New 2D touch surface library implements low-power touch pads with surface gestures

Microchip has a new 2D Touch Surface library that allows designers to simply implement touch pads with the company’s 8-bit PIC and AVR MCUs and 32-bit SAM MCUs. Available free of charge when purchased with any compatible MCU, the library offers a simplified, low-cost solution for embedded applications. Perfect for executing small touch pads and screens, the 2D Touch Surface library removes costs by running on a device’s existing MCU. This eliminates the need for a dedicated touch controller, providing product designers the versatility to add finger position tracking and gesture detection, including swipes, pinch and zoom, to products. The library is offered through the company's code configurators: MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) for PIC MCUs and Atmel START for AVR and SAM MCUs. Both software tools allow uncomplicated graphical configuration and hasten development with lean C code tailored for individual project needs.