Color graphics display as easy to use as a dumb terminal

by “Max” Maxfield, EiC, Embedded.com

A lot of embedded systems designers are focused on creating the underlying platform, and they begrudge the time and resources required to add a LCD user interface.

The reason I mention this here is that I recently heard from the folks at LCDTERM.com about the launch of their new, programming-free LCD interface called LCDTERM (for “LCD Terminal”).

LCDTERM supports two common interfaces — SPI and UART — thereby facilitating low-pin-count connection to pretty much any embedded platform requiring a user interface.

Since product design simplification is the goal, LCDTERM includes 20 common fonts and all of the necessary control firmware on-board (you can add additional fonts and bitmap graphics, all of which can be displayed in 16-bit [65,536] color).

LCDTERM is the small display (upper right) board that's connected to a larger embedded platform (Source: LCDTERM.com)

LCDTERM also boasts a speedy 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 processor and is supported by a free API. The key point is that using LCDTERM does not require any LCD programming expertise or the time-consuming creation of special device drivers.

In addition to the display itself, LCDTERM also includes a three-button keyboard, which allows you to implement a full user interface without having to worry about reading buttons, de-bouncing, or committing programming resources on your host embedded system.

All you have to do is supply power (3.3V or 5V) and start sending commands. LCDTERM does the rest, which means you can be up and running and displaying data from your embedded system in a matter of minutes.

Read more about the LCDTERM on our sister site Embedded.com.