Arduino UNO Q CyberDeck: Unlocking the Gigashield Touchscreen Interface

UNO Q - Giga Display Adapter Shield

Arduino® GIGA Display Shield

Arduino® UNO™ Q 2GB

Arduino App Lab

<html><body>In this project, we are sharing the process of how to deploy the Arduino UNO Q internal system on the Giga Display Shield. To achieve this, we developed an adapter shield for the Arduino Giga Display. This adapter includes the MIPI DSI and I2C interfaces for graphics transmission and touch facilities. The Kernel was also modified, so we will talk about these settings and the script we wrote to enable all the features in a simple command execution. Thank you for being here with us and for being part of the community. Let’s go for it! <h3>The Adapter Shield</h3>We thought about the possibility of accessing the Arduino UNO Q system using a small-scale system. This would help us avoid using extra hardware, such as a hub to connect a monitor through HDMI. As hardware enthusiasts, designing an adapter was an option. The adapter shield is pretty simple. On the top side, it includes receptacles for JMISC and JMEDIA to assemble the Arduino UNO Q board; on the bottom side, it includes receptacles for the camera and display, dedicated connectors to assemble the Arduino Giga Display Shield. To ensure the proper rendering of images on the Arduino Giga Display Shield, the adapter shield’s design interfacing both boards, demanded special attention during the routing of the DSI (Display Serial Interface) video layout. Operating under the MIPI DSI standard, this high-speed communication protocol relies critically on clock and data lanes configured as differential pairs. In the printed circuit board (PCB) layout, this required us to route these traces strictly adhering to geometric coupling rules: maintaining a controlled differential impedance (typically 100 ohms), minimizing layer transitions through vias, and ensuring absolute length matching between the positive and negative conductors of each pair (a process known as intra-pair skew tuning). The importance of a proper layout for these differential pairs is founded entirely in signal integrity at elevated frequencies. In these high-speed applications, any geometric asymmetry or discontinuity in the reference plane translates immediately into common-mode noise, timing phase shifts, and signal reflections. This would not only cause severe degradation of the video data (manifesting as flickering, erratic color lines, or a total loss of synchronization on the Arduino Giga Display Shield) but would also turn the traces into antennas emitting electromagnetic interference. Besides the DSI lines, including the I2C lines, it was mandatory to leverage the touch capabilities and deploy a complete interaction experience between the user and the system. Fortunately, there was no need to add extra controllers for power or signal processing (like level shifters, LDO’s, pull-up resistors, or others). On the UNO Q side, the JMEDIA pins work at a 1.8V logic level. MIPI DSI pins are sorted in JMEDIA; on the Giga Display Shield side, the LCD is controlled by the ST7701S driver, which works at the same logic level (1.65 - 3.3V). For the I2C, on the UNO Q side, the pins are sorted in JMISC, which works at 3.3V; on the Giga Display Shield, the I2C interface is controlled by the GT911 driver, which works in the same range (1.8 - 3.3V). In the end, this adapter shield worked as an “easy wiring” intermediary. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/e3dc83cf-2435-4b9f-8bc3-7b94407be8f6.png"/><figcaption>Front side (to assemble with the Arduino UNO Q).</figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/aff09f4c-ba75-4cd1-a8dc-1037d35fbecc.png"/><figcaption>Back side (to assemble with the Arduino Giga Display Shield).</figcaption></figure> <h3>The script</h3>The script is intended to make some modifications to the Kernel. These modifications include: 1. Install the patched module for the Sitronix panel (ST7710S driver). This patched module is a Kernel object (.ko) that works as a “driver” that controls the LCD (powering up and showing graphics). 2. Compile the overlay and compose the DTB (Device Tree Overlay Binary) . The Device Tree Overlay Source (.dtso) describes the physical layer for the Arduino Giga Display Shield, which is compiled to produce the Device Tree Overlay Binary (.dtbo) . Having the .ko and .dtbo in the system will communicate the Kernel “This is what you have” and “This is how you will use it” (the external device: the touchscreen). 3. Modify the target entry. This is a configuration file (.conf) that will be modified to include the video properties and to add the Device Tree Binary (.dtb) for the Arduino Giga Display Shield to the devicetree. 4. Create configuration files (.conf) for the monitor and the touch functions. The requirements for the script to run flawlessly are: <ol><li>To use the latest Linux image for the Arduino UNO Q (at least V7.0.0). </li><li>To use the latest release available in the <a href="https://github.com/ElectronicCats/tutorials/releases/latest">GitHub repository </a>. </li></ol><h3>Getting started</h3>Let us start by stacking all the boards. 1. Identify JMISC and JMEDIA pins in the Arduino UNO Q, located on the bottom side of the board. 2. Identify JMISC and JMEDIA headers in the adapter shield. 3. Meet both boards, the UNO Q USB-C port must face the longer empty and longer size of the Adapter Shield, or make sure you are correctly stacking the boards by matching the JMIS and JMEDIA labels printed on the PCB's silk mask. Ensure all the pins are aligned, and gently push on both boards to plug them. 4. Identify the receptacles on the Arduino Giga Display Shield. The receptacles have different numbers of pins, so finding the right orientation is easier. 5. Gently push on the boards to plug them. Ensure that the Arduino UNO Q board runs the latest image. 1. Follow the steps in this article: <a href="https://docs.arduino.cc/software/app-lab/configure/flash/#download--install-cli-tool">Flash a Linux image </a>. It is recommended to follow the Flash CLI method. 2. Restart the Arduino UNO Q board. 3. Set up the board by connecting the board and opening the Arduino App Lab. 3. Connect to the UNO Q board over adb by using the command <code class="code">adb shell </code>. You can find the instructions on how to start using adb, along with the UNO Q here: <a href="https://docs.arduino.cc/tutorials/uno-q/adb/">Connect to UNO via ADB </a>. 4. Once inside the UNO Q’s system, run the command: <pre>uname -r </pre>Verify that the current version is at least 7.0.0. Running the script. 1. Download the latest release available in this <a href="https://github.com/ElectronicCats/tutorials/releases">GitHub repository </a>. 2. Copy the files to the UNO Q by your preferred method (scp / adb push / USB stick), keeping all five files in the same directory. 3. Verify the <code class="code">.ko </code>checksum: <pre>sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS </pre>4. Rename the <code class="code">.ko </code>file so the installation script finds it: <pre>mv panel-sitronix-st7701-*.ko panel-sitronix-st7701.ko </pre>5. Add executing permissions to the scripts: <pre>chmod +x enable-gigadisplay-shield.sh validate-gigadisplay-shield.sh </pre>6. Run the installer with the command: <pre>sudo ./enable-gigadisplay-shield.sh </pre>After this, the board will reboot. 7. After reboot, verify by sending the command: <pre>./validate-gigadisplay-shield.sh </pre>8. Expect 14/14 PASS. To revert the changes, follow the next steps: 1. Run the command: <pre>./enable-gigadisplay-shield.sh --revert </pre>2. Reboot the board by using the command: <pre>sudo reboot </pre><h3>Troubleshooting</h3>What if something is not working as expected, even after closely following the installation steps? Here is a list of the problems you may experience and the first approach. The touch is not working Run this command: <pre>sudo i2cdetect -y 0 </pre>You should see address 0x14 or 0x5D visible. Otherwise, verify that the adapter shield receives and shares 3.3V between boards. Without power, the chip never enumerates. Display stays black after reboot In this case, the composed DTB may not be picked up by the boot loader. Run this command: <pre>sudo cat /boot/efi/loader/entries/*7.0.0*.conf </pre>and look for the line: <code class="code">devicetree /qrb2210-arduino-imola-gigadisplay-shield.dtb </code>. If absent, the install script's phase 3 did not cleanly run. This phase is the one that modifies the target entry, as described in “The Script” section, point 3. If the line is present but the screen is still black, confirm the DTB exists by running: <pre>ls -la /boot/efi/qrb2210-arduino-imola-gigadisplay-shield.dtb </pre>If all looks just in order, re-run the script: <pre>sudo ./enable-gigadisplay-shield.sh --no-reboot </pre>Then reboot the board: <pre>sudo reboot </pre>Touch coordinates are inverted/mirrored/rotated Open the configuration file ( <code class="code">/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-monitor.conf </code>) and try the opposite rotation: <code class="code">Option "Rotate" "left" </code>. Log out and back in. If neither rotation puts the cursor under your finger, the <code class="code">TransformationMatrix </code>in <code class="code">20-goodix-touch.conf </code>was derived for the wrong orientation, recapture the four corners with <code class="code">evtest </code>and recompute. <h3>Quick solution</h3>You can always start over by reverting the changes by sending the command: <pre>./enable-gigadisplay-shield.sh --revert &amp;&amp; sudo reboot </pre>Reverting the installation restores the original module from <code class="code">.ko.original </code>, removes the composed DTB, cleans the boot entry, and removes the xorg snippets. After reboot, you are back to the stock UNO Q image. <h3>Conclusion</h3>The design of this adapter shield focused on communicating with two Arduino boards, so visualizing the Home Screen of the UNO Q's ecosystem and starting to interact with the cursor was easier by running a simple script. We strongly believe that it is possible to start developing new Arduino applications through the embedded Arduino App Lab, without using a PC. This is now a hand-held PC itself! Leveraging a new Arduino ecosystem embedded in a powerful board is a few steps ahead of this solution. <h3>Bonus</h3>What about watching an application running on the Arduino UNO Q and interact with it? We would like to introduce you the Uno Q Kiosk Demo. This is a reference implementation demonstrating how to build a kiosk-style Human-Machine Interface (HMI) on the Arduino UNO Q using an Arduino GIGA Display connected through the Adapter Shield. As a demo, it reads real-time temperature and humidity from a Modulino sensor. Each metric occupies a full-screen card, requiring users to use touch scrolling to toggle between views. It serves as an expandable template for lightweight HMI systems using Arduino App Lab. This demonstration requires the following hardware components: <ol><li>Arduino UNO Q </li><li>Electronic Cats Adapter Shield </li><li>Arduino GIGA Display </li><li>MODULINO® Thermo (or equivalent I²C climate sensor) </li><li>USB-C cable for power </li></ol> <div id="gallery"><img id="gallery" src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/ca4d1a2a-f3cd-4714-8d13-f87b670d87c5.png"/><figcaption>Kiosko Demo App - Temperature View</figcaption>,<img id="gallery" src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/e8941738-6a89-45b7-aa0e-6fd27a05b601.png"/><figcaption>Kiosko Demo App - Humidity View</figcaption></div>Find more information about this fantastic project at our <a href="https://github.com/ElectronicCats/tutorials/tree/main/UnoQ-KioskDemo">GitHub Repository </a>. Thank you for getting up to here and for visiting our GitHub repository.Now, see this CyberDeck in action!<figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEf1tLHUs6Q"></iframe></figure> </body></html>

Arduino UNO Q CyberDeck: Unlocking the Gigashield Touchscreen Interface

Your Arduino UNO Q board may become a handheld PC running AppLab. Make your own touchscreen adapter shield and talk to the UNO Q’s onboard system by running a simple script.