Infineon’s floating touch sensing technology in next-generation PSoC MCUs

Figure 1: PSoC 4000T and PSoC 4100T Plus will support floating touch sensing based on CapSense™ and Multi-Sense technology

Hover (floating) touch sensing is not a new concept in the technology industry.
In consumer electronics — especially smartphones — this feature has already been widely used by brands such as Huawei and many other manufacturers.

Recently, microcontrollers manufactured by Infineon integrate hover touch sensing capability.
The principle itself is not complex, but in practical applications it has both advantages and disadvantages.

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(1) Disadvantages

1. False triggering
The biggest drawback of hover touch sensing is unintended activation.
Since there is no physical button feedback, it may cause irreversible operations during precise control scenarios, potentially leading to safety risks or property damage.

2. Accuracy and resolution
Hover touch technology still has limitations in high-precision and high-density sensing applications and requires further optimization and algorithm improvement.

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(2) Advantages

The advantage of hover touch sensing lies in reducing the product BOM (Bill of Materials) by eliminating mechanical buttons, thereby lowering manufacturing cost.

It may be suitable for limited use in medium-size and large industrial equipment.
However, changing user interaction habits requires significant market adoption and iterative product improvements.

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Figure X. Principle of Hover Touch sensing