Environmental data display on an RGB matrix panel

In this tutorial, I have described how to use a 16×32 RGB matrix panel with Arduino Uno for colorful display of environmental data captured locally using Bosch BME280 sensor. BME280 is a fully integrated environmental unit from Bosch that combines sensors for pressure, humidity, and temperature in a tiny 8-pin metal-lid LGA package. The RGB LED matrix panel consists of 512 bright RGB LEDs arranged in 16 rows and 32 columns. The row and column driver circuits are built on the back side of the matrix panel. The data and control signal pins are accessible through a HUB75 (8×2 IDC) connector. It requires 12 digital I/O pins of Arduino Uno for full color control. The display panel also comes with a RGB connector shield for Arduino Uno and necessary cables for easy wiring between the RGB panel and the Arduino board.

The connector shield also features the DS1307 RTC chip on board along with a CR1220 coin-cell battery holder. The I2C pins of the DS1307 chip are pre-wired to A4 and A5 pins of the shield. The BME280 is also I2C compatible and uses the same pins for data and clock. I have written a firmware for Arduino to read temperature, humidity, and pressure data from BME280, and time and date from DS1307 chip, and display all these data on the RGB panel with different color and some animation. You can find rest of the details here.

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