Hi,
I'm designing an interactive electronic toy for a friend's daughter who has severe physical disabilities and very poor hand strength. As such, I'm looking for a panel-mount pushbutton switch that has a very low activation force (and won't cost a fortune). Upon digging through switch catalogs and datasheets I've found that in most cases the activation force is not even listed, and I certainly can't buy samples of dozens of different switches just to try them out. So far the lightest I've found listed is 6 ounces for the C&K 8532 series. I'm hoping to find something closer to around 2-3 ounces. Thanks!
Capacitive switch requires no force... Someone has, no doubt, made one using an Arduino, try a search.
I would look at level switches like this, takes very little force to push them.
I think CrossRoads meant to say "lever" switches. Those are good, very low force. Some, only a few grams of force.
For capacitive touch pads, there is the capacitive sensing library for Arduino. Each pad requires two pins and one resistor.
http://playground.arduino.cc//Main/CapacitiveSensor?from=Main.CapSense
There are capacitive switches and also piezo switches but I have yet to see any suitably priced for a toy, they seem to be mainly designed for serious commercial or industrial use. Lever microswitches can certainly have a low operating force, but they're not normally panel mounted.
This type of push button switch has a low operating force, is low cost and should be readily available locally, and could be suitable for a toy, but is possibly rather small. There could also be similar but slightly larger versions available.
I wouldn't count on it. I hate those little pushbuttons. All the ones I've had that look just like that, are very hard to push and the contacts go bad quickly. And they are tiny, so they really dig into your finger when pressing them.
You can build a capacitive switch with some wire, a resistor, and an Arduino.