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I need to add a VGA display and touch screen to embedded product

Jerry Bucci
Expert 1540 points

I have been using the MSP430 micros for many years now to design products for my customers. I have a new requirement for an equipment design that requires a 7-10" color graphics display like a VGA and touch screen for input.

My question is what should I migrate to in order to accomplish this with the least amount of effort. I program in C and have been using CCS for development. Should i migrate to an ARM processor and use Linux or other operating system? Whats the most cost effective and efficient for time of development.

I'm not sure if this post is in the right forum, so please move it if not.

Thanks

Jerry

  • 0
    Guru 227245 points

    FTDI has released a chip that contains an LCD driver and a complete controller. You can connect it to the MSP using SPI and give it drawing commands. IIRC it also supports touch screen.

    GLYN has released a product family where this controller is bundled with displays and touch layers.

  • 0
    Guru 25210 points

    I think part of the answer lies in what you intend to do with the display. Is it just for relatively static information display? Or are you wanting to be able to play full-motion video? That affects the processing horsepower needed.

    Some options include some of the low power ARM (Tiva), up to the video capable DaVinci 365.

    By VGA, I assume you meant resolution (640x480) and not necessarily something that has an analog RGB interface.

    Here is a QVGA display with touchscreen controller (and SD card for storing graphics) that might interest you: http://www.sainsmart.com/arduino-compatibles-1/lcd-module/sainsmart-3-2-tft-lcd-display-touch-panel-pcb-adapter-sd-slot-for-arduino-2560.html

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Expert 1540 points

    Thank you very much for the reply. I will look at these two solutions. Just released scares me a little, as I typically prefer products that are well into production and proven to have no bugs. I also need to look at the effort required to generate different display looks for a good GUI.

     

  • 0 in reply to Brian Boorman
    Expert 1540 points
    Brian,
    Thank you for the reply. I do not need video and 640x480 should be sufficient. I am looking into using a SBC now such as the Beaglebone board running Windows CE. I have some experience generating applications in VIsual Studio for PC's using the NET Framework and it's very easy to generate a display with Push buttons, progress bars etc. i also like the idea of having USB ports etc to easily up and download new data or firmware easily.
    Thanks Again
  • 0 in reply to Jerry Bucci
    Guru 227245 points
    I understand tat 'just released' has a smell of 'banana product' (matures at the customer). However, in the display world, waiting for a mature product means you'll never get one, as products vanish and are replaced by 'more advanced' products soon. In fact, the display market is one with the shortest product life cycle of all electronic products, along with memory and hard disks, but way less standardized.
    The nice thing with the FTDI chip is that it understands graphics commands (IIRC including complete objects like buttons, but not sure), so you address it like you would address a graphics library on a PC. Draw your UI instead of setting pixels.
    The combination with a display and touch made by GLYN is a bonus, as it saves you the effort to assemble a proper display and drivers.

    For my company projects, we're planning for years to add a display to out products (low priority). But these are low-volume devices, so low-volume availability and costs are important (forbidding to order a custom display design). And each time we found something that would fit, and were at the point of starting development, it was no longer available and replaced by something new that was no longer compatible with our designs this or that way.
  • 0
    Guru 14640 points
    Jerry:
    You could also look at the MSP430 Launchpad booster packs to see if there is an applicable booster pack for your situation...
  • 0 in reply to Todd Anderson78572
    Expert 1540 points
    Thanks Todd,
    I looked at the offerings and I could only find very small displays with low resolution. I need at least a 7" color display 640x480 with touch screen for an automotive test equipment design. I don't need video however.
    I'm actually looking at embedding a tablet into the design, since I could buy a Windows based tablet for $50-$100, while a 7" display and controller board would cost at least $150 for the two. A tablet gives me a USB to communicate with it.

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