User manual

MGC3130 HILLSTAR DEVELOPMENT

KIT USER’S GUIDE

 2013 Microchip Technology Inc. DS40001721A-page 13

Chapter 1. Overview

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The MGC3130 is the first product based on Microchip’s GestIC

technology. It is

developed as a mixed-signal controller. The MGC3130 has one transmit and five very

sensitive receive channels that are capable to detect changes of a transmitted electrical

field (E-field) corresponding to capacitive changes in the femtofarad (1 fF = 10

-15

range.

In order to transmit and receive an electrical field, electrodes have to be connected to

the transmitting and receiving channels of the MGC3130 controller. The spatial

arrangement of the electrodes allows the chip to determine the center of gravity of the

electric field distortion, and thus position tracking and gesture recognition of a user’s

hand in the detection space.

1.2 HILLSTAR CONCEPT AND DELIVERABLES

The Hillstar Development Kit is designed to support an easy integration of Microchip’s

MGC3130 3D Tracking and Gesture Controller into customer’s applications. It provides

MGC3130 system setup, related hardware and software references.

With the MGC3130 Software Package, including Aurea Graphical User Interface and

GestIC Library, the MGC3130 Software Development Kit (SDK) and PIC18 Host

Reference code, design-in is easy in five steps:

1. Feature Definition

2. Electrode Design

3. MGC3130 Parameterization

4. Host Application Programming

5. Verification

Hillstar hardware builds a complete MGC3130 reference system consisting of three

individual PCBs:

• MGC3130 Unit

•I

C™ to USB Bridge

• Reference Electrode with a 95x60 mm sensitive area

It can be plugged to a PC via USB cable and used for evaluation of MGC3130 chip and

GestIC technology. During the customer’s design-in process the individual boards can

be combined according to the customers need.

Three examples are given below:

• Combine MGC3130 Unit and I

C to USB Bridge to evaluate customized

electrodes

•Use I

C to USB Bridge to parameterize and debug the MGC3130 application

circuitry in the customer’s design

• Combine MGC3130 Unit and Electrodes to develop gesture-driven applications

for PC based or embedded software environments