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Is That a Large Smartwatch? Or a Tiny Cray? https://hackaday.com/2024/06/21/is-that-a-large-smartwatch-or-a-tiny-cray/ #circulardisplay #Retrocomputing #wristwatch #Teensy #FPGA #cray #fpga
Ansgar Schmidt 
ZSWatch: This OSHW Smart Watch is as DIY as it Gets https://hackaday.com/2023/01/16/zswatch-this-oshw-smart-watch-is-as-diy-as-it-gets/ #3dprintedenclosure #opensourcehardware #circulardisplay #wearablehacks #smartwatch #watch #oshw
hackaday unofficialGetting Familiar With Round Displays
Once upon a time, maker projects were limited to using simple character displays or those salvaged from popular Nokias, largely due to cost. These days, a small OLED or LCD is available for just a few bucks. However, you can go fancier, and [Mr. Volt] does just that with an exploration of nice round displays.
Using round displays doesn't have to be hard, with plenty of great products on the market. [Mr. Volt] goes through various options, from the cheap bare screens you can hook up to a microcontroller, to larger models designed for direct use with the Raspberry Pi or even straight HDMI inputs. Many are quite high resolution, and look particularly beautiful when driven with appropriate artwork.
However, there are a few tricks that come in handy when you're going away from traditional rectangular screens. Screen mounts on some models may not be directly aligned with the center of the circular display, which can lead to results that look off if not accounted for.
It's also important to remember that round displays are still driven like square displays, using Cartesian coordinates. Trying to use software with interface elements around the edges can be trying, as many end up rendered off-screen. Instead, circular displays are best used to display purpose-made content, rather than used with traditional software expecting a rectangular screen.
Fundamentally, round displays are a neat thing to have, as they allow for the construction of elegant projects that don't have to abstract a circle with cheats like obscuring bezels or housings. Video after the break.
Tackle the Monkey: Raspberry Pi Gets Round Screen
You could argue that the project to add a round screen to a Raspberry Pi from [YamS1] isn't strictly necessary. After all, you could use a square display with a mask around it, giving up some screen real estate for aesthetics. However, you'd still have a square shape around the screen and there's something eye-catching about a small round screen for a watch, an indicator, or -- as in this project -- a talking head.
The inspiration for the project was a quote from a Google quote about teaching a monkey to recite Shakespeare. A 3D printed monkey with a video head would be hard to do well with a rectangular screen, you have to admit. Possible with a little artistry, we are sure, but the round head effect is hard to beat. Honestly, it looks more like an ape to us, but we aren't primate experts and we think most people would get the idea.
The IPS screen is tiny at only 1.28 inches and has a 240×240 resolution. Interfacing is simple with an SPI interface. You'd think video playback might be tough, but the flexfb library knows how to drive these. The only problem is the library isn't compatible on Linux kernel 5.4 and beyond.
To solve that problem, [YamS1] used a Raspberry Pi 3 with a specific software load. For a dedicated device like this, that shouldn't be a problem and gives you a good excuse to recycle those older Pi boards you have sitting around.
We'll be honest. You probably don't want a talking monkey sculpture on your desk. But if you do, this is your lucky day. However, the possibilities for a round screen are numerous and one that can play video has even more usefulness. Maybe the thing for your next robot or cosplay mask eyes or why not 3D print a tiny replica of a vintage oscilloscope and use this display for the CRT? Of course, a smartwatch is too easy but would work, too. You could also make some very cool replacements for magic eye tubes.
#raspberrypi #circulardisplay #circularscreen #rounddisplay #roundscreen #spi #spidisplay #spiscreen #tacklethemonkeyfirst
