Efficient nrfx-based Quadrature Decoder for High-Speed Encoders on NRF5340

[Philipp.trem]

Hello,

I'm developing a project based on the NRF5340 and have encountered some challenges. As I'm relatively new to C, I'm trying to implement a quadrature (incremental) encoder decoder that accurately captures all four states of the signal. For example, with an encoder offering 1024 increments on two outputs, I should be able to obtain 4096 distinct positions.

I initially planned to use the Zephyr QDEC driver; however, as noted in this thread (https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/91398/qdec-peripheral-with-high-speed-encoder/384446), it seems too slow for my application. In addition to decoding the signal, I also need to reliably determine the direction of rotation.

Could anyone point me to a sample or provide guidance on using the nrfx-specific functions for this purpose—ideally in a way that minimizes CPU load?

[Philipp.trem]

Thanks for sharing the sample! I tried it using GPIOTE, and it seems to be working for my use case.

For anyone who might need it in the future, here’s my sample code:

#include <zephyr/device.h>
#include <zephyr/kernel.h>
#include <nrfx_gpiote.h>
#include <nrfx_dppi.h>
#include <nrfx_timer.h>
#include <nrfx_log.h>
#include <zephyr/sys/printk.h>
#include <zephyr/irq.h>
#include <stdatomic.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#define INPUT_PIN_A	(32 + 4)
#define INPUT_PIN_B	(32 + 5)

#define GPIOTE_INST	0 //DT_ALIAS(gpiote0) //NRF_DT_GPIOTE_INST(DT_ALIAS(gpiote0), gpios)
#define GPIOTE_NODE	DT_NODELABEL(gpiote0)

static bool A = false;
static bool B = false;

const nrfx_gpiote_t inst = NRFX_GPIOTE_INSTANCE(GPIOTE_INST);

static _Atomic int32_t counter = ATOMIC_INIT(0);

void gpiote_event_handler(nrfx_gpiote_pin_t pin, nrfx_gpiote_trigger_t trigger, void *p_context)
{
    if (trigger == NRFX_GPIOTE_TRIGGER_LOTOHI)
    {
        //printk("Pin %d transitioned from LOW to HIGH!\n", pin);
    }
    else if (trigger == NRFX_GPIOTE_TRIGGER_HITOLO)
    {
        //printk("Pin %d transitioned from HIGH to LOW!\n", pin);
    } else {
        //printk("Pin %d transitioned\n", pin);
        if (pin != INPUT_PIN_A && pin != INPUT_PIN_B) return;

        bool dir = false;
        if (pin == INPUT_PIN_A)
        {
            if (A == false && B == false)
            {
                A = true;
                dir = true;
            }
            else if (A == true && B == false)
            {
                A = false;
                dir = false;
            }
            else if (A == false && B == true)
            {
                A = true;
                dir = false;
            }
            else if (A == true && B == true)
            {
                A = false;
                dir = true;
            }
        }
        else if (pin == INPUT_PIN_B)
        {
            if (A == false && B == false)
            {
                B = true;
                dir = false;
            }
            else if (A == true && B == false)
            {
                B = true;
                dir = true;
            }
            else if (A == false && B == true)
            {
                B = false;
                dir = true;
            }
            else if (A == true && B == true)
            {
                B = false;
                dir = false;
            }
        }

        // Update counter
        
        if (dir) {
            if (atomic_get(&counter) >= 20000) atomic_set(&counter, 1);
            else atomic_inc(&counter);
        } else {
            if (atomic_get(&counter) <= -20000) atomic_set(&counter, -1);
            else atomic_dec(&counter);
        }
    }
}
void gpiote_init(void)
{
    IRQ_CONNECT(DT_IRQN(GPIOTE_NODE), DT_IRQ(GPIOTE_NODE, priority), nrfx_isr,
                NRFX_CONCAT(nrfx_gpiote_, GPIOTE_INST, _irq_handler), 0);

    if (!nrfx_gpiote_init_check(&inst))
    {
        printk("Initializing GPIOTE Instance\n");
        nrfx_err_t err = nrfx_gpiote_init(&inst, 0);
        if (err != NRFX_SUCCESS) {
            printk("Failed to init, error: 0x%08X\n", err);
            return;
        }
        nrfx_gpiote_latency_set(&inst, NRF_GPIOTE_LATENCY_LOWLATENCY);
    }

    nrfx_gpiote_input_pin_config_t pin_config_A_LH = {
        .p_pull_config = &(nrf_gpio_pin_pull_t){NRF_GPIO_PIN_NOPULL},
        .p_trigger_config = &(nrfx_gpiote_trigger_config_t){NRFX_GPIOTE_TRIGGER_TOGGLE, NULL},
        .p_handler_config = &(nrfx_gpiote_handler_config_t){gpiote_event_handler, NULL}
    };

    nrfx_gpiote_input_pin_config_t pin_config_B_LH = {
        .p_pull_config = &(nrf_gpio_pin_pull_t){NRF_GPIO_PIN_NOPULL},
        .p_trigger_config = &(nrfx_gpiote_trigger_config_t){NRFX_GPIOTE_TRIGGER_TOGGLE, NULL},
        .p_handler_config = &(nrfx_gpiote_handler_config_t){gpiote_event_handler, NULL}
    };

    printk("Initializing GPIOTE_PIN_A\n");
    if (nrfx_gpiote_input_configure(&inst, INPUT_PIN_A, &pin_config_A_LH) != NRFX_SUCCESS)
    {
        printk("Failed to configure INPUT_PIN_A!\n");
    }

    printk("Initializing GPIOTE_PIN_B\n");
    if (nrfx_gpiote_input_configure(&inst, INPUT_PIN_B, &pin_config_B_LH) != NRFX_SUCCESS)
    {
        printk("Failed to configure INPUT_PIN_B!\n");
    }

    nrfx_gpiote_trigger_enable(&inst, INPUT_PIN_A, true);
    nrfx_gpiote_trigger_enable(&inst, INPUT_PIN_B, true);

    printk("GPIOTE Initialization Done\n");

    A = nrf_gpio_pin_read(INPUT_PIN_A);
    B = nrf_gpio_pin_read(INPUT_PIN_B);
    printk("Initial state is (%d,%d) \n",A,B);
}

int main(void)
{
    printk("Initializing GPIOTE...\n");
    gpiote_init();
    printk("Waiting for Event\n");
    while (1)
    {
        k_sleep(K_MSEC(1000));
        printk("Counter is at %d \n",counter);
    }
}

Best regards,

Philipp