TFT LCD displays

Jon Lawson

4D Systems has launched a series of TFT displays designed to be used with the BeagleBone Black single board computer.

The gen4 CAPE series consists of 4.3-, 5.0- and 7.0in screens, each with a 30-pin robust FPC cable that plugs into the supplied gen4 CAPE adapter board and with resistive or capacitive touchscreen overlays.

No additional connectors are required to operate the display since all power, control and data signals come through the FPC.

Using the adapter board directly on the BeagleBone Black allows embedded developers to use different display sizes and touch overlays for different applications.

The resistive touch function uses an on-board Microchip AR1021 resistive touch controller that communicates directly with the BeagleBone Black over I²C in place of traditional LCD boards that use the analogue inputs and can be susceptible to external EMI.

The capacitive touch models incorporate a cover lens bezel that enables the construction of a robust yet slim design with ease, using a Focaltec CTP controller that also communicates over I²C.

The display backlight brightness is handled by a TI TPS61165 backlight driver IC for which a Linux driver is also provided. This method of varying the brightness is more stable and less noisy than using PWM signals.

The gen4 CAPE series suits a wide range of applications that require a high-quality, easy-to-use and compact graphical display to be incorporated into a BeagleBone Black-based design.

The BeagleBone Black Wireless and BeagleBone Green boards are also supported.

The gen4 CAPE series is available now starting at $59 for single units of the 4.3in resistive touchscreen. The 4DCAPES datasheet can be found HERE.

video: 

gen4 4DCAPE Product Video