Touch switches can now be downloaded into Atmel AVR microcontrollers using technology acquired when it bought Southampton-based Quantum Research Group last year.
"Touch-library resides on the microcontroller instead of a separate chip resulting in a solution at no additional cost," said Atmel. "The library consists of pre-compiled binary files that can be configured individually as discrete keys or can be combined at will, as groups, to form wheels and sliders."
Quantum's stand-alone chip products, now Atmel's, have always been re-badged and programmed microcontrollers - initially from Microchip and later from Atmel.
"Atmel has supplied fixed function and custom capacitive screen solutions to mobile handsets and other applications," said AVR marketing director Ingar Fredriksen. "Requests for AVR microcontrollers with integrated touch are an increasingly important part of our user-interface related microcontroller business."
The code is available now for demonstration boards TS2080A and TS2080B, which together support: ATmega88, ATtiny88, ATmega88PA, ATmega168P and ATmega328P.