Specifications
87
3.5 SLCD5 Controller
The SLCD5 controller is what provides the GUI for the LCD interface. It is meant
to give the developer a simple way to generate a user interface on the screen to
fit his or her needs without having to do a lot of low level graphical programming.
The controller board is essentially the connector piece between the
microcontroller and the LCD interface. The microcontroller would not be capable
of producing the necessary images on the LCD screen as it does not have
enough processing power.
The controller board is able to load Bitmap images onto the screen, place them
where the developer instructs it to and move or remove them as necessary. The
controller board is required to be programmed separately from the
microcontroller and uses a separate interface to accomplish this portion of the
programming. The SLCD5 controller is even more essential to the overall
system than the LCD screen itself. Although the LCD screen is what the user
interacts with and is the only part of the system to be seen by the user, the
controller board is responsible for making sure the LCD screen performs the
tasks expected of it by the user and responds accurately to the user input.
Figure 44 is a picture of the SLCD5 controller.
4.5"
3.0"
Figure 44 The SLCD5 controller board (Reprinted with permission from
Reach Technologies Inc)
The LCD touch screen should contain VGA resolution and have at least 16 bit
color. The SLCD5 controller has many features that will satisfy the design
requirements of our group. The features of the SLCD5 are listed below in Table
29: