AT42QT1011 Capacitive Grip/Touch Sensor PCB
AT42QT1011-based capacitive grip/touch sensor PCB work for industrial gripper applications, designed in KiCad and fabricated in-house on an LPKF S63.
1. Overview
This project documents the capacitive grip/touch sensing hardware I developed at As Robotics (COMAU Turkey) for industrial gripper applications. The prototype is built around the Microchip AT42QT1011 and was designed to provide a compact digital touch signal that could be integrated into a robot end-effector.
The main motivation was practical: the intended sensor IC was not available locally in Turkey, so I sourced an AT42QT1011, adapted the circuit around the available component, and produced the PCB in-house.
2. What I did
- Designed the schematic and layout in KiCad for an AT42QT1011-based capacitive grip/touch sensor
- Implemented a compact reference-style front-end with tuning/RC parts, decoupling, and a simple output header
- Fabricated the board in-house using an LPKF S63 and hand-soldered the SMD components
- Integrated the PCB into a robot end-effector as a capacitive sensing prototype for gripper interaction
- Used the build to strengthen the full PCB workflow from schematic capture to fabrication and bench testing
3. Circuit (brief)
The AT42QT1011 drives a charge-transfer capacitive measurement between SNS and SNSK. The external pad connects via R1 (10 kΩ) and forms the sense electrode; C2 (10 nF) between SNS/SNSK tunes the charge-transfer timing. C1 (0.1 µF) decouples VDD. The IC outputs a digital OUT when touch is detected. The header exposes PAD, OUT, VCC, and GND for easy integration.
4. Images and media
Schematic
Minimal reference design: AT42QT1011 with R1, C1, C2, and 4-pin header (PAD, OUT, VCC, GND).
PCB layout
Single-layer routing and component placement for the compact board.
PCB renders
3D renders from KiCad before fabrication.
Soldering
Hand-soldering SMD components on the bare PCB.
Final assembly
Capacitive grip/touch sensor integrated into the robot end-effector.