DRV8214 Multiplatform Library

A C++ library for controlling the DRV8214 brushed DC motor driver from Texas Instruments via I2C. Supports Arduino, ESP32, and STM32 platforms with compile-time platform detection.

Features

• Multi-platform: Single codebase for Arduino/ESP32 (Wire) and STM32 (HAL)
• 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| E[Wire Library]
    D -->|STM32| F[HAL 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

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include/
├── drv8214.h                 # Driver class, registers, bit masks, config struct
├── drv8214_platform_config.h # Compile-time platform detection
└── drv8214_platform_i2c.h    # Platform-agnostic I2C function declarations
src/
├── drv8214.cpp               # Driver implementation
└── drv8214_platform_i2c.cpp  # Arduino (Wire) and STM32 (HAL) I2C implementations

Installation

PlatformIO

Add to your platformio.ini:

lib_deps =
    https://github.com/theohg/drv8214_multiplatform.git#v1.0.0

Arduino IDE

1. Download or clone this repository
2. Copy into your Arduino libraries/ folder
3. Restart the Arduino IDE

STM32 (CubeMX / HAL)

1. Copy include/ and src/ into your project
2. The HAL header is auto-detected from your STM32 family define (e.g. STM32F4xx). If auto-detection fails, add -DDRV8214_STM32_HAL_HEADER='"stm32f4xx_hal.h"' to your build flags
3. Call drv8214_i2c_set_handle(&hi2c1) once in your initialization code before using the driver

Quick Start

Arduino / ESP32

#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(I2C_ADDR, 0, SENSE_RESISTOR, RIPPLES_PER_REV,
              MOTOR_RESISTANCE, REDUCTION_RATIO, MAX_RPM);

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

    motor.setDebugStream(&Serial);

    // Configure with defaults (PWM mode, speed regulation, stall detection on)
    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);

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

    Serial.print("Current: ");
    Serial.print(motor.getMotorCurrent());
    Serial.println(" A");

    motor.printFaultStatus();

    // Turn reverse for 2 full shaft revolutions
    motor.turnXRevolutions(2, true, false);
    delay(3000);

    motor.brakeMotor();
    delay(2000);
}

STM32

// In main.c, after MX_I2C1_Init():
#include "drv8214.h"

drv8214_i2c_set_handle(&hi2c1);  // Required before any DRV8214 operation

DRV8214 motor(DRV8214_I2C_ADDR_00, 0, 1000, 6, 12, 298, 100);
DRV8214_Config cfg;
cfg.regulation_mode = VOLTAGE;
cfg.voltage_range = true;  // 0..3.92V range
motor.init(cfg);

// Drive forward at 2V
motor.turnForward(0, 2.0f, 0);
HAL_Delay(3000);
motor.brakeMotor();

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/voltage cannot be controlled via I2C -- the full supply voltage is applied to the motor.

API Overview

Motor Control

Method	Description
turnForward(speed, voltage, current)	Drive forward (params depend on regulation mode)
turnReverse(speed, voltage, current)	Drive in reverse
brakeMotor()	Active brake (low-side FETs on)
coastMotor()	Coast / Hi-Z (PWM mode only)
turnXRipples(count, stops, dir, ...)	Rotate for N ripples, optionally auto-stop
turnXRevolutions(count, stops, dir, ...)	Rotate for N output shaft revolutions

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

License

MIT License -- see LICENSE.txt for details.

Copyright (c) 2026 Theo Heng