Microchip's PIC32 GUI development board with projected-capacitive touch facilitates cost-effective multi-touch displays

USA: Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog, mixed-signal and Flash-IP solutions, 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, with its industry-leading performance, Microchip's 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.

"Microchip simplifies the creation of high-impact graphical displays with advanced multi-touch and gesture interfaces," said Sumit Mitra, VP of Microchip's MCU32 Division. "With our turnkey touch controllers, high-performance PIC32 microcontrollers and free software, Microchip reduces total system cost, speeds development and increases design flexibility."

The MTCH6301 controller's sophisticated combination of Self and Mutual capacitive scanning for XY touchscreens and touchpads enables a host of features, including: single and dual-touch drawing, the reporting of 11 single-finger gestures and the detection of up to 10 touches. Additionally, the MTCH6301 supports sensor designs with up to 13 x 18 channels and cover lenses up to 5 mm.