LCD screen for Decimus

Probably the last part to be added to Decimus will be the Nokia 3410 LCD screen. Nearly all of my mice have these either permanently fitted or attached by a simple socket so they can be removed. With a resolution of 96x64 pixels, this screen is an ideal debugging aid. The display is relatively simple to drive if you have an SPI port available. The more commonly available 3310 screen has a lower resolution and cannot easily display a picture of the entire maze. With the 3410 model, it is possible to either show the maze or to have 8 lines of 16 characters of data displayed.

Because Decimus is the most compact micromouse I have yet built, the display sits on a couple of small riser boards, made from veroboard, to allow it to clear the motors and batteries. Not only is the graphical LCD smaller than the more common 16x2 text display, it is cheaper and lighter. With a bit of care, the display can replace many, if not all, the practical functions of a real-time debugger.