Library enables designers to implement touch pads
Touch pads can be implemented with surface gestures, using Microchip’s eight-bit PIC and AVR microcontrollers (MCUs) and 32-bit SAM MCUs.
Taps, swipes, pinch and zoom can be added to compatible PIC, AVR and SAM MCUs, at no extra cost, says Microchip, for an intuitive, smartphone-like interface without the need to integrate an expensive operating system, adds the company.
Available free of charge with the purchase of any compatible MCU, the library provides a simplified, low-cost solution for implementing small touch pads and screens. The 2D Touch Surface library eliminates costs by running on a device’s existing MCU and removes the need for a dedicated touch controller, giving product designers the flexibility to add finger position tracking and gesture detection, such as swipes, pinch and zoom, to products.
The touch library is provided through Microchip’s code configurators: MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) for PIC MCUs and Atmel START for AVR and SAM MCUs. Both software tools enable simplified graphical configuration and accelerate development with lean C code, tailored for individual project needs. The 2D Touch Surface library is available today on Atmel START and will be available on MCC this quarter, advises Microchip.
The library is suited to design tasks such as adding touch to a variety of applications across consumer electronics, automotive and industrial industries, such as smart speakers, steering wheels or thermostats.
Low-power performance for touch pads is built-in through the library, as complete surfaces are scanned at once while in deep sleep, with continued responsiveness and functionality through the impact of water and noise. These attributes make the library suitable to meet the demands of automotive and home-appliance applications. Implementations operate through wet conditions and can sustain 10V in conducted noise, in alignment with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61000-4-6 test level 3, reports Microchip.
The DM080101 water tolerant touch surface development kit can be used to evaluate the 2D Touch Surface library. The kit demonstrates water tolerance and noise immunity on a touch pad and has two touch buttons, all controlled by the same MCU.
The DM080101 Water Tolerant Touch Surface development kit is available now for sampling and in volume production.
