neopixel_i2c_slave (picopixel)

This is an AVR-based neopixel driver. It accepts commands over i2c to drive a a number of ws2812 LED pixels.

The code on the master branch is set up for an Attiny85, with the LEDs on PB3, using an usbasp programmer. The fuses should be set to use 8 MHz internal oscillator, no divider

How many LEDs?

The number of LEDs is currently hardcoded in the firmware. The maximum number depends on the amount of RAM available on your AVR. An Attiny45 should be able to drive 82 LEDs, and an Attiny85, 167.

Circuit

Suggested circuit.

                            ^ VCC
                            |
    +--------+--------------+-------------+-----+-------+
    |        |                            |     |       |
    |       |"| 10k                       |     |       |
    |       |_|                           |     |       |
    |        |     +Attinyx5--------+     |    |"| 2k2 |"| 2k2
    |        +-----| Reset      Vcc |-----'    |_|     |_|
    |              |                |           |       |
  _____ 0.1u       |                |           |       |
  _____  ,---------|            SCL |-----------+-------|-----<> SCL
    |    |         |                |                   |
    |    |         |                |                   |
    |    |       --|                |--                 |
    |    |         |                |                   |
    |    |         |                |                   |
    +----|---+-----| GND        SDA |-------------------+-----<> SDA
         |   |     +----------------+
         |   v GND
         |
         '-----------------------------------------------------> NeoPixel Data

Getting the code

This project uses git submodules (I kinda wish it didn't...). You can clone it like so:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/usedbytes/neopixel_i2c

If your git version is too old to support that, do this instead:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/usedbytes/neopixel_i2c
cd neopixel_i2c
git submodule update --init --recursive

Basic Functionality

There are two basic operating modes:

In normal mode, each LED is individually driven based on the value in its control register.
In global mode, all LEDs are driven to the same value, based on the values in the global value registers.

The operating modes are selected by flipping the GLB bit in the CTRL register.

i2c Protocol

The slave address is currently hardcoded to 0x40 in the firmware, see

i2c/i2c_slave_defs.h:30

This utilises my i2c slave library (https://github.com/usedbytes/usi_i2c_slave) which means it follows a fairly standard i2c protocol (for more, see here: http://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/i2c-tutorial).

Writes look like this:

Start	Slave Address << 1	Register Address	Data	Stop

The register address will auto-increment after every byte, so you can write data in bursts.

Reads look like this:

Start	Slave Address	Register Address	Restart	(Slave Address << 1) + 1	Data	Stop

First you do a write transaction to set the register address to read from, then a read transaction to read the data. When you've read all the data you want, send a NAK after the last byte to terminate the read.

The LED values are only updated after a STOP is received

Register Map

The register map consists of a number of global control registers - address 0x0-0x3 - followed by an array of registers which hold the individual value for each LED in normal mode.

Address	Name	Description	Access	Reset
0x00	CTRL	Control Register	R/W	0
0x01	GLB_G	Global Green Value	R/W	0
0x02	GLB_R	Global Red Value	R/W	0
0x03	GLB_B	Global Blue Value	R/W	0
Array follows	--------------	----------------------	--------	-------
0x04	GREEN[0]	Green value, LED0	R/W	0
0x05	RED[0]	Red value, LED0	R/W	0
0x06	BLUE[0]	Blue value, LED0	R/W	0
....	....	....	....	....
(3*n) + 4	GREEN[n]	Green value, LEDn	R/W	0
(3*n) + 5	RED[n]	Red value, LEDn	R/W	0
(3*n) + 6	BLUE[n]	Blue value, LEDn	R/W	0

Register Descriptions

CTRL

The control register sets the operating mode.

Name:	RSVD	RSVD	RSVD	RSVD	RSVD	RSVD	GLB	RST
Bit:	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
Access:	r	r	r	r	r	r	rw	rw

RST

Writing a 1 to this bit will reset the LED controler, setting all LEDs to OFF

This bit will be automatically cleared once the reset has completed.

GLB

Writing a one to this bit causes the global color value to be displayed on all LEDs at the end of the transaction - Normally you would set the GLB_R, GLB_G, and GLB_B values in the same transaction as setting the GLB bit so that the new colour is immediately applied.

Writing a zero to this bit will disable the global colour override and return to normal operation.

GLB_R, GLB_G, GLB_B

These registers hold the global colour value. When the GLB bit in the CTRL register is set, all LEDs will display this colour.

LED Value Array

Everything after the global registers is an array of data for each LED. When the GLB bit is not set, each LED will display whatever value is programmed in its corresponding register set.