View raw code<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Does the Code Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Continue reading to learn how the code works, or skip to the demonstration section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Importing the Library<\/h4>\n\n\n\n First, import the Adafruit_APDS9960<\/span> library as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n#include \"Adafruit_APDS9960.h\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nCreate an object called apds<\/span> to interact with the sensor.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAdafruit_APDS9960 apds;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsetup()<\/h4>\n\n\n\n In the setup()<\/span>, initialize the Serial Monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSerial.begin(115200);<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThen, initialize the sensor using the begin()<\/span> method as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\nif(!apds.begin()){\n Serial.println(\"failed to initialize device! Please check your wiring.\");\n}\nelse Serial.println(\"Device initialized!\");<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThe following lines enable proximity sensing and gesture sensing. The gesture detection only works when the sensor detects proximity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
apds.enableProximity(true);\napds.enableGesture(true);<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nloop()<\/h4>\n\n\n\n In the loop()<\/span>, check if a gesture is detected using the readGesture()<\/span> function. If it detects a gesture, save it in the gesture<\/span> variable.<\/p>\n\n\n\nuint8_t gesture = apds.readGesture();<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThen, check the gesture detected and print it in the Serial Monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
if (gesture == APDS9960_DOWN) { \n Serial.println(\"v Moving DOWN\"); \n}\nif (gesture == APDS9960_UP) {\n Serial.println(\"^ Moving UP\");\n}\nif (gesture == APDS9960_LEFT) { \n Serial.println(\"< Moving LEFT\"); \n}\nif (gesture == APDS9960_RIGHT) {\n Serial.println(\"> Moving RIGHT\"); \n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTesting Gesture Detection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n After uploading the code, open the Serial Monitor at a baud rate of 115200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe your hand close to the sensor: up, down, left, and right.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
The corresponding gesture will be printed in the Serial Monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
2) ESP8266 with APDS9960 – Detecting Gestures and Display on OLED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n You can take this previous example to the next level and add an OLED display to your circuit to detect the gestures. This example can be easily modified to display whatever screen you like, depending on the gesture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this project, follow these next steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1)<\/strong> Add an OLED display to your previous circuit:<\/p>\n\n\n\nOLED<\/strong><\/td>Wiring to the ESP8266<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>VCC<\/strong><\/td>3.3V<\/td><\/tr> GND<\/strong><\/td>GND<\/td><\/tr> SDA<\/strong><\/td>GPIO 4 (D2)<\/td><\/tr> SCL<\/strong><\/td>GPIO 5 (D1)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n2) <\/strong>Install the Adafruit_SSD1306<\/span> Library and corresponding dependencies on your Arduino IDE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3)<\/strong> Upload the following code to your board.<\/p>\n\n\n\/*\n Rui Santos & Sara Santos - Random Nerd Tutorials\n Complete project details at https:\/\/RandomNerdTutorials.com\/esp8266-nodemcu-apds9960-sensor-arduino\/\n Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files. \n The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.\n*\/\n#include "Adafruit_APDS9960.h"\n#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>\n#include <Wire.h>\n\n\/\/ OLED display settings\n#define SCREEN_WIDTH 128\n#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64\n#define OLED_RESET -1 \/\/ Reset pin # (or -1 if sharing Arduino reset pin)\nAdafruit_SSD1306 display(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, &Wire, OLED_RESET);\n\n\/\/ APDS9960 sensor\nAdafruit_APDS9960 apds;\n\n\/\/ Function to center text horizontally\nvoid centerText(const char* text, int y) {\n int charCount = strlen(text);\n int textWidth = charCount * 6;\n int x = (SCREEN_WIDTH - textWidth) \/ 2;\n display.setCursor(x, y);\n display.println(text);\n}\n\n\/\/ Function to display UP gesture\nvoid displayScreenUp() {\n display.clearDisplay();\n centerText("^", 10);\n centerText("Moving UP", 30);\n display.display();\n Serial.println("^ Moving UP");\n}\n\n\/\/ Function to display DOWN gesture\nvoid displayScreenDown() {\n display.clearDisplay();\n centerText("v", 10);\n centerText("Moving DOWN", 30);\n display.display();\n Serial.println("v Moving DOWN");\n}\n\n\/\/ Function to display LEFT gesture\nvoid displayScreenLeft() {\n display.clearDisplay();\n centerText("<", 10);\n centerText("Moving LEFT", 30);\n display.display();\n Serial.println("< Moving LEFT");\n}\n\n\/\/ Function to display RIGHT gesture\nvoid displayScreenRight() {\n display.clearDisplay();\n centerText(">", 10);\n centerText("Moving RIGHT", 30);\n display.display();\n Serial.println("> Moving RIGHT");\n}\n\nvoid setup() {\n Serial.begin(115200);\n \n \/\/ Initialize OLED display\n if(!display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C)) { \/\/ Address 0x3C for 128x64\n Serial.println(F("SSD1306 allocation failed"));\n for(;;); \/\/ Don't proceed, loop forever\n }\n \/\/ Clear the display\n display.clearDisplay();\n display.display();\n delay(500);\n\n display.setTextSize(1); \n display.setTextColor(WHITE);\n display.setCursor(0,0); \n display.println(F("Gesture Sensor"));\n display.display();\n delay(100);\n \n \/\/ Initialize APDS9960\n if(!apds.begin()){\n Serial.println("Failed to initialize APDS9960! Check wiring.");\n display.clearDisplay();\n display.setCursor(0,0);\n display.println(F("APDS9960 Failed"));\n display.display();\n } else {\n Serial.println("APDS9960 initialized!");\n apds.enableProximity(true);\n apds.enableGesture(true);\n }\n}\n\nvoid loop() {\n uint8_t gesture = apds.readGesture();\n if (gesture == APDS9960_DOWN) {\n displayScreenDown();\n }\n if (gesture == APDS9960_UP) {\n displayScreenUp();\n }\n if (gesture == APDS9960_LEFT) {\n displayScreenLeft();\n }\n if (gesture == APDS9960_RIGHT) {\n displayScreenRight();\n }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\tView raw code<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWe won’t explain how this code works. To learn how to interface an OLED SSD1306 with the ESP8266 read the following guide: ESP8266 0.96 inch OLED Display with Arduino IDE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDemonstration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Swipe your hand in different directions in front of the sensor. The gesture will be displayed on the OLED screen.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
Detecting the Moving UP Gesture<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APD966-Sensor-Guide.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"APDS9960](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/APDS9960-Proximity-Light-RGB-Gesture-Sensor.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"APDS9960](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/APDS9960-Jumpers.jpg?resize=750%2C421&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Wiring.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/header-200.png?w=1200&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Wiring-Diagram-Fritzing_bb.png?resize=807%2C537&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Install](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP32-Install-APDS9960-Sensor.png?resize=803%2C586&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"APDS9960](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Find-I2c-Address-Chip-ID-Serial-Monitor.jpg?resize=666%2C372&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"APDS9960](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/APDS9960-Gesture-Detection-Orientation.jpg?resize=300%2C300&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Testing-Gestures.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Detect-Gestures.jpg.png?resize=675%2C250&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"APDS9960](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP8266-APDS9960-Detect-Up-Gesture-OLED-Display.jpg?resize=750%2C421&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")