Premstaetten, Austria, and Munich, Germany (September 18, 2025) In automotive electronics, reliability is a key design criterion. Capacitive sensors are widely used in exterior and interior vehicle applications—from touch-based door handles to gesture-controlled trunk openers and interior Human-Machine Interface elements. However, many existing solutions struggle under real-world conditions such as rain, ice, humidity, or during car washes. These environmental factors can lead to inconsistent performance and increased validation effort.
The AS8580 from ams OSRAM addresses these challenges with a robust capacitive sensing approach based on IQ demodulation, allowing the separation of the measured capacitance into the parasitic resistive and capacitive part. This measurement principle enhances resilience against environmental disturbances while maintaining high sensitivity, making the AS8580 a suitable choice for both exterior and interior automotive applications.
With a sensitivity of 1.9 fF/LSB, the AS8580 enables the accurate detection of touch and proximity, supporting a wide range of use cases—from conventional touch buttons to proximity sensors in overhead consoles or dashboards. Its low temperature drift ensures stable performance across varying conditions, while the low-power sleep mode (down to 20 µA) supports energy-efficient system designs. The AS8580 complies with ISO 26262 standard, ASIL B (Automotive Safety Integrity Level B) safety requirements as well as AEC-Q100 Grade 1 classification, making it suitable for integration into safety-relevant systems. This is particularly important in automotive applications where sensor reliability directly impacts system behavior and user experience.
For developers, the AS8580 offers straightforward integration via a standard SPI interface and is microcontroller-independent, allowing for flexible use across different platforms. This simplifies system design and supports scalable architectures. In automotive environments, sensors must operate consistently across a wide range of conditions. Failures in exterior sensing—such as a trunk opener that doesn’t respond in wet weather—can compromise both functionality and user trust. For electronics engineers, ensuring robust sensor performance is essential not only for meeting technical specifications but also for reducing field returns and minimizing system-level debugging.
“When designing for automotive exterior applications, we need to assume the worst-case scenario as the standard. The AS8580 helps us build systems that remain stable even when exposed to water, ice, or temperature extremes—without adding complexity to the integration process,” says Jouni Riihimäki, Product Manager for Capacitive Sensing at ams OSRAM.
While the AS8580 was developed with automotive requirements in mind, its capabilities extend to other industries as well. Potential automotive applications include hands-on-wheel detection, human presence sensing, and fluid level or quality monitoring. In addition, its high sensitivity and robust performance make it suitable for proximity and touch-based control interfaces in consumer or industrial environments—such as buttonless stove controls in kitchens or access systems in smart buildings.
The AS8580 offers a reliable, flexible, and efficient solution for capacitive sensing across a wide range of use cases.
(Photo credit: ams OSRAM)
