LED Touch Sensor

What can you do with an LED? They only provide light right? Wrong! JustDIY has done some extensive testing and documentation of a phenomenon that is not very well known. LEDs can be used as an input device!

“This is a collection of the work I’ve done with using the bi-directional properties of LEDs. I have also included links to information I’ve found on the subject and the project by an NYU research that inspired me.”

Video of NYU Research Project

6 Comments


  1. Wow, I have used LEDs for a long time in various projects and I never knew about this! I wonder why more (any) electronic devices don’t use them in this way?


  2. This idea was researched by a major (at the time) optoelectronics company back in the late ’80s, and dropped for lack of a market and because performance goals weren’t reached (the usual reasons for killing an innovative idea). Perhaps the hacker community can succeed where Big Tech failed. Also, LEDs are much higher efficiency devices than they were back in the day.




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