Rutronik introduces the PSOC 4000T with CAPSENSE technology

The MCUs combine capacitive, inductive, and liquid-based sensing in a single device. Developers benefit from greater design flexibility, improved energy efficiency, and new possibilities for touch and level sensing applications, even in harsh environments.

With this expansion of the PSOC 4 family, Infineon brings multi-sense capabilities together in a single microcontroller – including the latest CAPSENSE generation, proprietary inductive sensing, and advanced liquid detection with AI-based signal processing. The new platform enables capacitive, inductive, and liquid-based sensing with a single device, making it ideal for modern, compact, and robust designs. The integration of features such as Hover Touch and Touch-over-Metal reduces hardware complexity, while the fifth generation of CAPSENSE with “always-on” technology reduces power consumption by a factor of 10.

The associated PSOC 4000T multi-sense prototyping kit, the CY8CPROTO‑040T‑MS Kit, enables fast and modular evaluation of capacitive, inductive, and contactless sensor technology based on the fifth generation of Infineon's CAPSENSE technology. Combining low-power architecture, versatile sensor support, and seamless integration into the ModusToolbox, the kit is ideal for developing energy-efficient HMI and IoT applications. Developers benefit from a flexible prototyping environment that significantly accelerates the validation of innovative user interfaces. The evaluation kit is divided into several daughter boards and a control board: the daughter boards consist of two touch-over-metal boards, an FPC for level measurement with a container, and a hover touch with multiple buttons.

Benefits at a glance

• 32-bit MCU subsystem

• Up to 64KB of flash with read accelerator
• Up to 8KB of SRAM

• 16 sensor inputs

• Up to 16 self-capacitive inputs
• Up to 64 mutual-capacitive inputs
• Up to eight inductive inputs

• Up to 21 programmable pins
• Two 16 bit-time/counter/pulse-width modulator (TCPWM) blocks
• Two configurable serial communication blocks (SCBs) to support I2C, SPI or UART interface
• Operating Voltage: 1.71V to 5.5V
• Deep sleep mode at 6µA through “Always-on” sensing
• Active touch detection and tracking at 200µA (average)
• AI/ML-based liquid detection with up to 10-bit resolution
• Hover touch function for contactless input
• Software and package compatible with existing PSOC 4 designs

Application examples

• Household and health appliances

• Robust touch interfaces on metal or under water (e.g., wearables, kitchen appliances)
• Liquid monitoring in household appliances (e.g., washing machines, fully automatic coffee machines)
• Control panels with hover touch (e.g., cooktops, medical devices)
• Energy-efficient always-on applications (e.g., IoT sensors, smart home)
• Combined HMI and sensor systems with reduced component count

• Building security systems
• Industrial equipment