Abstract: A contactless motion detector, including an oscillator sensitive to an approaching metallic element, includes an electronic switch such as a thyristor triggerable by an output signal from a demodulator comprising a storage capacitor which is alternately chargeable and dischargeable, preferably with constant current, during each cycle of a high-frequency voltage generated by the oscillator. The oscillator voltage is compared with a reference voltage by means of a differential amplifier causing the flow of a charging current into the capacitor when the oscillator voltage exceeds the reference voltage whereas a discharging current flows out of that capacitor in the opposite case. The reference voltage is so chosen that the capacitor charge rises in the course of a few cycles above a predetermined threshold when the oscillator voltage is high but remains below that threshold when it is low.