LCD cursor positioning in Arduino - Mini Project: Build & Apply

LCD Cursor Positioning

📖 Scenario: You have a 16x2 LCD screen connected to an Arduino. You want to display messages at specific positions on the screen to make the output clear and organized.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to position the cursor on an LCD screen using Arduino code and display text at different locations.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use the LiquidCrystal library

Initialize the LCD with 16 columns and 2 rows

Use lcd.setCursor(col, row) to position the cursor

Display text at specified positions on the LCD

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Positioning text on an LCD is useful for creating clear and readable displays on devices like home appliances, clocks, and measurement instruments.

💼 Career

Understanding LCD cursor positioning is important for embedded systems developers and electronics engineers working with user interfaces on hardware devices.

1

Set up the LCD object

Write code to include the LiquidCrystal library and create an lcd object with pins 12, 11, 5, 4, 3, and 2.

Arduino

// Include the LiquidCrystal library and create the lcd object
// Your code here

Hint

Use #include <LiquidCrystal.h> to include the library. Then create LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);.

2

Initialize the LCD in setup()

In the setup() function, initialize the LCD with 16 columns and 2 rows using lcd.begin(16, 2).

Arduino

#include 
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);

void setup() {
  // Initialize the LCD with 16 columns and 2 rows
  // Your code here
}

void loop() {
}

Hint

Inside setup(), call lcd.begin(16, 2); to set up the LCD size.

3

Position the cursor and print text

In the setup() function, after initializing the LCD, use lcd.setCursor(0, 0) to move the cursor to the first column of the first row, then print "Hello, World!". Next, use lcd.setCursor(0, 1) to move to the first column of the second row and print "LCD Cursor Pos".

Arduino

#include 
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);

void setup() {
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  // Set cursor to column 0, row 0 and print "Hello, World!"
  // Set cursor to column 0, row 1 and print "LCD Cursor Pos"
  // Your code here
}

void loop() {
}

Hint

Use lcd.setCursor(column, row) to move the cursor, then lcd.print() to show text.

4

Display the final output

Upload the code and observe the LCD screen. The first row should show Hello, World! and the second row should show LCD Cursor Pos. Write a Serial.println statement to print "LCD display updated" in the serial monitor.

Arduino

#include 
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);

void setup() {
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
  lcd.print("Hello, World!");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print("LCD Cursor Pos");
  // Initialize serial communication at 9600 baud
  // Print "LCD display updated" to the serial monitor
  // Your code here
}

void loop() {
}

Hint

Use Serial.begin(9600); in setup() to start serial communication, then Serial.println("LCD display updated"); to print the message.