APDS-9960 RGB Gesture and Proximity Sensor Module

Four separate photodiodes sensitive to different directions are what let the APDS-9960 do something most sensors cannot: detect not just that a hand moved nearby, but which direction it moved - up, down, left or right - purely from light timing differences across the four sensors, with no camera or image processing involved. That single chip also does RGB color sensing and ambient light measurement, and proximity detection out to roughly 10-20cm, covering four distinct sensing jobs on one small board.

Built-in UV and IR blocking filters keep readings clean from light sources outside the sensor's intended range, and the whole thing talks over a single I2C bus alongside whatever other I2C sensors a project already uses.

Common uses are touchless gesture control interfaces, ambient light-adaptive display brightness, and color-sensing projects like color-sorting robots or paint-matching tools - four sensing functions from one chip rather than four separate modules.