DRV8214 Multiplatform Library

🦶 Featured in Plume — a smart diabetic insole that drives up to 18 sensorless brushed-DC motors via ripple counting to redistribute plantar pressure. This library powers its motor control.

A C++ library for controlling the DRV8214 brushed DC motor driver from Texas Instruments via I2C. It supports Arduino, ESP32, STM32, and RP2040 targets and uses a per-instance bus handle so multiple buses or devices can be used without global transport state.

Features

• Multi-platform: Single codebase for Arduino/ESP32 (Wire), STM32 (HAL), and RP2040
• Bus-first design: The active I2C bus is passed directly into the constructor
• Regulation modes: Speed (ripple counting), voltage, fixed current, cycle-by-cycle current
• Motion control: turnForward, turnReverse, turnXRipples, turnXRevolutions, brakeMotor, coastMotor
• Sensorless position: Ripple-counting with configurable thresholds and auto-stop
• Monitoring: Motor voltage, current, speed (RPM/rad/s), duty cycle, fault status
• Protection: Stall detection, overcurrent (OCP), overvoltage (OVP), thermal shutdown (TSD)

Architecture

graph TD
    A[User Application] --> B[DRV8214 Driver Class]
    B --> C[I2C Abstraction Layer]
    C --> D{Platform?}
    D -->|Arduino / ESP32 / RP2040 Arduino core| E[Wire Library]
    D -->|STM32| F[HAL I2C]
    D -->|RP2040 Pico SDK| J[Pico SDK I2C]

    B --> G[Motor Control]
    B --> H[Configuration]
    B --> I[Status Monitoring]

    G --> G1[turnForward / turnReverse]
    G --> G2[turnXRipples / turnXRevolutions]
    G --> G3[brakeMotor / coastMotor]

    style A fill:#e1f5fe
    style B fill:#fff3e0
    style C fill:#f3e5f5
    style E fill:#e8f5e9
    style F fill:#e8f5e9
    style J fill:#e8f5e9

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Repository Layout

include/
├──drv8214.h
├──drv8214_platform_config.h
├──drv8214_platform_i2c.h
src/
├──drv8214.cpp
├──drv8214_platform_i2c.cpp
examples/
├──basic_motor_control/
├──fault_monitoring/
.github/workflows/
  ci.yml
  release.yml

Installation

PlatformIO

Add to your platformio.ini:

lib_deps =
    https://github.com/theohg/drv8214_multiplatform.git#v1.1.0

Arduino IDE

Download the repository or a release zip, then add it through Sketch -> Include Library -> Add .ZIP Library.

STM32 HAL / Pico SDK

Copy include/ and src/ into your project, make sure the correct HAL or Pico SDK headers are available to the compiler, and keep I2C initialization in your application code.

Usage Pattern

1. Initialize the I2C peripheral yourself.
2. Pass the active bus handle as constructor argument 1: &Wire, &hi2c1, i2c0, or i2c1.
3. Pass the 7-bit device address as constructor argument 2.
4. Call init(...) before using the driver.

For Arduino-based Pico builds, use &Wire. For pure Pico SDK builds, use i2c0 or i2c1 directly.

Quick Start

Arduino / ESP32 / RP2040 Arduino core

#include <Wire.h>
#include <drv8214.h>

// Hardware parameters
#define I2C_ADDR          DRV8214_I2C_ADDR_00  // 0x30 (7-bit)
#define SENSE_RESISTOR    1000   // IPROPI resistor [Ohms]
#define RIPPLES_PER_REV   6      // Current ripples per rotor revolution
#define MOTOR_RESISTANCE  12     // Winding resistance [Ohms]
#define REDUCTION_RATIO   298    // Gearbox ratio
#define MAX_RPM           100    // Max motor RPM

DRV8214 motor(&Wire, I2C_ADDR, 0, SENSE_RESISTOR, RIPPLES_PER_REV,
              MOTOR_RESISTANCE, REDUCTION_RATIO, MAX_RPM);

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(115200);
    Wire.begin();

    motor.setDebugStream(&Serial);

    DRV8214_Config cfg;
    cfg.verbose = true;
    motor.init(cfg);
}

void loop() {
    // Turn forward for 5000 ripples, then stop
    motor.turnXRipples(5000, true, true);
    delay(3000);

    Serial.print("Speed: ");
    Serial.print(motor.getMotorSpeedShaftRPM());
    Serial.println(" RPM");

    motor.brakeMotor();
    delay(1000);
}

STM32 HAL / Pico SDK

#include "drv8214.h"

DRV8214 motor(&hi2c1, DRV8214_I2C_ADDR_00, 0, 1000, 6, 12, 298, 100);
// For a pure Pico SDK project, pass i2c0 or i2c1 instead of &hi2c1.

void app_init() {
    DRV8214_Config cfg;
    cfg.regulation_mode = VOLTAGE;
    cfg.voltage_range = true;
    motor.init(cfg);
}

Functional Overview

Regulation Modes

graph LR
    subgraph "RegulationMode"
        A[SPEED] -->|ripple counting| A1["setRippleSpeed(rpm)"]
        B[VOLTAGE] --> B1["setVoltageSpeed(volts)"]
        C[CURRENT_FIXED] --> C1["setRegulationAndStallCurrent(amps)"]
        D[CURRENT_CYCLES] --> D1["setRegulationAndStallCurrent(amps)"]
    end

    style A fill:#c8e6c9
    style B fill:#bbdefb
    style C fill:#ffe0b2
    style D fill:#ffe0b2

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Mode	Control Parameter	Use Case
SPEED	RPM via ripple counting	Closed-loop speed regulation
VOLTAGE	Terminal voltage [V]	Open-loop voltage drive
CURRENT_FIXED	Trip current [A]	Fixed off-time current limiting
CURRENT_CYCLES	Trip current [A]	Cycle-by-cycle current regulation

Note: In CURRENT_FIXED and CURRENT_CYCLES modes, speed and voltage are not I2C-controlled. The bridge applies the available supply according to the selected current behavior.

Motion Helpers

Helper	Purpose
turnForward(...) / turnReverse(...)	Continuous driving in the selected regulation mode
turnXRipples(...)	Move a measured number of rotor ripples with optional auto-stop
turnXRevolutions(...)	Move a measured number of output shaft revolutions
brakeMotor() / coastMotor()	Stop the motor with braking or Hi-Z behavior

API Overview

Motor Control

Method	Description
turnForward(speed, voltage, current)	Drive forward; parameters depend on regulation mode
turnReverse(speed, voltage, current)	Drive in reverse; parameters depend on regulation mode
brakeMotor()	Apply active braking
coastMotor()	Coast / Hi-Z output stage
turnXRipples(count, stops, dir, ...)	Rotate for a target number of ripples
turnXRevolutions(count, stops, dir, ...)	Rotate for a target number of output shaft revolutions

Monitoring and Status

Method	Returns
getMotorSpeedRPM() / getMotorSpeedRAD()	Rotor speed
getMotorSpeedShaftRPM() / getMotorSpeedShaftRAD()	Output shaft speed
getMotorVoltage()	Terminal voltage [V]
getMotorCurrent()	Motor current [A]
getDutyCycle()	Bridge duty cycle [0..100%]
getRippleCount()	16-bit ripple counter
getFaultStatus()	Fault register byte
printFaultStatus()	Print decoded fault flags

Configuration

Method	Description
init(cfg)	Apply the startup configuration struct to the device
setRegulationMode(...)	Change the active control mode
setVoltageSpeed(...)	Set terminal voltage in voltage mode
setRippleSpeed(...)	Set the closed-loop ripple speed target
setRegulationAndStallCurrent(...)	Configure current limit and stall behavior

Examples

• examples/basic_motor_control/basic_motor_control.ino
• examples/fault_monitoring/fault_monitoring.ino

Notes

• Device addresses are always 7-bit.
• For Arduino-based Pico builds, use &Wire; for pure Pico SDK builds, pass i2c0 or i2c1.
• setDebugStream() is optional and mainly useful on Arduino-style targets.
• PlatformIO CI compiles the examples on Arduino Nano, ESP32, STM32, and RP2040.

You Like This Library? See Also

• BQ25756E Multiplatform
• INA228 Multiplatform
• TPS26750 Multiplatform

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for details.

Copyright (c) 2026 Theo Heng