Microchip has created what it claims to be the first microcontroller unit (MCU) to combine a 2D graphics processor with integrated DDR2 memory.
The three-layer graphics controller in the 32-bit PIC32MZ DA family drives 24-bit colour 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) displays up to 12″ (although we’re not sure why the size should make any difference! Man. Ed.), while storage is provided by up to 32 MB of on-chip DRAM or 128 MB externally addressable DRAM.
The PIC32MZ DA MCUs are claimed to bridge the graphics performance gap to create complex graphics using simple MCU development tools.
Development of the PIC32MZ DA MCUs is supported by the MPLab Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and MPLab Harmony Integrated Software Framework in addition to dedicated boards.
