Bridgetek’s Embedded Video Engine (EVE) technology continues to gain traction within the global open source community, as well as with larger OEMs. The highly integrated graphics controller devices - which are able to take care of the display, touch and audio aspects of modern human machine interfaces (HMIs) - are featuring in a growing number of products being developed by small start-ups. The latest of these is the Sunflower Shield, which is currently being crowdfunded via Kickstarter
Using the FT813 EVE IC, the Sunflower Shield allows makers to add a touch-enabled premium quality 3.5" (QVGA) TFT LCD display, to their Arduino projects. With the ability to render 24-bit color content in either landscape or portrait orientations, plus support for smooth 60fps animations, this compact board has a 5-point multi-touch capacitive touchscreen for delivery of intuitive operation and compelling user experiences. Also incorporated are a pulse width modulated (PWM) audio amplifier with a 1W speaker, a thermocouple input (with probe included in the package) for taking temperature measurements, solid state relay outputs and a microSD memory card slot for data storage purposes. Pairing the EVE graphics controller with an MCU, such as the Arduino, has resulted in a well partitioned design that is capable of performing advanced color graphics control at a very attractive price point.
