Adafruit
Adafruit MONSTER M4SK - Two Eyes are Better Than One!
The Adafruit MONSTER M4SK is a dual-display development board designed for creating animated electronic eyes for costumes, props, and interactive projects. P...
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The Adafruit MONSTER M4SK is a dual-display development board designed for creating animated electronic eyes for costumes, props, and interactive projects. Powered by a 120 MHz ATSAMD51 Cortex M4 processor, it drives two 240×240 pixel IPS TFT displays with smooth, real-time 3D eyeball animations — no Raspberry Pi required.
The two eyes are spaced at human pupil distance (~63 mm) and the nose section can be snapped apart and reconnected with a 9-pin JST SH cable (up to 100 mm), allowing you to position the eyes independently on masks, helmets, or props. Built-in audio output includes a Class D amplifier for small speakers and a stereo headphone jack for external amplification.
Key Features
- ATSAMD51G19 Cortex M4 – 120 MHz, 512 KB Flash, 192 KB RAM
- Two 240×240 IPS TFT Displays – Each on its own SPI bus for fast parallel rendering
- 8 MB QSPI Flash – For storing graphics and sound effects
- Separable Design – Snap apart and reconnect via JST SH cable for flexible eye placement
- LiPo Battery Charging – Built-in charge circuit for portable use
- Audio Output – Mono Class D amp (1 W into 8 Ω) plus stereo headphone jack
- STEMMA Connectors – 1× 4-pin I2C (Grove compatible), 2× 3-pin analog/digital/PWM
- PDM Microphone Port – 4-pin JST SH for optional microphone input
- Built-In Sensors – Light sensor, capacitive touch pad (nose), 3 tactile buttons
- On/Off Switch – Plus reset button and display backlight controls
Ideal For
- Halloween costumes and cosplay masks
- Animatronic props and puppets
- Interactive art installations
- Creepy or whimsical eye displays on robots and gadgets
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit MONSTER M4SK (with two IPS TFT displays)
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- Grove
- Grove is a standardised 4-pin plug-in connector system for sensors and modules that avoids soldering and jumper wires, with different cable types carrying I2C, UART, analogue or digital signals. When a product is Grove-compatible it can be quicker to connect supported modules, provided the connector type, signal and voltage all match.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- IPS
- IPS is a type of LCD panel that keeps colours and contrast more consistent when viewed from an angle. This matters for small displays that may be mounted in a dashboard, handheld project, or enclosure where the viewer is not always looking straight on.
- LiPo
- A LiPo (lithium polymer) battery is a rechargeable lithium battery widely used in portable projects because it is light and compact. LiPo cells need correct charging circuitry and careful handling to stay safe, so equipment that supports LiPo generally includes charging or protection hardware suited to that battery type.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- RAM
- RAM (random-access memory) is fast, temporary memory a device uses for working data while it is running; in its common volatile form, its contents are lost when power is removed. Some devices offer a mode that applies settings to RAM only, which is handy for testing changes temporarily because they are not stored permanently and disappear at power-off.
- SPI
- A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.
- STEMMA
- A plug-and-cable connection system used on some maker electronics boards to make wiring simpler. If a product uses STEMMA, you need the matching cable or connector type to plug it in without soldering.
- TFT
- A thin-film transistor display is a common type of colour LCD used for graphics screens. Knowing a product is for TFTs helps you check that the driver board matches the display’s connector, resolution, backlight, and signalling method.
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