Technically, all LCDs are transparent; whether we can see them in certain light depends entirely on the backlighting or other reflective/transflective layers behind the LCD itself. However, it’s difficult to find bare LCDs like this, and you can do some neat optical tricks with them. This 0.8″ Transparent LCD Module features a resolution of 48×64, which might not seem like a lot, but with such a small display it’s a good compromise on price and performance.
These could potentially be used for AR applications, but I think using them with some lenses and LEDs to create small projection systems could be very neat. You could create some very interesting lighting effects with an array of these, plus lenses and RGB LEDs. Imagine lighting a transitional space like a hallway. The light could be constantly morphing, not only in colour but in shape and brightness as well!
Interfacing to the LCD is quite simple. It uses SPI for communication and any microcontroller should have no trouble sending commands and data. It’s based around the ST7565 LCD controller, and there are a lot of open-source libraries and documentation available to work with, so getting started should be a breeze.
Your imagination will come up with unique ideas too, and if you build something with this module, make sure to let us know about it!
