CC33-based Wi-Fi 6 and BLE 5.4, LoRa support, Qwiic expansion, GPS add-ons over UART, and compatibility with mikroBUS Click boards. If you want a refresher on embedded Linux fundamentals, this is exactly the kind of board that makes the theory tangible, and the wireless side lines up with TI’s CC3301 companion IC family.
Why the Doom Demo Works
The headline-grabber is obvious: Doom running on e-ink. But the more interesting part is what the demo says about the hardware. Aldea showed a platform that can sip power in sleep mode for 30-plus days, use a replaceable Nokia BL-5C-style battery, boot from onboard SPI flash or microSD, and even drive an external DSI display at up to 1080p and 60 Hz.
A presentation slide outlines the BeagleBadge hardware, including the AM62L processor, CC3301 wireless, 256 MB LPDDR4, 4 GB flash, and a 107 mm…
Source