Add the interrupt code

Remove state

Previously, you used two variables to keep track of the current value and the previous value of the PIR sensor.

The variables were used to identify a change in state that needs a response:

    

        
        
            // This variable will hold the current value of the motion detection pin's charge
// LOW means no motion is detected, HIGH means motion is detected
int motionState = LOW;

// This variable will hold the read value on each iteration of the loop
int val = 0;
        
    

The new code does not need to keep track of the state, only if the state changes.

You can replace the two variables with just one:

    

        
        
            // This variable tells us if motion triggered the interrupt
bool motionDetected = false;
        
    

Interrupt handler

The next thing to do is write the interrupt handling code.

An interrupt handler is just a function in Arduino. Importantly, this function does not take any arguments and it doesn’t return a value.

    

        
        
            void motion_detected() {
  motionDetected = true;
}
        
    

Remember that your interrupt handler should be small and fast. All you need to do is change the value of the motionDetected variable, it doesn’t get much smaller or faster than that!

Triggering an interrupt

Now that the handler function is in place, you need to tell the device when to call it. To do that, add the line below to the setup() function:

    

        
        
            attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(motionPin), motion_detected, RISING);
        
    

The attachInterrupt function takes three arguments:

• the interrupt number
• the interrupt handler function
• the interrupt condition

The arguments are described in the next three sections.

Interrupt number

Depending on the CPU, there can be a number of things that can trigger an interrupt. The CPU gives each of these a number and you need to look at the documentation for your specific device to know which number corresponds to which trigger. In this Arduino sketch, you can use the digitalPinToInterrupt() function to look up the interrupt number for a given pin, such as the motionPin variable.

Interrupt handler

This is a reference to your function. Be sure to use the function name and don’t put parentheses after it or else it will execute the function and pass the return value to attachInterrupt, which isn’t what you want.

Interrupt condition

Depending on your hardware there may be different conditions that can be used to trigger an interrupt. Arduino typically supports CHANGE, FALLING and RISING to trigger interrupts based on changes to the pin’s input voltage:

• FALLING for a change from HIGH to LOW
• RISING for a change from LOW to HIGH
• CHANGE for a change in either direction

Use the RISING condition because you only want to do something when the PIR sensor changes from LOW to HIGH.

Continue to the next section to see the updated application code.