QVGA graphics solution for cost-sensitive embedded display applications

Microchip Technology has announced a QVGA Graphics Solution for implementing graphics display and control into cost-sensitive graphical user interface applications. Available today, this easy-to-use offering comprises a free, highly optimized graphics library and source code; third-party library support; low-cost, full-featured development tools including the new Graphics PICtail Plus daughter board; and PIC24F 16-bit microcontrollers.

The free graphics library and code provided by Microchip enable two- and three-dimensional objects, such as circles, text, rectangles, buttons, meters, windows, progress bars and more, along with images, animation, and touch screen capabilities. These graphics features allow engineers to easily implement and customise graphical user interfaces with faster time to market, low risk development and lower total system cost. In addition, Microchip's third-party partners, Segger (www.segger.com) and Ramtex (www.ramtex.dk), offer compatible graphics libraries which reduce software development time and provide greater flexibility in graphical user interface development.

Microchip's new Graphics PICtail Plus daughter board provides a complete hardware and software development environment for concept, evaluation and low-risk product development. The daughter board includes the Thin Film Transistor (TFT) Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD) module that supports 320 x 240 (QVGA) graphic resolution and 65,000 colors. The board is designed to plug into Microchip's Explorer 16 development board, a tool used to evaluate the features and performance of the 16-bit PIC24 microcontrollers, dsPIC33F digital signal controllers, and the new 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers.

The QVGA Graphics Solution has been designed to operate with any of Microchip's PIC24F 16-bit microcontrollers and future PIC24H 16-bit microcontrollers, 16-bit dsPIC digital signal controllers, and the 32-bit PIC32MX microcontrollers. These PIC24F devices provide a parallel master port interface, 4-8KB of RAM and 16-128KB of Flash program memory, which allow for fast, efficient communication to LCD panels and maximum flexibility in supporting different LCD panel options. Using the 28-pin PIC24F microcontrollers, for example, enables high performance, an extremely small footprint and lowered total system cost.

Microchip Technology