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ESP32 with APDS-9960 Gesture Sensor

02-07-2025

The APDS-9960 is an advanced, compact sensor from Broadcom (formerly Avago Technologies) that offers multiple sensing capabilities in one chip. It is widely used in gesture recognition, proximity sensing, ambient light detection, and color sensing, making it highly useful for smart devices and human-machine interfaces (HMIs).

🔍 Key Features of APDS-9960

Feature	Description
Gesture Detection	Recognizes hand gestures (up, down, left, right, near, far).
Proximity Sensing	Detects how close an object is to the sensor (up to ~10 cm).
Ambient Light Sensing	Measures surrounding light intensity (lux value).
Color Sensing	Detects Red, Green, Blue, and Clear light levels.
Digital I²C Interface	Communicates via I²C protocol, making it easy to interface with microcontrollers.
Compact Size	Tiny module suitable for portable and embedded applications.

📦 Built-in Components

IR LED (Infrared emitter)
Photodiodes for R, G, B, Clear
Gesture engine
ALS (Ambient Light Sensor)
Proximity sensor

📐 Technical Specifications

Parameter	Value
Voltage Range	2.4V – 3.6V
I²C Address	0x39 (7-bit)
Gesture Detection Range	~10 to 20 cm
Proximity Detection Range	~1 to 10 cm
Ambient Light Range	0 – 10,000 lux
Operating Temperature	-40°C to +85°C

🔌 Pin Configuration

Pin	Description
VIN	3.3V power supply
GND	Ground
SCL	I²C clock (connect to SCL of MCU)
SDA	I²C data (connect to SDA of MCU)
INT	Interrupt output (optional)

🤖 Applications

Gesture-based control (swipe to change songs, etc.)
Smartphones (auto-brightness, face detection)
Laptops/tablets (gesture navigation)
Smart appliances (touchless control)
Interactive displays and kiosks

🧠 How Gesture Sensing Works

The IR LED emits light.
Four directional photodiodes (up, down, left, right) measure reflected IR light from a moving hand.
The internal gesture engine compares the light intensity across these directions to detect:
- UP / DOWN
- LEFT / RIGHT
- NEAR / FAR
- 📋 Tips for Better Performance
  - Use dark background behind the sensor to reduce IR reflection.
  - Ensure adequate lighting (not direct sunlight).
  - Place sensor in open space, not recessed.
  - Gesture speed should be moderate (not too fast or slow).
  📦 Available Libraries
  - SparkFun APDS-9960 Library (recommended)
  - Adafruit_APDS9960
  - PlatformIO and Arduino IDE compatible

HOW TO OPERATE

/***************************************************************************

This is a library for the APDS9960 digital proximity, ambient light, RGB, and gesture sensor

This sketch puts the sensor in gesture mode and decodes gestures.

To use this, first put your hand close to the sensor to enable gesture mode.

Then move your hand about 6" from the sensor in the up -> down, down -> up,

left -> right, or right -> left direction.

Designed specifically to work with the Adafruit APDS9960 breakout

----> http://www.adafruit.com/products/3595

These sensors use I2C to communicate. The device's I2C address is 0x39

Adafruit invests time and resources providing this open source code,

please support Adafruit andopen-source hardware by purchasing products

from Adafruit!

Written by Dean Miller for Adafruit Industries.

BSD license, all text above must be included in any redistribution

***************************************************************************/

#include "Adafruit_APDS9960.h"

Adafruit_APDS9960 apds;

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board

void setup() {

Serial.begin(115200);

if(!apds.begin()){

Serial.println("failed to initialize device! Please check your wiring.");

}

else Serial.println("Device initialized!");

//gesture mode will be entered once proximity mode senses something close

apds.enableProximity(true);

apds.enableGesture(true);

}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever

void loop() {

//read a gesture from the device

uint8_t gesture = apds.readGesture();

if(gesture == APDS9960_DOWN) Serial.println("v");

if(gesture == APDS9960_UP) Serial.println("^");

if(gesture == APDS9960_LEFT) Serial.println("<");

if(gesture == APDS9960_RIGHT) Serial.println(">");

}

HOW TO OPERATE WITH SSD1306(OLED DISPLAY)

// UP → Green

// DOWN → Red

// RIGHT → Blue

// LEFT → Yellow

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h> // Core graphics library for OLED

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h> // OLED display library

#include <Wire.h> // I2C communication

#include "Adafruit_APDS9960.h" // Gesture sensor library

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h> // NeoPixel (RGB LED strip) library

// Define NeoPixel settings

#define PIN_NEO_PIXEL 15 // GPIO pin connected to NeoPixel

#define NUM_PIXELS 10 // Number of NeoPixels

// Define OLED screen settings

#define SCREEN_WIDTH 128

#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64

#define OLED_RESET -1 // Reset pin not used with this OLED

// Create objects for OLED, gesture sensor, and NeoPixel

Adafruit_SSD1306 display(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, &Wire, OLED_RESET);

Adafruit_APDS9960 apds;

Adafruit_NeoPixel NeoPixel(NUM_PIXELS, PIN_NEO_PIXEL, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

void setup() {

Serial.begin(115200); // Initialize serial monitor for debugging

NeoPixel.begin(); // Initialize NeoPixel strip

// Initialize the APDS9960 gesture sensor

if (!apds.begin()) {

Serial.println("Failed to initialize device! Please check your wiring.");

} else {

Serial.println("Device initialized!");

}

apds.enableProximity(true); // Enable proximity detection

apds.enableGesture(true); // Enable gesture detection

// Initialize the OLED display

display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C); // I2C address is usually 0x3C

display.clearDisplay(); // Clear display buffer

display.display(); // Push the cleared screen to the display

delay(1000); // Wait 1 second for display to stabilize

}

void loop() {

// Read any gesture detected

uint8_t gesture = apds.readGesture();

// Handle UP gesture

if (gesture == APDS9960_UP) {

Serial.println("^"); // Print gesture to serial monitor

display.clearDisplay(); // Clear previous content on OLED

drawUpArrow(); // Draw UP arrow on OLED

display.display(); // Display the arrow

// Light NeoPixels green one by one

for (int pixel = 0; pixel < NUM_PIXELS; pixel++) {

NeoPixel.setPixelColor(pixel, NeoPixel.Color(0, 255, 0)); // Green

NeoPixel.show();

delay(500); // Delay between lighting each LED

}

// Clear all LEDs after animation

NeoPixel.clear();

NeoPixel.show();

}

// Handle DOWN gesture

if (gesture == APDS9960_DOWN) {

Serial.println("v");

display.clearDisplay();

drawDownArrow();

display.display();

// Light NeoPixels red one by one

for (int pixel = 0; pixel < NUM_PIXELS; pixel++) {

NeoPixel.setPixelColor(pixel, NeoPixel.Color(255, 0, 0)); // Red

NeoPixel.show();

delay(500);

}

NeoPixel.clear();

NeoPixel.show();

}

// Handle RIGHT gesture

if (gesture == APDS9960_RIGHT) {

Serial.println(">");

display.clearDisplay();

drawRightArrow();

display.display();

// Light NeoPixels blue one by one

for (int pixel = 0; pixel < NUM_PIXELS; pixel++) {

NeoPixel.setPixelColor(pixel, NeoPixel.Color(0, 0, 255)); // Blue

NeoPixel.show();

delay(500);

}

NeoPixel.clear();

NeoPixel.show();

}

// Handle LEFT gesture

if (gesture == APDS9960_LEFT) {

Serial.println("<");

display.clearDisplay();

drawLeftArrow();

display.display();

// Light NeoPixels yellow one by one (red + green)

for (int pixel = 0; pixel < NUM_PIXELS; pixel++) {

NeoPixel.setPixelColor(pixel, NeoPixel.Color(255, 255, 0)); // Yellow

NeoPixel.show();

delay(500);

}

NeoPixel.clear();

NeoPixel.show();

}

// Function to draw an UP arrow on OLED

void drawUpArrow() {

display.fillTriangle(64, 10, 44, 40, 84, 40, SSD1306_WHITE); // Triangle pointing up

}

// Function to draw a DOWN arrow on OLED

void drawDownArrow() {

display.fillTriangle(64, 54, 44, 24, 84, 24, SSD1306_WHITE); // Triangle pointing down

}

// Function to draw a RIGHT arrow on OLED

void drawRightArrow() {

display.fillTriangle(100, 32, 70, 12, 70, 52, SSD1306_WHITE); // Triangle pointing right

}

// Function to draw a LEFT arrow on OLED

void drawLeftArrow() {

display.fillTriangle(28, 32, 58, 12, 58, 52, SSD1306_WHITE); // Triangle pointing left

}

ESP32 with APDS-9960 Gesture Sensor

🔍 Key Features of APDS-9960

📦 Built-in Components

📐 Technical Specifications

🔌 Pin Configuration

🤖 Applications

🧠 How Gesture Sensing Works

📋 Tips for Better Performance

📦 Available Libraries

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Blog Details

ESP32 with APDS-9960 Gesture Sensor

🔍 Key Features of APDS-9960

📦 Built-in Components

📐 Technical Specifications

🔌 Pin Configuration

🤖 Applications

🧠 How Gesture Sensing Works

📋 Tips for Better Performance

📦 Available Libraries

Related Post