We’re always excited to see how the community leverages the capabilities of the Color Kit Grande, and today, we’re sharing something a little different—a fun and practical project: a simple calculator using an ESP32! Inspired by the versatility of the Color Kit Grande’s colorful display and ESP32 power, we’ve built a handy tool that you can easily replicate or expand on.
Project Overview
In this project, we turned the Color Kit Grande into a functional calculator with basic arithmetic capabilities. The best part? It’s open-source and ready for you to experiment with. The full code and setup details are available on GitHub.
What You’ll Need
To get started, you’ll need:
- The Color Kit Grande by ThingPulse
- An ESP32 microcontroller (included in the kit)
- Visual Studio Code and the Platformio plugin with the necessary ESP32 board support installed. If you followed the setup instructions for the Weather Station Touch then you already have most of the components installed
The project makes use of the Color Kit Grande’s vibrant display, showcasing the results of your calculations in bright, clear digits. The responsive touchscreen interface allows for smooth button presses, making it an interactive project that’s both functional and educational.
Features
- Simple Arithmetic: Add, subtract, multiply, and divide with an intuitive touch interface.
- Vibrant Display: The calculator interface takes full advantage of the Color Kit Grande’s stunning screen.
- Open-Source Code: Fully customizable code that you can tweak to add new features or improve functionality.
- Emulator for Mac OS X: develop and run the code on your Mac. This saves a lot of time
Getting Started
Head over to the GitHub repository to download the code and follow the setup instructions. We’ve included detailed documentation to guide you through the process. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just getting started with embedded projects, this is a great way to explore the potential of the Color Kit Grande.
Customizing the Calculator Interface
One of the coolest aspects of this project is how easy it is to customize the user interface (UI) to fit your personal preferences. The calculator UI is built using the LVGL (Light and Versatile Graphics Library), a powerful library designed for embedded systems that allows for smooth and responsive graphics. To make things even easier, you can modify the UI using the EEZ Studio editor. This intuitive editor lets you visually adjust elements like buttons, colors, and layouts without needing to dive deep into the code. So, whether you want to tweak the look of the calculator or completely redesign it, EEZ Studio and LVGL make it a breeze to create your own personalized interface.
Next Steps
While this project is a simple demonstration, the possibilities with the Color Kit Grande are endless. Feel free to modify the code to add more advanced features like memory storage, scientific functions, or even a currency converter. The kit’s versatility makes it perfect for expanding your skills and experimenting with different use cases.
We can’t wait to see what you create. Share your projects with us on social media or in the ThingPulse forums!
Happy hacking!
— The ThingPulse Team
