Designed to work with the company’s MPLAB Harmony v3 and its mainlined distribution for 32-bit Linux environments, the tool has a simulator for hardware-free prototyping.
The simulator builds C code generated by Microchip’s Code Configurator in a choice of two modes: for visual review, ‘web mode’ creates an HTML file that can run on web browsers with simulated touch interactivity that anyone can view, while ‘native mode’ enables engineers to debug the GUI on Windows computers.
“MGS provides an intuitive WYSIWYG interface with a modern design, enabling users to directly see and manipulate the final output,” said Microchip. It supports “a range of devices of varying performance, from resource-constrained devices with significantly lower memory and system performance, to high-performance devices supporting tablet-sized touchscreens with high-fidelity video playback”.
Applicable display types span monochrome OLEDs to 1080p 16.7m colour TFTs, with MIPI, DSI, LVDS, RGB, SPI or HDMI interfaces, and touchscreens with 2D or 3D gestures.
It is compatible with PIC32 MCUs, SAM MPUs and maXTouch touchscreen controllers, said Microchip.
Electronics Weekly has asked for for more information – which processors does it work with, for example – watch this space – and until then, this YouTube video might help.
