dRot

dRot, also known as distributed ROTary encoder, is a protocol designed for interfacing with rotary encoders in a distributed or networked environment. It allows for the reading of rotary encoder positions and button states from multiple devices over a communication bus, such as CAN bus or Ethernet. The core principle of dRot is to translate the physical rotation and button presses of a rotary encoder into digital data that can be interpreted by a central controller or other nodes on the network. This enables remote monitoring and control of input devices without requiring direct physical connections to a central processing unit.

The protocol typically defines message structures for sending encoder increments, absolute positions, and button press/release events. It handles tasks like debouncing button inputs and ensuring reliable transmission of rotational data, even in the presence of network noise or intermittent connectivity. dRot implementations often include features for device identification, allowing multiple dRot-enabled encoders to coexist on the same bus. This makes it suitable for applications where a large number of user interface elements are required, such as in industrial control panels, automotive dashboards, or complex multimedia systems. The abstraction provided by dRot simplifies the design of user interfaces by decoupling the physical input hardware from the software logic that processes the inputs.