FT81-x Driver Board Adds 24-Bit Color and 480x480 Pixels to an Arduino Nano!
Open source driver board and library to extend graphics on low-end microcontroller boards.
The Arduino Nano is probably the world's most popular microcontroller board. Given its memory limitations, it finds itself into many surprising applications. One area that the Nano has struggled with is high-resolution graphic displays. German engineer, Raphael Stäbler, is on a quest to build a portable console. Along this journey, he developed the FT81x Arduino Driver board and library, which let Arduino-compatible boards from the Nano to the Teensy run a 4" TFT LCD with 480x480 pixels!
The LCD itself uses an ST7701S controller. While a microcontroller could interface with that chip directly, it would require many resources. The FT81x-series from FTDI is an embedded graphics engine that makes running a beautiful display with limited memory very straightforward. That is the controller Stäbler picked for his driver board. With it, you gain access to 24-bit color, 19 fonts, UI widgets, and the ability to display JPEG and PNG graphics. The FT81x Arduino Driver also has an on-board level-shifter, which means it is compatible with 3.3- or 5-volt microcontroller boards.
The UI Widgets include basic shapes, bit maps, buttons, and gauges. In the future, Stäbler plans to add custom fonts, a progress bar, scrollbars, toggles, and even video playback.
Today the list of tested boards is relatively small. Stäbler verified the library's compatibility with the Uno/Nano, the new Nano Every, a Due, an ESP32, and the Teensy 4.0. It is very likely if your board has full Arduino support, the FT81x Arduino Driver library works with it.
As an open source project, there are several pieces to the overall system. The 4-inch display is a standalone piece. Then there is the FT81x-based board that connects the LCD screen with a flat ribbon cable (FPC.) And the final part is the FT81x library and examples.
Check out Stäbler's FT81x Arduino Driver GitHub repository for the KiCad design files and code. You can also buy a display and driver board from the Production Build Tindie Store.