Raspberry Pi Pico PCB uses all 26 pins in custom capacitive touch sensor
The Raspberry Pi Pico, a microcontroller with an abundance of GPIO pins, provides ample opportunities for creative projects. Tom Fox’s latest project, Spoke, exemplifies this by transforming all 26 pins on the Pico into individual touch sensors using a custom PCB.
Fox’s journey began with the realization that a 1M resistor could convert a single GPIO pin on the Pico into a touch-sensitive input. He expanded on this idea by designing and fabricating a custom PCB, Spoke, to harness the potential of all the GPIO pins simultaneously as touch sensors. This innovation opens up numerous possibilities for creative applications.
Fox’s project illustrates the versatility of the Pico beyond simple tasks. By turning the Pico into a touch-input device, he envisions uses that extend to accessibility devices and tools for professional environments. The Spoke PCB has practical implementations as a USB to MIDI interface and has functioned as both a keyboard and mouse HID, showcasing its potential in various contexts, including musical applications.
Fox’s work highlights the Pico’s flexibility and the creative potential of touch sensors in innovative projects. His demonstration video on YouTube provides an inspiring look at how such a device can be used in real-world scenarios, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with a microcontroller and some clever engineering.
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