A developer of Tronbyt, Tavis Gustafson, contacted Hackaday to highlight the project, which aims to keep Tidbyt smart displays operational when their online service eventually ceases.
Although Tidbyt was never an open-source product, its internal functions were publicly documented and the software is available on GitHub, making it possible to create a self-hosted alternative.
Started in 2020 as a Hackaday project by Rohan Singh, Tidbyt is a 64x32 HUB75 LED matrix within a wooden box, powered by an ESP32 microcontroller.
Two Kickstarter campaigns raised over $1m in funding; the company was then acquired by Modal earlier this year, which announced it would no longer produce Tidbyt hardware.
The acquisition means that the Tidbyt online service will probably be switched off eventually, rendering the devices unusable.
