EVE4 – an innovative smart display series by Riverdi

Unisystem will soon expand its offer with a new, smart display-type solution from Riverdi – the EVE4 (Embedded Video Engine) line, a combination of a high brightness screen for industrial applications with the BT817Q controller, which is mainly associated with the consumer market. Available before long in sizes from 3.5 to 10.1 inches.

To properly present the EVE4 series and show why it is so innovative, we should start with the controller itself, or rather a duo of controllers – BT817Q from Bridgetek on a dedicated board created by Riverdi and ILI2132A from Ilitek responsible for the touch panel. EVE controllers, including the BT817Q, have been and still are more popular in consumer applications. In industrial ones, especially those from the medical or military industries, controllers would have to meet much more stringent requirements. Different glass thickness, resistance to electromagnetic interference, operating under challenging conditions – the displays representing the EVE4 line will cope with almost any challenge thanks to the ILI2132A controller. It meets industrial requirements, therefore performs well when exposed to the factors mentioned above and at the same time gives a lot of freedom in configuration.

The display uses two interfaces – SPI and the more advanced QSPI. The former is the most commonly used solution for communication between the microcontroller and peripheral systems. It is considered an industry standard but does not achieve high data transfer speeds. Therefore the EVE4 series also supports much faster QSPI, leaving the option to choose the interface for specific needs. You can read more about these interfaces in an article from the dedicated Uni’s ABC series. Its first part, telling about other solutions, can be found here.

Using the SPI interface also allows installing the Riverdi solution in older devices that need touch panel upgrades – the EVE4 internal memory would allow showing any selected materials on the screen (even videos) that could be added at the production stage of the display itself. This is an even more valuable option thanks to the build-in audio amplifier, which can be connected to speakers (there is also space dedicated for speakers to be placed directly onto the display).

Although in this context, the heart should rather be called „the brain” – the central point of the Riverdi solution is the built-in intelligent BT817Q controller. Thanks to it, the display already has the appropriate graphic library, so there is no need for buying a separate processor with a controller and connecting it via the RGB or LVDS interface. Communication with the display takes place through the mentioned earlier SPI (or QSPI) interface via the sent commands – for example, a photo to be displayed on EVE4 is uploaded only once, and then stored in the built-in Flash memory located on the display board, supported directly by the BT817Q controller. Thanks to this, it is possible to recall the photo simply with the appropriate command: “display this,” “show this,” “move,” “rotate” etc. Therefore, more advanced graphics can be created only with such commands, which makes working with the display significantly easier.

The EVE4 line, thanks to the mentioned earlier freedom in configuration and high resistance to external factors, can be used in many applications where other solutions would not qualify. It will perform well in production halls and factories where the key factor, in addition to the durability of the screen, is also the necessity to react to touch by a hand in protective clothing. Devices such as parking meters and ticket machines will also benefit from industrial standards met by EVE4 screens.

The display’s resistance to water, wide viewing angles, and increased brightness will be of key importance for medical applications. For military use – low electromagnetic emission in an environment sensitive to such interferences (such radiation heavily affects radios and radars) and the highest possible resolution. Thanks to the unique combination of individual technological solutions, the displays from the EVE4 series are one of the first such universal devices of this type in the world.

The combination of BT817Q and ILI2132A controllers makes the EVE4 line from Riverdi a new quality in its class – the dynamic development of these devices could also be seen in the EVE1, EVE2, EVE3 series, with better and better technical parameters distinguished each subsequent one. Now, when these already advanced solutions have been enriched with high brightness screen and a touch panel that meets industrial standards, Riverdi created a genuinely pioneering product with the potential for years. Contact us to learn more – in addition to the standard product documentation, there are also 3D models, EMC test results, and sample commissioning codes on the Riverdi GitHub.