Software / API Bindings / Visual Basic .NET / API Reference and Examples / Bricklets / Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0

Visual Basic .NET - Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0¶

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0. General information and technical specifications for the Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0 are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Visual Basic .NET API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples¶

The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).

Simple¶

Download (ExampleSimple.vb)

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleSimple
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim mt As New BrickletMultiTouchV2(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Get current touch state
        Dim state As Boolean() = mt.GetTouchState()

        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 0: " + state(0).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 1: " + state(1).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 2: " + state(2).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 3: " + state(3).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 4: " + state(4).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 5: " + state(5).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 6: " + state(6).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 7: " + state(7).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 8: " + state(8).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 9: " + state(9).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 10: " + state(10).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 11: " + state(11).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Proximity: " + state(12).ToString())

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Callback¶

Download (ExampleCallback.vb)

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleCallback
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0

    ' Callback subroutine for touch state callback
    Sub TouchStateCB(ByVal sender As BrickletMultiTouchV2, ByVal state As Boolean())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 0: " + state(0).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 1: " + state(1).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 2: " + state(2).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 3: " + state(3).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 4: " + state(4).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 5: " + state(5).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 6: " + state(6).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 7: " + state(7).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 8: " + state(8).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 9: " + state(9).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 10: " + state(10).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Electrode 11: " + state(11).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Proximity: " + state(12).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim mt As New BrickletMultiTouchV2(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Register touch state callback to subroutine TouchStateCB
        AddHandler mt.TouchStateCallback, AddressOf TouchStateCB

        ' Set period for touch state callback to 0.01s (10ms)
        mt.SetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration(10, True)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

API¶

Since Visual Basic .NET does not support multiple return values directly, we use the ByRef keyword to return multiple values from a function.

All functions and procedures listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions¶

Class BrickletMultiTouchV2(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)¶

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim multiTouchV2 As New BrickletMultiTouchV2("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetTouchState() As Boolean()¶

Returns:	state – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 13

Returns the current touch state. The state is given as a array of bools.

Element 0 to 11 represent the 12 electrodes and element 12 represents the proximity.

If an electrode is touched, the corresponding element is true. If a hand or similar is in proximity to the electrodes, element 12 is true.

The proximity is activated with a distance of 1-2cm. An electrode is already counted as touched if a finger is nearly touching the electrode. This means that you can put a piece of paper or foil or similar on top of a electrode to build a touch panel with a professional look.

If you want to get the value periodically, it is recommended to use the TouchStateCallback callback. You can set the callback configuration with SetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration().

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.Recalibrate()¶: Recalibrates the electrodes. Call this function whenever you changed or moved you electrodes.

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetElectrodeConfig(ByVal enabledElectrodes() As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	enabledElectrodes – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 13, Default: {true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true}

Enables/disables electrodes with a bool array (see GetTouchState()).

True enables the electrode, false disables the electrode. A disabled electrode will always return false as its state. If you don't need all electrodes you can disable the electrodes that are not needed.

It is recommended that you disable the proximity electrode (element 12) if the proximity feature is not needed. This will reduce the amount of traffic that is produced by the TouchStateCallback callback.

Disabling electrodes will also reduce power consumption.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetElectrodeConfig() As Boolean()¶

Returns:	enabledElectrodes – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 13, Default: {true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true}

Returns the electrode configuration, as set by SetElectrodeConfig().

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetElectrodeSensitivity(ByVal sensitivity As Byte)¶

Parameters:	sensitivity – Type: Byte, Range: [5 to 201], Default: 181

Sets the sensitivity of the electrodes. An electrode with a high sensitivity will register a touch earlier then an electrode with a low sensitivity.

If you build a big electrode you might need to decrease the sensitivity, since the area that can be charged will get bigger. If you want to be able to activate an electrode from further away you need to increase the sensitivity.

After a new sensitivity is set, you likely want to call Recalibrate() to calibrate the electrodes with the newly defined sensitivity.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetElectrodeSensitivity() As Byte¶

Returns:	sensitivity – Type: Byte, Range: [5 to 201], Default: 181

Returns the current sensitivity, as set by SetElectrodeSensitivity().

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetTouchLEDConfig(ByVal config As Byte)¶

Parameters:	config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Configures the touch LED to be either turned off, turned on, blink in heartbeat mode or show the touch state (electrode touched = LED on).

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_TOUCH = 3

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetTouchLEDConfig() As Byte¶

Returns:	config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the LED configuration as set by SetTouchLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.TOUCH_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_TOUCH = 3

Advanced Functions¶

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetSPITFPErrorCount(ByRef errorCountAckChecksum As Long, ByRef errorCountMessageChecksum As Long, ByRef errorCountFrame As Long, ByRef errorCountOverflow As Long)¶

Output Parameters:	errorCountAckChecksum – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountMessageChecksum – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountFrame – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountOverflow – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

ACK checksum errors,
message checksum errors,
framing errors and
overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetStatusLEDConfig(ByVal config As Byte)¶

Parameters:	config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetStatusLEDConfig() As Byte¶

Returns:	config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the configuration as set by SetStatusLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetChipTemperature() As Short¶

Returns:	temperature – Type: Short, Unit: 1 °C, Range: [-2¹⁵ to 2¹⁵ - 1]

Returns the temperature as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.Reset()¶

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetIdentity(ByRef uid As String, ByRef connectedUid As String, ByRef position As Char, ByRef hardwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef firmwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef deviceIdentifier As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:

Output Parameters:	uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C] hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C]
hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3

0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3

0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.

Callback Configuration Functions¶

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration(ByVal period As Long, ByVal valueHasToChange As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0 valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

The period is the period with which the TouchStateCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration(ByRef period As Long, ByRef valueHasToChange As Boolean)¶

Output Parameters:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0 valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

Returns the callback configuration as set by SetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration().

Callbacks¶

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done by assigning a procedure to an callback property of the device object:

Sub MyCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletMultiTouchV2, ByVal value As Short)
    Console.WriteLine("Value: {0}", value)
End Sub

AddHandler multiTouchV2.ExampleCallback, AddressOf MyCallback

The available callback property and their type of parameters are described below.

Note

Using callbacks for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

Event BrickletMultiTouchV2.TouchStateCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletMultiTouchV2, ByVal state() As Boolean)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletMultiTouchV2 state – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 13

Returns the current touch state, see GetTouchState() for information about the state.

This callback is triggered every time the touch state changes with a given period (see SetTouchStateCallbackConfiguration())

Virtual Functions¶

Virtual functions don't communicate with the device itself, but operate only on the API bindings device object. They can be called without the corresponding IP Connection object being connected.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetAPIVersion() As Byte()¶

Output Parameters:	apiVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Returns the version of the API definition implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte) As Boolean¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.

For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For callback configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by SetResponseExpected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_TOUCH_STATE_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_RECALIBRATE = 5
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_ELECTRODE_CONFIG = 6
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_ELECTRODE_SENSITIVITY = 8
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_TOUCH_LED_CONFIG = 10
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte, ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and callback configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_TOUCH_STATE_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_RECALIBRATE = 5
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_ELECTRODE_CONFIG = 6
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_ELECTRODE_SENSITIVITY = 8
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_TOUCH_LED_CONFIG = 10
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickletMultiTouchV2.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetResponseExpectedAll(ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag for all setter and callback configuration functions of this device at once.

Internal Functions¶

Internal functions are used for maintenance tasks such as flashing a new firmware of changing the UID of a Bricklet. These task should be performed using Brick Viewer instead of using the internal functions directly.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetBootloaderMode(ByVal mode As Byte) As Byte¶

Parameters:	mode – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	status – Type: Byte, Range: See constants

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

For status:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.GetBootloaderMode() As Byte¶

Returns:	mode – Type: Byte, Range: See constants

Returns the current bootloader mode, see SetBootloaderMode().

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletMultiTouchV2.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.SetWriteFirmwarePointer(ByVal pointer As Long)¶

Parameters:	pointer – Type: Long, Unit: 1 B, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Sets the firmware pointer for WriteFirmware(). The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.WriteFirmware(ByVal data() As Byte) As Byte¶

Parameters:	data – Type: Byte Array, Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Returns:	status – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by SetWriteFirmwarePointer() before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

Sub BrickletMultiTouchV2.WriteUID(ByVal uid As Long)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

Function BrickletMultiTouchV2.ReadUID() As Long¶

Returns:	uid – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.

Constants¶

Const BrickletMultiTouchV2.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0.

The GetIdentity() function and the IPConnection.EnumerateCallback callback of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

Const BrickletMultiTouchV2.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a Multi Touch Bricklet 2.0.