Arduino Calls for Makers to Step Up Their User Interface Game with the Arduino GIGA Display Shield
With a multitouch display, microphone, and IMU, plus optional camera sensor, this add-on board packs in the features.
Arduino has announced its first add-on board dedicated to the new GIGA R1 WiFi development board, adding a touchscreen display, microphone, inertial measurement unit (IMU), camera connector, and RGB LED to the board: the GIGA Display Shield.
"A few months ago, we promised you that the GIGA R1 WiFi would allow you to 'think bigger and be more creative than ever,'" the Arduino team writes by way of background to the new launch. "Now, we are happy to announce you can step up your game even further, with the introduction of the Arduino GIGA Display Shield — an innovative touchscreen solution enabling all makers to effortlessly deploy fast and highly responsive graphic interfaces to their GIGA R1 WiFi project."
Arduino launched the GIGA R1 WiFi back in March, promising a more powerful device in the familiar Mega and Due form factor. Based on an STMicro STM32H747XI asymmetric dual-core microcontroller, with one Arm Cortex-M7 core running at up to 480MHz and one Cortex-M4 core at up to 240MHz, the company positioned the board as being ideal for a range of highly-responsive workloads — and the GIGA Display Shield is designed to serve as proof of exactly that.
The add-on board is built around a full-color 3.97" 800×480 touchscreen display capable of tracking five touch points and gestures. Behind this are the on-board sensors: a Bosch Sensortec six-axis BMI270 inertial measurement unit (IMU) and an STMicroelectronics MP34DT06JTR MEMS digital microphone. Elsewhere on the board is a connector for an optional camera, compatible with Arducam image sensor boards — though no camera is included as standard.
"With the GIGA Display Shield, you can quickly add a cool UI [User Interface] to your hardware projects without extra wiring, have graphics adjust automatically according to device orientation or audio commands, or leverage computer vision as your solution's input," the Arduino team claims.
"If that’s not enough, GIGA R1 WiFi's new set of top-facing connectors leave the top header available for expansion, attaching other shields to boost your possibilities even more."
The GIGA Display Shield is now available to order from the Arduino store, priced at $63.60; an Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi, for those who do not yet have one, is an additional $72.82.