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...
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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 board carries a small or fine-pitched component and brings its connections out to standard, breadboard- and header-friendly pins. Describing a part as a breakout means it can be wired into a project without soldering directly to the component's tiny contacts.
- capacitive sensing
- Capacitive sensing detects changes in electrical capacitance caused by a nearby object or material, such as a finger, water, or moisture in soil. It is used for touch buttons, proximity detection, and liquid or moisture-level sensing, and it matters because it can work without exposed metal contacts, avoiding the corrosion that bare probes suffer in damp conditions.
- 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 (PCB) is a board, usually rigid, with etched copper tracks that connect electronic components together without loose wiring. Components are mounted on the board and signals route between them through the copper layout.
- 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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Sensors & Input
Related Tutorials
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