- Fraimic is a new AI-powered digital canvas that uses color e-ink to display artwork and photos
- It lets you generate your own art via voice commands
- The project is now fully funded on Kickstarter, and production is set to begin soon
A new smart, AI-powered e-ink frame that lets you create your own art with voice prompts has just hit smashed its Kickstarter funding goal.
Called Fraimic, it lets you use simple voice commands to create art thanks to OpenAI’s image generation model. You can also upload your own photos instead.
Fraimic promises a lot, from up to five years of battery life to no apps and subscriptions – but like any Kickstarter project, there are some caveats to consider. Here’s what you need to know about this opinion-splitting concept.
What is Fraimic and how does it work?
Fraimic is a digital smart canvas that uses color e-ink instead of an LCD or OLED display panel. It is essentially an e-ink frame, but it’s marketed as a smart canvas, as the main goal is to display art, and a lot of it can be AI-generated.
The premise is simple: you can choose between a small 14×18-inch canvas or a larger 24×36-inch option. No matter the size, the canvas really does look much like an actual picture frame would on a wall.
Touching the corner of Fraimic starts up the voice-to-vision process. Videos posted on Kickstarter show the project’s founder, Anthony, speaking to the frame and giving it an image generation prompt. If you’ve ever used ChatGPT or DALL-E 3, you already know the type of prompt that one might use here.
The whole process takes a little time (as you can see above), but slowly, the image shifts and changes into AI-generated art created on demand. The company says that the art generation is powered by OpenAI and that it’ll avoid so-called “AI slop” with “expertly crafted style presets to elevate simple prompts into stunning, cohesive works of art.” If you don’t fancy AI artwork, you can upload your own photos and art via Fraimic’s website.
That’s another interesting tidbit – the project doesn’t have an app, and according to the Kickstarter, it won’t have one. In further good news, it also won’t come with a subscription fee, and each frame is said to be a one-time purchase.
Unlike a digital frame, Fraimic has a paper-like display, and it’s not backlit. That should create a more natural, painting-like look, but also low visibility in poor lighting conditions. Fraimic uses the Spectra 6 display by E Ink with up to 65,000 different colors.
Fraimic supports local uploads without the use of the internet and connecting to third-party servers. However, there’s a trade-off, as you currently can’t swap the picture remotely; the device you upload with and Fraimic need to share the same network.
The company touts truly impressive battery life for the smart canvas. It’s said to only ever use up battery when you’re changing the art or the photo, which is why the standard-sized frame has an estimated battery life of up to five years. You don’t need to keep it plugged in, and reportedly, even once the battery runs out, the picture will stay up, and you just won’t be able to change it.
Despite the lack of a dedicated app, Fraimic’s founder promises Home Assistant integration, and its API will be open to developers.
How much does Fraimic cost, and how can you buy one?
Fraimic is still just a project on Kickstarter, but it’s more than fully funded. It started out with a goal of $10,000, but at the time of writing, the amount pledged exceeds $730,000.
Pledging in the Kickstarter campaign gets you a frame for less than the expected MSRP. The standard frame will have an MSRP of $399 (about £300 / AU$600), but pledging gets you one for $299 (around £220 / AU$450); meanwhile, large frames will normally cost $999 (about £740 / AU$1,500), but backers get one for $729 (roughly £540 / AU$1,100). There are also packs of frames that cost less than the MSRP.
A few questions remain
As with any Kickstarter project, it’s important to be cautious. Until the product has been produced and shipped, it’s impossible to take it for granted; although it is pretty clear that Fraimic already has an enthusiastic audience, given the amount of money that’s already been pledged.
From a technical standpoint, a few uncertainties remain. Some of the photos presented as Fraimic show frames that are obviously a lot larger, which implies they could be simple mockups at this stage. The claims about battery life could also end up being highly optimistic, especially if AI generation is used, although this is just speculation.
The AI side of it all is another thing. Some people are vehemently against AI art and the way it’s starting to flood the internet; others love it. It’s also easy to end up with low-quality images when prompting the AI in a vague manner, which could contribute to battery drain.
Once complete, Fraimic will ship worldwide (with some exceptions). The company is targeting May 2026 for shipping, but it does note that delays are possible.
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