Vishay's Free Android Software Simplifies Adoption of VCNL4020 and VCNL3020 in Mobile Devices

The VCNLx020 Android software significantly reduces the time needed to program an Android device for use with the VCNL4020 and VCNL3020, eliminating the need for debugging and simplifying the overall adoption of Vishay's digital I²C-enabled optical sensors.

In devices such as smartphones, ambient light sensors optimize the visibility of the LCD display by allowing the backlight to adjust its brightness automatically based on surrounding light levels. The proximity sensor is used to turn off the backlight of the display and disable the touch functionality when the phone is brought next to the user's ear, preventing his or her cheek from ending a call accidentally. Both types of sensors are designed to reduce power consumption and extend battery life in mobile electronics. For these devices, the Vishay Semiconductors VCNL4020 and VCNL3020 are fully integrated solutions, containing an infrared emitter and photo detector for proximity sensing, an ambient light sensor (VCNL4020), and signal processing, all in a single surface-mount package.

The VCNLx020 Android software package includes the documentation, source code, and patch files required to allow an Android-based platform to communicate with the VCNL4020 or VCNL3020. This communication follows the standard Android sensors framework. The supplied Android VCNL4020 driver consists of two parts: the kernel module responsible for the data control and acquisition from the VCNL4020 and the subsequent HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) module to link the kernel to the main Android framework, allowing the information supplied by the sensor to be used by Android applications. To demonstrate this, a demo Android app is included (VCNL40x0-DemoApp.apk), along with its associated source code, which can serve as a base for building user-specific Android applications.