STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company supporting a wide range of electronic applications and customers, has enhanced customer convenience by introducing interface design software for the STM32 user interface design environment that adds support for the powerful Neochrom graphics accelerator, featuring new screen rotation and texture mapping capabilities.

ST released TouchGFX version 4.20, user interface design software that supports STM32 microcontrollers, on the 17th.

The latest updated version adds support for ST's new Neochrom graphics accelerator, which is integrated into advanced MCUs such as the new STM32U5 series.

Neochrome, which originated from ST's Chrom-ART Accelerator™ for manipulating pixels and shapes, allows the entire screen to be rotated at any angle and supports texture mapping to provide smooth, fluid graphics and enhanced usability.

Panasonic, a global consumer electronics brand, has been using TouchGFX with STM32 microcontrollers for many years in the development of home appliances.

Panasonic Software Development Center Dalian Wang Cong, Director of the Device Solution Development Center at Panasonic Co., Ltd., stated, “The quality and design of the TouchGFX tool, as well as the outstanding user experience realized through ST’s support, are contributing to the recognition and reputation of the Panasonic brand. Using TouchGFX can significantly increase the productivity of engineers.”

The latest STM32 MCUs enhance embedded graphics performance to a level approaching that of application processors in the latest smartphones and tablets through on-chip Neochrome accelerators.

Furthermore, these MCUs are more economical, power-efficient, and easy to use. They can run on simple operating systems such as FreeRTOS and Microsoft® Azure ThreadX, or even on bare metal.

Ricardo de-sa-Earp, Senior Vice President of the General Purpose Microcontroller Subgroup at ST Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group, said, “With TouchGFX 4.20, developers can now use Neochrome accelerated graphics in all embedded systems containing ST’s latest STM32 MCUs, which are the most energy-efficient.”

TouchGFX 4.20 introduces new features important to developers, such as support for importing and exporting custom widgets. This environment consists of the graphics development tool TouchGFXDesigner and the embedded software X-CUBE-TOUCHGFX, providing all the firmware necessary to run user interfaces on target MCUs. TouchGFX is fully integrated with the STM32Cube MCU development ecosystem, providing a complete end-to-end workflow that simplifies design and accelerates time-to-market.

TouchGFX 4.20 is currently available for free and can be downloaded directly from https://www.st.com/en/embedded-software/x-cube-touchgfx.html.