Exploring BeagleBone, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 13Beagle Board with a Rich User Interface

In this chapter, you are introduced to rich user interface (UI) architectures and application development on the Beagle board platform. Rich UIs allow for a depth of interaction with an application that is not possible with command-line interfaces (CLIs). In particular, the addition of graphical display elements can result in easier-to-use applications. Also introduced are different Beagle board architectures that can support rich UIs, such as general-purpose computing, touchscreen display modules, and virtual network computing (VNC). Different software application frameworks are examined for rich UI development, such as GTK+ and Qt. The Qt framework is the focus of the discussion, largely because of its comprehensive libraries of code. An example rich UI application is developed for a Beagle board that uses the TMP36 temperature sensor. Finally, a feature-rich remote fat-client application framework is developed, and two example applications are described—one that uses the TMP36 sensor and a second that uses the ADXL345 accelerometer.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR THIS CHAPTER:

• Beagle board (ideally one with a HDMI output)
• Analog Devices TMP36 temperature sensor
• USB/HDMI accessories from Chapter 1 (optional)
• ADXL345 accelerometer (optional)

Further resources for this chapter are available at www.exploringbeaglebone.com/chapter13/.

Rich UI Beagle Board Architectures

In Chapter 9, low-cost LED displays and character LCD displays were ...