Arduino Nano ESP32 - Touch Sensor

This tutorial provides instructions on how to use Arduino Nano ESP32 with the touch sensor (also known as touch switch, or touch button).

Hardware Preparation

1	×	Arduino Nano ESP32
1	×	USB Cable Type-A to Type-C (for USB-A PC)
1	×	USB Cable Type-C to Type-C (for USB-C PC)
1	×	Touch Sensor
1	×	Breadboard
1	×	Jumper Wires
1	×	Optionally, DC Power Jack
1	×	Recommended: Screw Terminal Expansion Board for Arduino Nano
1	×	Recommended: Breakout Expansion Board for Arduino Nano
1	×	Recommended: Power Splitter for Arduino Nano ESP32

Or you can buy the following kits:

DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this section are Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Additionally, some of these links are for products from our own brand, DIYables .

Overview of Touch Sensor

Touch Sensor Pinout

Touch sensor has 3 pins:

GND pin: connect this pin to GND (0V)
VCC pin: connect this pin to VCC (5V or 3.3v)
SIGNAL pin: is an output pin: LOW when NOT touched, HIGH when touched. This pin needs to be connected to ESP32's input pin.

How Touch Sensor Works

The state of the SIGNAL pin is LOW when the touch sensor is NOT touched
The state of the SIGNAL pin is HIGH when the touch sensor is touched

Arduino Nano ESP32 - Touch Sensor

We can connect the touch sensor's SIGNAL pin to an ESP32's input pin and use the Arduino Nano ESP32 code to read the state of touch sensor.

Wiring Diagram between Touch Sensor and Arduino Nano ESP32

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano ESP32 and Touch Sensor

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Here is the same wiring without a breadboard:

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano ESP32 and Touch Sensor (No Breadboard)

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Pushing jumper wires into the headers is quick, but the wires can slip out. You can plug the Arduino Nano ESP32 into a Screw Terminal Expansion Board for Arduino Nano and connect the wires to its screw terminals. This is how it looks with the screw terminal board:

The wiring diagram between Arduino Nano ESP32 and Touch Sensor Screw Terminal

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

How To Program Touch Sensor

Initializes the Arduino Nano ESP32 pin to the digital input mode by using pinMode() function. For example, pin D2

pinMode(D2, INPUT);

Reads the state of the Arduino Nano ESP32 pin by using digitalRead() function.

int inputState = digitalRead(D2);

Touch Sensor - Arduino Nano ESP32 Code

The below code reads the state of the touch sensor and print it to the Serial Monitor.

/* * This Arduino Nano ESP32 code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Nano ESP32 code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-nano-esp32/arduino-nano-esp32-touch-sensor */ #define SENSOR_PIN D2 // The Arduino Nano ESP32 pin connected to the sensor's SIGNAL pin of touch sensor void setup() { // Initialize the Serial to communicate with the Serial Monitor. Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the ESP32's pin as an input pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT); } void loop() { // read the state of the the input pin: int state = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN); // print state to Serial Monitor Serial.println(state); }

Detailed Instructions

If this is the first time you use Arduino Nano ESP32, see how to setup environment for Arduino Nano ESP32 on Arduino IDE.
Copy the above code and paste it to Arduino IDE.
Compile and upload code to Arduino Nano ESP32 board by clicking Upload button on Arduino IDE
Touch your finger to the sensor and release.
Check out the result on the Serial Monitor. It looks like the below:

Newbiely | Arduino IDE 2.3.8

──

☐

Newbiely.ino

···

8 Serial.println("Hello World!");

Output

Serial Monitor

Message (Enter to send message to 'Arduino Nano ESP32' on 'COM15')

New Line

9600 baud

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

Ln 11, Col 1

Arduino Nano ESP32 on COM15

How to detect the state change from LOW to HIGH

/* * This Arduino Nano ESP32 code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Nano ESP32 code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-nano-esp32/arduino-nano-esp32-touch-sensor */ #define SENSOR_PIN D2 // The Arduino Nano ESP32 pin connected to the sensor's SIGNAL pin of touch sensor int prev_state = LOW; // The previous state from the input pin int touch_state; // The current reading from the input pin void setup() { // Initialize the Serial to communicate with the Serial Monitor. Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the ESP32's pin as an input pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT); } void loop() { // read the state of the the input pin: touch_state = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN); if (prev_state == LOW && touch_state == HIGH) Serial.println("The sensor is touched"); // save the the last state prev_state = touch_state; }

Video Tutorial

Language References

Learn More

※ OUR MESSAGES

As freelancers, We are AVAILABLE for HIRE. See how to outsource your project to us
Please feel free to share the link of this tutorial. However, Please do not use our content on any other websites. We invested a lot of effort and time to create the content, please respect our work!