| .. _sensing_api: |
| |
| Sensing Subsystem |
| ######################## |
| |
| .. contents:: |
| :local: |
| :depth: 2 |
| |
| Overview |
| ******** |
| |
| Sensing Subsystem is a high level sensor framework inside the OS user |
| space service layer. It is a framework focused on sensor fusion, client |
| arbitration, sampling, timing, scheduling and sensor based power management. |
| |
| Key concepts in Sensing Subsystem include physical sensor and virtual sensor objects, |
| and a scheduling framework over sensor object relationships. |
| Physical sensors do not depend on any other sensor objects for input, and |
| will directly interact with existing zephyr sensor device drivers. |
| Virtual sensors rely on other sensor objects (physical or virtual) as |
| report inputs. |
| |
| The sensing subsystem relies on Zephyr sensor device APIs (existing version or update in future) |
| to leverage Zephyr's large library of sensor device drivers (100+). |
| |
| Use of the sensing subsystem is optional. Applications that only need to access simple sensors |
| devices can use the Zephyr :ref:`sensor_api` API directly. |
| |
| Since the sensing subsystem is separated from device driver layer or |
| kernel space and could support various customizations and sensor |
| algorithms in user space with virtual sensor concepts. The existing |
| sensor device driver can focus on low layer device side works, can keep |
| simple as much as possible, just provide device HW abstraction and |
| operations etc. This is very good for system stability. |
| |
| The sensing subsystem is decoupled with any sensor expose/transfer |
| protocols, the target is to support various up-layer frameworks and |
| Applications with different sensor expose/transfer protocols, |
| such as `CHRE <https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/chre>`_, HID sensors Applications, |
| MQTT sensor Applications according different products requirements. Or even support multiple |
| Applications with different up-layer sensor protocols at the same time |
| with it's multiple clients support design. |
| |
| Sensing subsystem can help build a unified Zephyr sensing architecture for |
| cross host OSes support and as well as IoT sensor solutions. |
| |
| The diagram below illustrates how the Sensing Subsystem integrates with up-layer frameworks. |
| |
| .. image:: images/sensing_solution.png |
| :align: center |
| :alt: Unified Zephyr sensing architecture. |
| |
| Configurability |
| *************** |
| |
| * Reusable and configurable standalone subsystem. |
| * Based on Zephyr existing low-level Sensor API (reuse 100+ existing sensor device drivers) |
| * Provide Zephyr high-level Sensing Subsystem API for Applications. |
| * Separate option CHRE Sensor PAL Implementation module to support CHRE. |
| * Decoupled with any host link protocols, it's Zephyr Application's role to handle different |
| protocols (MQTT, HID or Private, all configurable) |
| |
| Main Features |
| ************* |
| |
| * Scope |
| * Focus on framework for sensor fusion, multiple clients, arbitration, data sampling, timing |
| management and scheduling. |
| |
| * Sensor Abstraction |
| * ``Physical sensor``: interacts with Zephyr sensor device drivers, focus on data collecting. |
| * ``Virtual sensor``: relies on other sensor(s), ``physical`` or ``virtual``, focus on |
| data fusion. |
| |
| * Data Driven Model |
| * ``Polling mode``: periodical sampling rate |
| * ``Interrupt mode``: data ready, threshold interrupt etc. |
| |
| * Scheduling |
| * single thread main loop for all sensor objects sampling and process. |
| |
| * Buffer Mode for Batching |
| |
| * Configurable Via Device Tree |
| |
| |
| Below diagram shows the API position and scope: |
| |
| .. image:: images/sensing_api_org.png |
| :align: center |
| :alt: Sensing subsystem API organization. |
| |
| ``Sensing Subsystem API`` is for Applications. |
| ``Sensing Sensor API`` is for development ``sensors``. |
| |
| |
| Major Flows |
| *********** |
| |
| * Sensor Configuration Flow |
| |
| .. image:: images/sensor_config_flow.png |
| :align: center |
| :alt: Sensor Configuration Flow (App set report interval to hinge angel sensor example). |
| |
| * Sensor Data Flow |
| |
| .. image:: images/sensor_data_flow.png |
| :align: center |
| :alt: Sensor Data Flow (App receive hinge angel data through data event callback example). |
| |
| Sensor Types And Instance |
| ************************* |
| |
| The ``Sensing Subsystem`` supports multiple instances of the same sensor type, |
| there're two methods for Applications to identify and open an unique sensor instance: |
| |
| * Enumerate all sensor instances |
| |
| :c:func:`sensing_get_sensors` returns all current board configuration supported sensor instances' |
| information in a :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_info` pointer array . |
| |
| Then Applications can use :c:func:`sensing_open_sensor` to |
| open specific sensor instance for future accessing, configuration and receive sensor data etc. |
| |
| This method is suitable for supporting some up-layer frameworks like ``CHRE``, ``HID`` which need |
| to dynamically enumerate the underlying platform's sensor instances. |
| |
| * Open the sensor instance by devicetree node directly |
| |
| Applications can use :c:func:`sensing_open_sensor_by_dt` to open a sensor instance directly with |
| sensor devicetree node identifier. |
| |
| For example: |
| |
| .. code-block:: c |
| |
| sensing_open_sensor_by_dt(DEVICE_DT_GET(DT_NODELABLE(base_accel)), cb_list, handle); |
| sensing_open_sensor_by_dt(DEVICE_DT_GET(DT_CHOSEN(zephyr_sensing_base_accel)), cb_list, handle); |
| |
| This method is useful and easy use for some simple Application which just want to access specific |
| sensor(s). |
| |
| |
| ``Sensor type`` follows the |
| `HID standard sensor types definition <https://usb.org/sites/default/files/hutrr39b_0.pdf>`_. |
| |
| See :zephyr_file:`include/zephyr/sensing/sensing_sensor_types.h` |
| |
| Sensor Instance Handler |
| *********************** |
| |
| Clients using a :c:type:`sensing_sensor_handle_t` type handler to handle a opened sensor |
| instance, and all subsequent operations on this sensor instance need use this handler, |
| such as set configurations, read sensor sample data, etc. |
| |
| For a sensor instance, could have two kinds of clients: |
| ``Application clients`` and ``Sensor clients``. |
| |
| ``Application clients`` can use :c:func:`sensing_open_sensor` to open a sensor instance |
| and get it's handler. |
| |
| For ``Sensor clients``, there is no open API for opening a reporter, because the client-report |
| relationship is built at the sensor's registration stage with devicetree. |
| |
| The ``Sensing Subsystem`` will auto open and create ``handlers`` for client sensor |
| to it's reporter sensors. |
| ``Sensor clients`` can get it's reporters' handlers via :c:func:`sensing_sensor_get_reporters`. |
| |
| .. image:: images/sensor_top.png |
| :align: center |
| :alt: Sensor Reporting Topology. |
| |
| .. note:: |
| Sensors inside the Sensing Subsystem, the reporting relationship between them are all auto |
| generated by Sensing Subsystem according devicetree definitions, handlers between client sensor |
| and reporter sensors are auto created. |
| Application(s) need to call :c:func:`sensing_open_sensor` to explicitly open the sensor instance. |
| |
| Sensor Sample Value |
| ******************* |
| |
| * Data Structure |
| |
| Each sensor sample value defines as a common ``header`` + ``readings[]`` data structure, like |
| :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_3d_q31`, :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_q31`, and |
| :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_uint32`. |
| |
| The ``header`` definition :c:func:`sensing_sensor_value_header`. |
| |
| |
| * Time Stamp |
| |
| Time stamp unit in sensing subsystem is ``micro seconds``. |
| |
| The ``header`` defines a **base_timestamp**, and |
| each element in the **readings[]** array defines **timestamp_delta**. |
| |
| The **timestamp_delta** is is in relation to the previous **readings** (or the **base_timestamp**) |
| |
| For example: |
| |
| * timestamp of ``readings[0]`` is ``header.base_timestamp`` + ``readings[0].timestamp_delta``. |
| |
| * timestamp of ``readings[1]`` is ``timestamp of readings[0]`` + ``readings[1].timestamp_delta``. |
| |
| Since timestamp unit is micro seconds, |
| the max **timestamp_delta** (``uint32_t``) is ``4295`` seconds. |
| |
| If a sensor has batched data where two consecutive readings differ by more than ``4295`` seconds, |
| the sensing subsystem runtime will split them across multiple instances of the readings structure, |
| and send multiple events. |
| |
| This concept is referred from `CHRE Sensor API <https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/ |
| chre/blob/zephyr/chre_api/include/chre_api/chre/sensor_types.h>`_. |
| |
| * Data Format |
| |
| ``Sensing Subsystem`` uses per sensor type defined data format structure, |
| and support ``Q Format`` defined in :zephyr_file:`include/zephyr/dsp/types.h` |
| for ``zdsp`` lib support. |
| |
| For example :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_3d_q31` can be used by 3D IMU sensors like |
| :c:macro:`SENSING_SENSOR_TYPE_MOTION_ACCELEROMETER_3D`, |
| :c:macro:`SENSING_SENSOR_TYPE_MOTION_UNCALIB_ACCELEROMETER_3D`, |
| and :c:macro:`SENSING_SENSOR_TYPE_MOTION_GYROMETER_3D`. |
| |
| :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_uint32` can be used by |
| :c:macro:`SENSING_SENSOR_TYPE_LIGHT_AMBIENTLIGHT` sensor, |
| |
| and :c:struct:`sensing_sensor_value_q31` can be used by |
| :c:macro:`SENSING_SENSOR_TYPE_MOTION_HINGE_ANGLE` sensor |
| |
| See :zephyr_file:`include/zephyr/sensing/sensing_datatypes.h` |
| |
| |
| Device Tree Configuration |
| ************************* |
| |
| Sensing subsystem using device tree to configuration all sensor instances and their properties, |
| reporting relationships. |
| |
| See the example :zephyr_file:`samples/subsys/sensing/simple/boards/native_posix.overlay` |
| |
| API Reference |
| ************* |
| |
| .. doxygengroup:: sensing_sensor_types |
| .. doxygengroup:: sensing_datatypes |
| .. doxygengroup:: sensing_api |
| .. doxygengroup:: sensing_sensor |