Display ShieldsThese awesome shields can help add a whole new level to your graphics projects.
Overview
- What it is: Display shields cover a wide spectrum of uses, from colorful LEDs to fancy touchscreens. We've pulled out a couple of the coolest ones below, but each category has many more possibilities for you to explore.
- What it does: The basic point of these shields is to give your projects a nice visual component without having to use a million wires. Remember how long it took to hook up the LCD screen? With these shields, all you have to do is pop it on top and you're done.
- How to use it: Software varies by shield. Most display shields come with a library whose built-in methods allow you to display words and images with no trouble. Google your shield to find out specific library methods.
Window Paintings by TitaniumDimples (CC-BY-NC-ND)
Types of Display Shields
Image by Sparkfun
LCD Shield:
This simplifies LCD hook-up by providing an LCD and five puhbuttons so you can input menu options straight from your shield. Adafruit also carries one here. This shield is pretty cheap and probably a good investment if you're planning on doing a lot of display projects!
Image by Sparkfun
OpenSegment Shield:
This shield simplifies use of 7-segment displays so you don't have to individually control each segment with a different wire/pin. The actual 7-segment displays aren't included, so you'll have to buy those separately, but the page has links to suggested hardware. These displays are great for clocks, stopwatches, or timers.
LoL Shield:
LoL stands for Lots of LEDs, and that's basically all this shield is. It comes with a library that helps you get the hang of the basics so you can create fancy shifting patterns. This is a great shield for making simple pictures, and it comes in all different colors. A similar shield is the Adafruit NeoPixel shield, which is similar but with RGB LEDs instead of single-color ones.
Image by Adafruit
Touchscreen Display:
This is probably the coolest display screen out there. It has great quality and a resistive touch screen. Adafruit also carries a capacitive touch screen model, and Sparkfun has a slightly larger model of its own.
Image by Sparkfun
A Looping Painter of Paris by Eurobas (CC-BY-SA)
Project Ideas
- Choose your Own Adventure Game: Use the LCD shield to create a simple game. You can use the arrow keys to choose an option or go to the next screen.
- Timer: Convert the stopwatch we built with the LCD display into something that will work with 7-segment displays. If you want, you can create a countdown timer and add a buzzer to let people know when time's up.
- Snake: This works great with the LoL shield. You can control the snake from the Serial monitor on the computer, or add a few buttons using an additional shield.
- Paint: Use the touchscreen to create your own version of MS Paint. Let the user choose a few backgrounds to spice up with their own drawings.
