Cypress CapSense technology for eco-friendly washing machines

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. recently announced that its PSoC(R)-based CapSense Plus(tm) solution has been selected to control the touch-sensing buttons in the new AWOE Premium Collection line of washing machines from Whirlpool. The flexible solution offers leading noise immunity and water-resistance to deliver uninterrupted operation in the harsh sensing conditions prevalent in household appliances.

Cypress’ CapSense technologies have effectively caused 2.5 billion mechanical buttons to be replaced in mobile handsets, laptops, consumer electronics, white goods, automotive applications and more. Engineers can take advantage of PSoC flexibility to implement functions beyond CapSense - a capability called CapSense Plus.

The Whirlpool AWOE Premium Collection washing machines feature 6th Sense technology, which recognizes the size of a load and automatically adjusts resources to ensure optimal performance, saving up to 30% on time, water and energy. The CapSense Plus capability specifically controls the 6th Sense indicator lighting on the main display.

The durable, user-friendly interface in the Whirlpool line employs one CapSense Plus device to implement 14 buttons and drive LEDs in the rotary dial control. A second device in the control display powers eight buttons, LED backlighting with dimming functionality and a buzzer.