One day, while browsing through Aliexpress, I saw some cool oval LCD screens. I saved them for later. Then my family started playing Super Mario Odyssey. Those oval screens would make perfect eyes for a costume! And a costume would be easy, it's just a hat!

The project originally started in March of 2025. I had datasheets from the Aliexpress seller but no source code, so I had no idea how to drive the LCD. But it worked with the included STM32-based dev board. After reading through the datasheet, I thought it should be possible to drive the LCD using the RP2040. So I hooked it up to a Raspberry Pi Pico and started writing firmware. That took a lot of effort to figure out. With the help of a forum post, I eventually got a red square to draw on the screen! I did most of the firmware work in March and designed a new PCB April of 2025 but then left it alone for a year.

In July 2026 I finally ordered PCB assembly to get it to a 90% completed status. It's good enough for now.