November 28, 2012 - Microchip Technology announced the PIC32 GUI Development Board With Projected Capacitive Touch (part # DM320015). This tool makes it easy for designers to add the combination of multitouch projected-capacitive interfaces, and high-quality 16-bit color graphics to WQVGA displays in any application.
Additionally, the 32-bit PIC32 microcontroller can directly drive LCDs, eliminating the cost and complexity of an external graphics controller. Microchip’s onboard MTCH6301 is a turnkey projected-capacitive touch controller that simplifies the integration of popular multi-touch and gestures with greatly reduced design time and risk.
In combination with Microchip’s free graphics and multitouch software, this board enables rich, modern user interfaces for cost-sensitive designs in a broad range of markets, such as consumer, industrial and medical.
Following the proliferation of smartphones, users now expect similar touch and graphics interfaces in everything they use. However, the cost structure of most products can’t support the BOM of a typical smartphone, nor do designers have the time or desire to become user-interface experts. Microchip makes it easy and cost-effective to add rich user interfaces to nearly any product, by providing what is essentially a “GUI in a box” that can be inserted—as is—into most designs. In fact, the “PIC32 GUI Development Board With Projected Capacitive Touch” enables bezel mounting and connections between LCD displays and most of the PIC32’s on-chip peripherals. The board also provides ready-to-use PCB pads for common serial and analog connections.
Additionally, the PIC32 has processing power to spare for additional tasks, such as communication, control and audio.
The PIC32 GUI Development Board is $249.