Design Automation


Software tools and libraries for embedded video controller

17 September 2014 Design Automation

To provide further assistance to engineers using its Embedded Video Engine (EVE) technology, FTDI Chip has developed a suite of additional support facilities for use with its established FT800 graphic controller IC and the recently introduced FT801, with capacitive touch enabled interface and multi-touch capabilities.

The EVE Emulator Library, the first of the new support resources, is a behaviour modelling software tool through which engineers can emulate the display and touch functions of the FT800 (and in the near future for the FT801 in single-touch rather than multi-touch mode) without the need for any hardware. It also allows engineers to quickly create demos to show to their project managers or prospective customers.

Working on the Windows operating system, the library is capable of delivering high-level emulation. It benefits from an exact SPI/I²C interface configuration and consistent memory map of FT800/FT801 silicon. EVE sample applications employ a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) to make the application logic fully independent from the hardware platform. Sample applications can be adapted on the EVE emulator without the need to alter the application logic.

In addition, the company announced the release of the VM800BU, which is a development module for the FT800 with a USB interface provided by an FT232H bridging IC. This means, when looking to work with EVE-based development modules, it is no longer necessary to source a separate USB converter cable, as the necessary functionality is already present within the board itself.

The EVE Screen Editor is a Windows-based software tool which enables engineers to study display commands and experiment with generating their own display lists by which to control EVE ICs. It can also be utilised to access a number of the various EVE development platforms available via FTDI’s MPSSE cable, without the need for any supplementary code to be written.

Finally, the expansive set of Arduino libraries offered to accompany the EVE offering has been further updated in order to serve both the FT800 and FT801 controller devices.



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