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Bluetooth Low Energy TinyShield (OBSOLETE) Tutorial

The TinyShield Bluetooth Low Energy Board lets you add Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as Bluetooth Smart) communications to your TinyDuino. This TinyShield is based around the advanced Bluegiga BLE112 Bluetooth Low Energy Module.

Learn more about the TinyDuino Platform


Technical Details

Written description of what the board does, typically links back to product page somehow.

To see what other TinyShields are compatible with this TinySheild, see theĀ TinyShield Compatibility Matrix

Technical Details Bluegiga BLE112 Specs
  • Bluetooth v. 4.0, single mode compliant
    • Supports master and slave modes
    • Supports up to eight connections
  • Integrated Bluetooth Smart stack
    • GAP, GATT, L2CAP, SMP
    • Bluetooth Smart profiles
  • Radio performance
    • TX power: +3 dBm to -23 dBm
    • Receiver sensitivity: -93 dBm
TinyDuino Power Requirements
  • Voltage: 3.0V - 5.5V
  • Current:
    • Transmit: 27mA (0 dBm)
    • Sleep mode 3: 0.5 uA
    • Due to the low current, this board can be run using the TinyDuino coin cell option
Pins Used
  • 3 - BLE_TX: This signal is the serial transmit out of the BLE module and into the TinyDuino
  • 4 - BLE_RX: This signal is the serial receive of the BLE module from the TinyDuino
Dimensions
  • 20mm x 29mm (.787 inches x 1.142 inches)
  • Max Height (from lower bottom TinyShield Connector to upper top TinyShield Connector): 5.11mm (0.201 inches)
  • Weight: 2.25 grams (.08 ounces)

Notes

  • The module is preloaded with the BGLib Arduino command set, which is located here.
  • An app is required to communicate with this, please check out the Bluegiga product page for information on this.
  • Older versions of this board (Rev 1) have the serial lines connected to the hardware serial lines of the TinyDuino processor (pins 0 and 1), therefore the USB TinyShield cannot be used at the same time as the BLE TinyShield. This is not the case with Rev 2 or later versions of this board

Materials

Hardware

Software


Hardware Assembly

On top of your processor board of choice, place the Bluetooth Low Energy TinyShield. Plug a MicroUSB cable into the micro USB port (or USB shield) and then plug the cable into an available USB port on your computer. Make sure the processor is switched on.


Software Setup

We've worked with Jeff Rowberg on this board who created the BGLib API for Arduino, so the examples he shows here are also valid for helping getting up to speed on this board (with one difference, see below).

Upload Program

The one main difference is that the TinyShield does not use the hardware sleep control pin. To work with the standard BGLib that Jeff provides,. remove the calls to onBeforeTXCommand/onTXCommandComplete which will cause the processor to hang indefinitely.

We also have a modified version of the BGLib and examples that will work directly with the TinyDuino and Bluegiga Bluetooth LE TinyShield, you can download it here.

Code
/ Bluegiga BGLib Arduino interface library demonstration sketch
// 2013-03-14 by Jeff Rowberg <jeff@rowberg.net>
// Updates should (hopefully) always be available at https://github.com/jrowberg/bglib

// Changelog:
//      2013-03-14 - Add support for packet mode
//                   Add support for BLE wake-up
//      2012-11-14 - Initial release

/* ============================================
BGLib Arduino interface library code is placed under the MIT license
Copyright (c) 2013 Jeff Rowberg
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
THE SOFTWARE.
===============================================
*/

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include "BGLib.h"

// BLE112 module connections:
// - BLE P0_4 -> Arduino Digital Pin 2 (BLE TX -> Arduino soft RX)
// - BLE P0_5 -> Arduino Digital Pin 3 (BLE RX -> Arduino soft TX)
//
// If using the *_hwake15 project firmware:
// - BLE P1_5 -> Arduino Digital Pin 4 (BLE host wake-up -> Arduino I/O 4)
//
// If useing the *_wake16 project firmware:
// - BLE P1_6 -> Arduino Digital Pin 5 (BLE module wake-up -> Arduino I/O 5)
//
// If using project with flow control enabled on the BLE:
// - BLE P0_2 -> GND (CTS tied to ground to bypass flow control)

// NOTE: this demo REQUIRES the BLE112 be programmed with the UART connected
// to the "api" endpoint in hardware.xml, have "mode" set to "packet", and be
// configured for 38400 baud, 8/N/1. This may change in the future, but be
// aware. The BLE SDK archive contains an /examples/uartdemo project which is
// a good starting point for this communication, though some changes are
// required to enable packet mode and change the baud rate. The BGLib
// repository also includes a project you can use for this in the folder
// /BLEFirmware/BGLib_U1A1P_38400_noflow_wake16_hwake15.

SoftwareSerial bleSerialPort(3, 4); // RX, TX
BGLib ble112((HardwareSerial *)&bleSerialPort, 0, 1);

uint8_t isScanActive = 0;

#define LED_PIN 13          // Arduino Uno LED
//#define BLE_WAKEUP_PIN 5    // Assuming digital pin 5 is connected to BLE wake-up pin (P1_6 in my firmware)

void setup() {
    // initialize status LED
    pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);

    // initialize BLE wake-up pin to allow (not force) sleep mode
    //pinMode(BLE_WAKEUP_PIN, OUTPUT);
    //digitalWrite(BLE_WAKEUP_PIN, LOW);

    // open Arduino USB serial (and wait, if we're using Leonardo)
    Serial.begin(115200);
    while (!Serial);

    // welcome!
    Serial.println("BLE112 BGAPI Scanner Demo");

    // set up internal status handlers
    // (these are technically optional)
    ble112.onBusy = onBusy;
    ble112.onIdle = onIdle;
    ble112.onTimeout = onTimeout;

    // ONLY enable these if you are using the <wakeup_pin> parameter in your firmware's hardware.xml file
    //ble112.onBeforeTXCommand = onBeforeTXCommand;
    //ble112.onTXCommandComplete = onTXCommandComplete;

    // set up BGLib response handlers (called almost immediately after sending commands)
    // (these are also technicaly optional)
    ble112.ble_rsp_system_hello = my_rsp_system_hello;
    ble112.ble_rsp_gap_set_scan_parameters = my_rsp_gap_set_scan_parameters;
    ble112.ble_rsp_gap_discover = my_rsp_gap_discover;
    ble112.ble_rsp_gap_end_procedure = my_rsp_gap_end_procedure;

    // set up BGLib event handlers (called at unknown times)
    ble112.ble_evt_system_boot = my_evt_system_boot;
    ble112.ble_evt_gap_scan_response = my_evt_gap_scan_response;

    // set the data rate for the SoftwareSerial port
    bleSerialPort.begin(38400);
}

void loop() {
    Serial.println("Operations Menu:");
    Serial.println("0) Reset BLE112 module");
    Serial.println("1) Say hello to the BLE112 and wait for response");
    Serial.println("2) Toggle scanning for advertising BLE devices");
    Serial.println("Command?");
    while (1) {
        // keep polling for new data from BLE
        ble112.checkActivity();

        // check for input from the user
        if (Serial.available()) {
            uint8_t ch = Serial.read();
            uint8_t status;
            if (ch == '0') {
                // Reset BLE112 module
                Serial.println("-->\tsystem_reset: { boot_in_dfu: 0 }");
                ble112.ble_cmd_system_reset(0);
                while ((status = ble112.checkActivity(1000)));
                // system_reset doesn't have a response, but this BGLib
                // implementation allows the system_boot event specially to
                // set the "busy" flag to false for this particular case
            }
            if (ch == '1') {
                // Say hello to the BLE112 and wait for response
                Serial.println("-->\tsystem_hello");
                ble112.ble_cmd_system_hello();
                while ((status = ble112.checkActivity(1000)));
                // response should come back within milliseconds
            }
            else if (ch == '2') {
                // Toggle scanning for advertising BLE devices
                if (isScanActive) {
                    isScanActive = 0;
                    Serial.println("-->\tgap_end_procedure");
                    ble112.ble_cmd_gap_end_procedure();
                    while ((status = ble112.checkActivity(1000)));
                    // response should come back within milliseconds
                } else {
                    isScanActive = 1;
                    Serial.println("-->\tgap_set_scan_parameters: { scan_interval: 0xC8, scan_window: 0xC8, active: 1 }");
                    ble112.ble_cmd_gap_set_scan_parameters(0xC8, 0xC8, 1);
                    while ((status = ble112.checkActivity(1000)));
                    // response should come back within milliseconds
                    Serial.println("-->\tgap_discover: { mode: 2 (GENERIC) }");
                    ble112.ble_cmd_gap_discover(BGLIB_GAP_DISCOVER_GENERIC);
                    while ((status = ble112.checkActivity(1000)));
                    // response should come back within milliseconds
                    // scan response events may happen at any time after this
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

// ================================================================
// INTERNAL BGLIB CLASS CALLBACK FUNCTIONS
// ================================================================

void onBusy() {
    // turn LED on when we're busy
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, HIGH);
}

void onIdle() {
    // turn LED off when we're no longer busy
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW);
}

void onTimeout() {
    Serial.println("!!!\tTimeout occurred!");
}

void onBeforeTXCommand() {
    // wake module up (assuming here that digital pin 5 is connected to the BLE wake-up pin)
    //digitalWrite(BLE_WAKEUP_PIN, HIGH);

    // wait for "hardware_io_port_status" event to come through, and parse it (and otherwise ignore it)
    uint8_t *last;
    while (1) {
        ble112.checkActivity();
        last = ble112.getLastEvent();
        if (last[0] == 0x07 && last[1] == 0x00) break;
    }

    // give a bit of a gap between parsing the wake-up event and allowing the command to go out
    delayMicroseconds(1000);
}

void onTXCommandComplete() {
    // allow module to return to sleep (assuming here that digital pin 5 is connected to the BLE wake-up pin)
    //digitalWrite(BLE_WAKEUP_PIN, LOW);
}

// ================================================================
// USER-DEFINED BGLIB RESPONSE CALLBACKS
// ================================================================

void my_rsp_system_hello(const ble_msg_system_hello_rsp_t *msg) {
    Serial.println("<--\tsystem_hello");
}

void my_rsp_gap_set_scan_parameters(const ble_msg_gap_set_scan_parameters_rsp_t *msg) {
    Serial.print("<--\tgap_set_scan_parameters: { ");
    Serial.print("result: "); Serial.print((uint16_t)msg -> result, HEX);
    Serial.println(" }");
}

void my_rsp_gap_discover(const ble_msg_gap_discover_rsp_t *msg) {
    Serial.print("<--\tgap_discover: { ");
    Serial.print("result: "); Serial.print((uint16_t)msg -> result, HEX);
    Serial.println(" }");
}

void my_rsp_gap_end_procedure(const ble_msg_gap_end_procedure_rsp_t *msg) {
    Serial.print("<--\tgap_end_procedure: { ");
    Serial.print("result: "); Serial.print((uint16_t)msg -> result, HEX);
    Serial.println(" }");
}

// ================================================================
// USER-DEFINED BGLIB EVENT CALLBACKS
// ================================================================

void my_evt_system_boot(const ble_msg_system_boot_evt_t *msg) {
    Serial.print("###\tsystem_boot: { ");
    Serial.print("major: "); Serial.print(msg -> major, HEX);
    Serial.print(", minor: "); Serial.print(msg -> minor, HEX);
    Serial.print(", patch: "); Serial.print(msg -> patch, HEX);
    Serial.print(", build: "); Serial.print(msg -> build, HEX);
    Serial.print(", ll_version: "); Serial.print(msg -> ll_version, HEX);
    Serial.print(", protocol_version: "); Serial.print(msg -> protocol_version, HEX);
    Serial.print(", hw: "); Serial.print(msg -> hw, HEX);
    Serial.println(" }");
}

void my_evt_gap_scan_response(const ble_msg_gap_scan_response_evt_t *msg) {
    Serial.print("###\tgap_scan_response: { ");
    Serial.print("rssi: "); Serial.print(msg -> rssi);
    Serial.print(", packet_type: "); Serial.print((uint8_t)msg -> packet_type, HEX);
    Serial.print(", sender: ");
    // this is a "bd_addr" data type, which is a 6-byte uint8_t array
    for (uint8_t i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
        if (msg -> sender.addr[i] < 16) Serial.write('0');
        Serial.print(msg -> sender.addr[i], HEX);
    }
    Serial.print(", address_type: "); Serial.print(msg -> address_type, HEX);
    Serial.print(", bond: "); Serial.print(msg -> bond, HEX);
    Serial.print(", data: ");
    // this is a "uint8array" data type, which is a length byte and a uint8_t* pointer
    for (uint8_t i = 0; i < msg -> data.len; i++) {
        if (msg -> data.data[i] < 16) Serial.write('0');
        Serial.print(msg -> data.data[i], HEX);
    }
    Serial.println(" }");
}

Downloads


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