RoadTest: CapSense MBR3 Evaluation Kit
Author: b4ux1t3
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Independent Products
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?:
What were the biggest problems encountered?: The I2C interface was difficult to get working.
Detailed Review:
First of all, my video review of the CapSense can be found here:
As stated in the video, the board does a very good job for what it is. It is extremely responsive once powered on, even through water. Adding too much water can still defeat the water tolerance feature, but that is to be expected.
The biggest problem I had with the kit was interfacing with the included Raspberry Pi (RPi). Fortunately, I already had a RPi, so I did not need to provide a new SD card or any connectors. Unfortunately, no wires or prototyping tools were included, so I was forced to improvise, as seen in the video. I had no access to female-to-male jumper wires, makin the whole process very roundabout. Once I had everything hooked up through a ribbon cable and breadboard, I was faced with my next problem: interfacing over I2C.
Again, as I said in the video, I am not going to blame the board or Cypress for my difficulties. I don't have much experience working with the Pi's GPIO. I did, however, get the interface to work. Once it was functional, the board functioned excellently as an input device for the RPi. I was able to use the buttons in Python programs and even read the state of the GPO LEDs.
Another gripe I have that has nothing to do with software or the technology is the way the hardware is laid out. I have seen images of this kit on Cypress's site, and it appears their actual development kit (not the eval kit I tested) is much easier to develop with (no surprise, really, considering the names!).
Overall I am very happy with the board. It does exactly what it says on the tin, which is a lot more than can be said for other similar products out there. If you need a non-mechanical button solution, look no further!
