Capacitive Touch Sensor with Arduino

We will use the touch sensor to turn an LED on and off

Written By: Cherie Tan

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Capacitive sensors detect touch, force, or pressure on its surface. When there is contact, the circuit closes inside the sensor, and there is a flow of current.

Follow this guide to learn to turn an LED on and off with a touch sensor and an Arduino. In this guide, we will be using a capacitive touch sensor for Arduino and a Little Bird Uno R3 development board.

The completion of this guide will give you a better understanding of how touch sensors work, as well as how to use them in your own Arduino projects!

Step 1 Connect the Touch Sensor to 5V

Connect the Touch Sensor to 5V

Step 2 Connect the Touch Sensor to Digital Pin 10

Connect the Touch Sensor to Digital Pin 10

Step 3 Connect the Touch Sensor to Ground

Connect the Touch Sensor to Ground

Step 4 Insert LED into Breadboard

Insert LED into Breadboard with the Cathode (short leg) on the left hand side.

Step 5 Insert 220 Ohm Resistor into the Breadboard

Insert 220 Ohm Resistor into the Breadboard.

Ensure that it is inline with the LED's anode (longer leg).

Step 6 Connect LED to Ground

Connect the Cathode of the LED to Ground.

Step 7 Connect 220 Ohm Resistor to Digital Pin 13

Connect 220 Ohm Resistor to Digital Pin 13

Step 8 Upload the code

int touch = 10;  // pin for touch sensor
int ledPin = 13; // pin for the LED

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(touch, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  int touchValue = digitalRead(touch);
  if (touchValue == HIGH){
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
    Serial.println("touched");
  }
  else{
    digitalWrite(ledPin,LOW);
    Serial.println("not touched");
  }
  delay(500);

}

Upload this code to your Arduino.

When you touch the blue area on the sensor the LED on Pin 13 should turn on. Also a red light switches on the sensor.