Using an Overpowered Vape as a Secondary Display

Last week, we discovered that it was possible to run a web server on a disposable vape through its USB-C port, and now I’ve been shown an even more impressive hack - DOOM running on an Aspire PIXO Vape acting as a secondary display. This device, powered by a Cortex-M4F MCU, is larger in size than the WeAct Display FS 0.96-inch USB display we recently covered. It seems that the creators of CNX Software might need to add a new category to our blog - 'vaporware'.

The new hack was done by Aaron Christophel (ACT1441), who utilized an Aspire PIXO Vape with a wide range of features, including a Cortex-M4F MCU, a small color LCD, a USB-C port, Bluetooth LE connectivity, and a battery. To make this device work as a secondary display, Aaron developed custom firmware for the PUYA microcontroller to use the device over USB-C.

The Aspire PIXO Vape Hardware Specifications

Here are the specs of the Aspire PIXO vape/pod kit:

  • MCU – Puxa PY32F403XC Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 144 MHz with 64KB RAM, 256KB Flash Storage
  • External 16MB SPI Flash Display – 323 x 173 LCD
  • Wireless – WS8000 BLE chip
  • USB – 1x USB Type-C port
  • Misc Heating Coil Vape microphone (designed to detect airflow from inhalation/puff)
  • Vibration Motor External hardware watchdog connected to PC6
  • Battery

The Hack: Running DOOM on the Aspire PIXO Vape

Aaron has made a habit of running DOOM on various exotic devices, but the vape did not quite have enough RAM (100KB+ needed). Instead of giving up, Aaron developed custom firmware for the PUYA microcontroller to use the device as a secondary display over USB-C. He also shared his findings, including dumps of the original firmware, the custom C firmware, and the WebTool to manage the screen share, on GitHub.

The video below shows DOOM running on the vape’s display using the keyboard and mouse from the PC, and a video played back from the PC at about 6 FPS. The Aspire PIXO vape/pod kit sells for around $30 US/Euros on the company’s website, Amazon, and other places.

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