APDS-9960 Gesture, Proximity, Color Sensor
Detects hand gestures (swipe up/down/left/right), proximity, and ambient light color. Enables touchless interaction.
Say it to PAL
“Tell me when something comes near.”
The code PAL writes
p.onSensorChange('qwiic-apds9960', 'proximity', (prox) => {
if (prox > 200) p.notify('Object very close');
});
await p.waitUntilStopped();“Change the light’s color when I swipe my hand over it.”
The code PAL writes
let hue = 0;
const colors = [
{ r: 255, g: 0, b: 0 },
{ r: 0, g: 255, b: 0 },
{ r: 0, g: 0, b: 255 },
{ r: 255, g: 255, b: 0 },
];
p.onSensorChange('qwiic-apds9960', 'gesture', (g) => {
if (g === 0) return;
if (g === 3) hue = (hue + 1) % colors.length;
if (g === 4) hue = (hue + colors.length - 1) % colors.length;
p.pixels.frame(colors[hue]);
});
p.onStop(() => p.pixels.frame({ r: 0, g: 0, b: 0 }));
await p.waitUntilStopped();When to pick it
Gesture detection + proximity + RGB color sensing. Pick this when you want to wave a hand to trigger something or detect nearby objects. Limited lux range (~10k) — not for brightness sensing.
Good to know
- Gesture sensing range is 10-20cm from the sensor. Needs clear line of sight.
- Mounting matters — sensor must face the direction gestures come from.
About it
A multi-function sensor combining gesture detection, proximity sensing, and RGB color sensing. Gesture detection works at about 10-20cm range and recognizes four directional swipes. Proximity detection indicates object presence without measuring exact distance. Color sensing provides RGB values for ambient light. Useful for touchless interfaces and interactive displays.
Facts
Tested
Its driver works. We have not signed it off on a real board yet.
I2C address
The APDS-9960 Gesture, Proximity, Color Sensor answers at I2C address 0x39. The address is fixed.
Current
1 mA
The catalog lists a typical draw of 1 mA for the Gesture & Color, copied from the maker’s description and not measured by Palpable.
Board size
25.4 × 17.78 mm
The Gesture & Color board measures 25.4 × 17.78 mm and stands 4.6 mm tall with its parts. It has 4 mounting holes. These dimensions are from the maker’s mechanical drawing.
Free to reuse
Every fact here is open data under CC BY 4.0. Copy it into your own docs or code, and credit Palpable. Download it
This record was last changed on October 1, 2026.