Raspberry PI-based TFT controller for cost-efficient industry 4.0 applications

Distec has added a new member to the Artista TFT controller family: the Artista-IoT for Industry 4.0 and the IoT. This new TFT controller is a BaseBoard with a socket for the latest generation of the Raspberry PI Compute Module (CM3). "The Artista-IoT is only a simple TFT controller, but the perfect basis for cost-efficient IoT and Industry 4.0 applications," explained Matthias Keller, head of sales and marketing at Distec. "Internet of Things is the keyword and a costly PC with a lot of peripherals is now superfluous: our solution enables us to network almost every device intelligently, without any license costs." The device allows the direct connection of almost all common TFT types without additional hardware. The powerful processor (BCM2837, QuadCore, 1.2 GHz) opens up many new applications at a very attractive price. The company can provide individual solutions for: Industrial HMI, medical, aviation, digital signage, and digital whiteboard. The new controller can be easily integrated into existing Windows and Linux environments and can be adapted to suit individual needs. The company offers a starter set consisting of BaseBoard, CM3, 10.1-inch Super Fine TFT display with PCAP Multi-Touch and all necessary cables. This kit supports developers to start their own projects in a fast and uncomplicated way. The pre-installed Raspbian ensures a quick setup and also gives access to a large community support network. The kit is based on a full-fledged scaler chip and controls almost every TFT display and modern PCAP multi-touch screens directly. The controller board allows special functions such as DICOM pre-set, gamma correction and color calibration. It supports Gigabit Ethernet and provides a real-time clock. Available interfaces include USB, GPIOs, I²C and UART. Long-term availability is at least six years.