The second-generation STMTouch firmware from STMicroelectronics now supports over 200 STM8 part numbers, including the company’s STM8S family and the STM8L, featuring ultra-low-power EnergyLite technology. Another new feature is assistance for touch detection via charge-transfer, which delivers high sensitivity and robustness. In addition, simultaneous channel acquisition reduces CPU usage to help designers optimise application features and power consumption. The library also provides improved wheel and slider controls that feature 256-level resolution while using only three microcontroller I/Os as sensor channels.
Touch controls implemented using the firmware library occupy a low memory footprint and require minimal use of STM8 peripherals, allowing developers to consolidate user-interface and application tasks in a single device.
To enhance the second-generation firmware, a development platform is available to support the family and also features studio software to enable developers to tune touch-sensing parameters. The tool is PC-based offering an easy-to-use GUI that provides visual indication of sensor responses. The development platform also features an STM8S evaluation board, as well as the API description, application notes, code examples, and layout recommendations for production boards.
