Story

I’ve always loved having useful information visible at a glance — without needing to grab my phone or open an app. That mindset gave rise to my previous project, the Solar E-Ink Weather Station, and now fuels this fitness-focused dashboard.

This time, the motivation hit differently: I was recovering from a running injury, feeling disconnected from my usual routine. I realized I needed something that would keep me inspired and in touch with my progress — even on days I couldn’t train.

This project started with a simple idea: What if I could have my Strava and Garmin stats fusioned and always visible, like a framed photo on my desk? That question stayed with me — and ended up shaping every design decision.

After many late nights of coding, tweaking widgets, and obsessing over e-paper refresh timing, the project began to take shape: a minimal, elegant dashboard that quietly displays fitness stats, weather, and subtle cues to remind me that progress matters — in all its forms.

What started as a personal recovery tool has grown into a modular, customizable system that merges sport, AI, and e-paper tech — designed to live on your desk like a silent companion, always there, always yours.

⬜ About Dashi
This is also the first time I’m sharing the name of the project publicly: Dashi.
The idea behind Dashi is simple — a calm, minimal, battery-efficient dashboard that turns your sports data into a piece of ambient information. No buttons, no buzz. Just quiet motivation, always up to date.

What It Shows

• Latest Activity — distance, duration, pace

• Calendar View — with marked active days

• Weekly & Monthly Summaries — time, km, intensity

• Weather Forecast — Current weather + next 3 days

• Live Map View — when a Garmin LiveTrack is active

• AI Motivation — generated locally based on your context

All in an elegant, silent, always-on display.

How it works:.

• Backend (Raspberry Pi + Python/Flask): Pulls data from Strava, Garmin, OpenWeather, and optionally LiveTracking or sleep/recovery feeds.

• Web Layout Editor: Drag-and-drop interface to position widgets visually.

• ESP32 + e‑paper Display: Fetches rendered images (800×480 px) and shows them on a 7.5″ tri‑color screen, then sleeps — for weeks on a single LiPo.

  

• On rest days, the layout switches to highlight stats and progress.

• On active days, it focuses on the latest workout + weather.

Live Tracking, the Low-Power Way

When a Garmin LiveTrack session is active (and only if you've enabled it), Dashi automatically switches into real-time mode. A new screen is generated every few minutes, showing your evolving route directly on the e-paper display.

Smart, Not Just Connected

And it doesn't stop there:

The system adapts intelligently: if nothing has changed, it doesn’t waste energy or update the display unnecessarily. But if something significant shifts — whether in your activity or your recovery data — the dashboard refreshes to reflect it. Efficient, responsive, and beautifully minimal.

Oh, one more thing...

I’ve also added a discreet QR code to the map view. If someone at home wants more detailed tracking or a real-time GPS view on their phone, all they have to do is scan it. The QR leads directly to the Garmin LiveTrack session — no apps, no typing, just instant access.

It’s a small touch, but one that makes a big difference for the people who support you from afar.

Tech Glimpse

• Garmin LiveTrack status is detected via incoming email (no API required).

• A fingerprint-based diffing system ensures redraws only happen when context has changed.

• Map snapshots are rendered using Chromium headless.

• The ESP32 only wakes up — and refreshes the screen — if something has truly changed 😉

Motivation, Powered by On-Device AI

Something felt missing in the initial versions: a more human layer.

Now, a small fox lives in the corner of the dashboard. When activity happens, it reacts. When it's a rest day, it reflects. When you’re under-recovered, it speaks gently.

These aren’t random quotes. The messages are generated via Gemma, Google’s lightweight open-source model — running 100% locally.

See more information: E-Paper Dashboard — Where Sport, AI and ePaper Meet - Hackster.io