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title: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tracker description: Track the global Coronavirus outbreak situation in Real-time using a TFT Touchscreen with Arduino MKR

In an era where information is paramount, this miniature Coronavirus Tracker project will help you stay updated on the COVID-19 outbreak directly from your desk. The system retrieves the latest global data and displays it, alternating between the countries you're interested in, providing you with a second-by-second overview of the situation.

All displayed data is compiled and referenced from highly credible global sources such as www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, a website internationally recognized for reporting confirmed cases and deaths.

Hardware Analysis

The core of this project lies in selecting a platform that is both efficient and easy to assemble. I chose the AZ-Touch kit for Arduino MKR as the primary hardware structure.

Key Component Analysis:

1. Arduino MKR WiFi 1010: A microcontroller board featuring the SAMD21 chip (32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M0+), which offers high performance and energy efficiency. It comes with a NINA-W102 WiFi module for internet connectivity and a CryptoAuthentication (ECC608) chip that securely handles SSL data encryption.
2. AZ-Touch Hardware: This kit includes a 2.4-inch TFT Touchscreen with a resolution of 320x240 pixels, which is sufficient for clearly displaying statistical figures and country names. Additionally, it features a well-designed case, perfect for tabletop display or wall mounting.

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Software & SSL Development

Since the Worldometers website uses the HTTPS protocol for security, data transmitted over the network is encrypted. For the Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 to retrieve this data, it's necessary to authenticate via an SSL Certificate.

The most crucial step: You must add the URL worldometers.info to the WiFi board's memory using the WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater tool in the Arduino IDE. This enables the board to accept secure connections to the target website.

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Code Logic

The source code's operation is designed as Sequential Tasking, with the following main steps:

1. WiFi Connection: Starts by connecting to the WiFi network using the defined SSID and Password.
2. HTTPS Request: The board sends an HTTP GET command to the Worldometers server to retrieve Raw HTML or JSON data (depending on the API called).
3. Data Parsing: The system searches for the keywords of your specified countries and extracts the "Total Cases", "Deaths", and "Recovered" figures.
4. Display Loop: The data is then sent for display on the TFT screen, utilizing a graphics library to arrange the text in an easily readable position.

You can easily customize the program by adding, removing, or changing the names of the countries you wish to track within the loop() function of the main program according to your interests.

Additional recommendation: When specifying country names, please ensure that the names used in the code exactly match the country names displayed on the website www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ (spelling and spacing) for the data retrieval function to work accurately.