Adafruit
Adafruit 12 x Capacitive Touch Shield for Arduino - MPR121
The Adafruit Capacitive Touch Shield brings 12 channels of capacitive touch sensing to any Arduino using the MPR121 chip. Each sensor has a "figure 8" pad wi...
The Adafruit Capacitive Touch Shield brings 12 channels of capacitive touch sensing to any Arduino using the MPR121 chip. Each sensor has a "figure 8" pad with holes designed for quick alligator clip connections — attach one end to the shield and the other to any conductive object like metal, fruit, or water-filled items to create instant touch interfaces.
The shield communicates over I2C (SCL and SDA), leaving most Arduino pins free for other tasks. For more permanent installations, you can solder directly to the pads instead of using alligator clips. The MPR121 handles all capacitive filtering internally with configurable sensitivity settings.
Key Features
- 12 Touch Sensors – Independent capacitive touch inputs with built-in filtering
- Alligator Clip Pads – "Figure 8" holes for quick, tool-free connections
- MPR121 Chip – Same sensor as the breakout version with configurable sensitivity
- I2C Interface – Uses only SCL and SDA pins
- Arduino Shield Format – Plug-and-play with any Arduino board
Also Available
- MPR121 Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout – Breadboard-friendly breakout format
Ideal For
- Interactive art installations and exhibits
- Musical instruments (fruit drums, veggie keyboards)
- Touch-reactive games and controllers
- Educational projects exploring capacitive sensing
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit MPR121 Capacitive Touch Shield
- 1× 36-pin header strip
Specifications
- Sensor Chip – MPR121
- Touch Channels – 12
- Interface – I2C
- Form Factor – Arduino shield
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- alligator clip
- An alligator clip is a spring-loaded metal clip used to make temporary electrical connections to wires, terminals or test points. It is useful for quick bench testing, but it is less secure than a screw terminal or locking connector.
- breakout
- A breakout is a small circuit board that makes a tiny or hard-to-solder component easier to connect to with standard pins. It matters because this OLED module can be wired into a microcontroller project without needing to solder directly to the display’s fine contacts.
- capacitive sensing
- Capacitive sensing detects changes in electrical capacitance, in this case caused by different amounts of water in the soil near the sensor plate. It matters because it avoids exposed metal probe contacts, which can corrode in damp soil over time.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- Shield
- An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.
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Brands
Sensors & Input
Related Tutorials
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