The first phase of this project is evaluating a simple capacitive couch button. I have constructed a simple touch button on a PCB, which is being controlled by a Microchip  AT42QT1011  touch sensor controller.

The controller is connected to a simple capacitive touch sensor, which is just a copper pour separated from the ground plane by a thin keepout zone, forming a capacitor. Whenever something, such as a finger gets near to, or touches the sensor, it changes the capacitance, which is sensed by the touch controller, which outputs a signal.

Future phases will take a look at different substrates, assemblies, and sensor types, such as touch sliders.

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Useful Docs:

Touch Controller Datasheet: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/40001947A.pdf

Application Note from TI: http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slaa576a/slaa576a.pdf