Gesture and Proximity Sensor

The APDS9960 sensor on the Inkplate 4 TEMPERA enables gesture recognition, proximity sensing, ambient light measurement, and basic RGB color detection. It’s perfect for swipe-based user interface interaction, detecting nearby motion, or adapting the display based on room lighting.

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Initialization and Configuration

Before using the sensor, power it on and initialize it:

inkplate.wakePeripheral(INKPLATE_APDS9960);

if (!inkplate.apds9960.init()) {
    inkplate.setCursor(50, 50);
    inkplate.print("Can't init APDS!");
    inkplate.display();
    esp_deep_sleep_start();
}

inkplate.apds9960.init()

Initializes the APDS9960 sensor with default configuration.

Returns value: Returns true if successful, false if initialization fails.

Then, enable the features you need:

inkplate.apds9960.enableProximitySensor(false);
inkplate.apds9960.setProximityGain(1);
inkplate.apds9960.enableGestureSensor();
inkplate.apds9960.setGestureGain(0);
inkplate.apds9960.enableLightSensor(false);

inkplate.apds9960.enableProximitySensor()

Enables the proximity sensing feature.

Returns value: Returns true on success.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
bool	interrupts	Set true to use interrupts, false for polling.

inkplate.apds9960.setProximityGain()

Sets the gain for proximity detection.

Returns value: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint8_t	gain	Gain value (0–3)

inkplate.apds9960.enableGestureSensor()

Enables gesture sensing.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

inkplate.apds9960.setGestureGain()

Sets the sensitivity of gesture detection.

Returns value: None

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint8_t	gain	Gain value (0–3)

inkplate.apds9960.enableLightSensor()

Enables the ambient and RGB light sensing.

Returns value: Returns true on success.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
bool	interrupts	Set true to enable interrupt mode.

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Gesture Detection

if (inkplate.apds9960.isGestureAvailable()) {
    int gesture = inkplate.apds9960.readGesture();
    switch (gesture) {
        case DIR_UP:    inkplate.print("Up"); break;
        case DIR_DOWN:  inkplate.print("Down"); break;
        case DIR_LEFT:  inkplate.print("Left"); break;
        case DIR_RIGHT: inkplate.print("Right"); break;
        default: break;
    }
    inkplate.partialUpdate();
}

inkplate.apds9960.isGestureAvailable()

Checks if a gesture has been detected and is ready to read.

Returns value: Returns true if gesture data is available.

inkplate.apds9960.readGesture()

Reads and returns the last detected gesture.

Returns value: Returns a DIR_* constant representing the gesture, or -1 on failure.

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Proximity Reading

uint8_t proximity;
inkplate.apds9960.readProximity(proximity);
inkplate.print(proximity);

inkplate.apds9960.readProximity()

Reads the proximity value from the sensor.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint8_t&	val	Variable to store the proximity value (0–255).

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Color Reading (RGB)

uint16_t red, green, blue;
inkplate.apds9960.readRedLight(red);
inkplate.apds9960.readGreenLight(green);
inkplate.apds9960.readBlueLight(blue);
inkplate.printf("Red: %d Green: %d Blue: %d", red, green, blue);

inkplate.apds9960.readRedLight()

Reads red light intensity.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint16_t&	val	Red light value.

inkplate.apds9960.readGreenLight()

Reads green light intensity.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint16_t&	val	Green light value.

inkplate.apds9960.readBlueLight()

Reads blue light intensity.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint16_t&	val	Blue light value.

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Ambient Light

uint16_t ambient;
inkplate.apds9960.readAmbientLight(ambient);
inkplate.print(ambient);

inkplate.apds9960.readAmbientLight()

Reads overall ambient light level.

Returns value: Returns true if successful.

Function parameters:

Type	Name	Description
uint16_t&	val	Ambient light value.

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Gesture Types

Gesture	Enum Value	Description
None	DIR_NONE	No gesture detected
Left	DIR_LEFT	Right to left
Right	DIR_RIGHT	Left to right
Up	DIR_UP	Bottom to top
Down	DIR_DOWN	Top to bottom
Near	DIR_NEAR	Object approaching
Far	DIR_FAR	Object moving away

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Example Sketch

The following full example demonstrates how to use all APDS9960 sensor features, including:

• Gesture recognition
• Proximity
• RGB light levels
• Ambient light

Inkplate4TEMPERA_APDS9960.ino

Full Arduino example on how to use the APDS9960 sensor.