mTouch™ Solution and Design Center for Touch Sensing Applications

I just saw this press release and thought it was interesting. I haven't looked at the app note or source code yet, but I think I will soon.

From the press release:

Touch sensing is fast becoming an alternative to traditional push-button user interfaces, because it requires no mechanical movement, and enables a completely sealed and modern-looking design. Expanding beyond the consumer market, touch sensing is beginning to take hold in medical, industrial and automotive applications for reasons such as aesthetics, maintenance,cost and cleanliness. Microchip enables engineers to add this leading-edge user interface to their designs, without the cost of fee-based licensing and royalty agreements. The Company’s full source-code solution further enables design engineers to integrate touch sensing functionality with their existing application code in a single microcontroller, thus reducing the total system cost associated with current solutions.

Available now, via a free download from Microchip’s Web site at www.microchip.com/mtouch, the Touch Sensing Software Development Kit comes complete with:

• Kit user’s manual with Quick-Start Guide for building a touch sensing application
• Application Notes covering hardware and software design practices, with example implementations for touch sensing solutions, including:

1. Introduction, AN1101
2. Layout & Physical Guidelines, AN1102
3. Software, AN1103
4. Multi-Button Systems, AN1104

• Graphical User Interface software tools for analysis of designs, utilizing Microchip’s PICkit™ Serial Analyzer Development Tool
• Source Code for a variety of sensing routines
• MPLAB® Integrated Development Environment, and the user’s manual
• 30-day license for HI-TECH’s PICC-Lite C compiler, and the user’s manual
• Frequently asked questions