Category: BleuIO

1. Introduction

This is a simple example showcasing how to control a BleuIO dongle connected to Beaglebone Black using a python script.

When running the script, it will first ask for the com port where the dongle is connected (usually ‘/dev/ttyACM0’). After that, the BleuIO will start advertising. Every 8th second it will turn on one of the onboard Beaglebone Black LEDs whilst changing the BLE advertising name to indicate which LED is on.

We are using the Linux debian image: ‘OMAP3/DM3730 Debian 9.5 2018-10-07 4GB SD LXQT’ (https://beagleboard.org/latest-images).

2. About the Code

You can get access to the project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/beaglebone_bleuio_example

We are using the Adafruit_BBIO python library that comes with the Beaglebone to control the onboard LEDs. First we define the LEDs names and then set them as GPIO Outputs. Then we define the advertising messages that the BleuIO will switch between. Lets break one down:

“10:09:42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:30:20:4F:4E:”

“10” is the size of the advertising packet in HEX.
“09” is the flag for device name (Complete Local Name).
“42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:30:20:4F:4E” is the packet itself, translated from HEX to ASCII it says: “BleuIO LED 0 ON”

Afterwards the user is presented with a message to input the com port the BleuIO is connected to. If you are not using a USB Hub the port should be ‘/dev/ttyACM0’.

You can change the comport name in the Python script and fill in your COM port.

com_input = "/dev/ttyACM0"

The script continues into the main loop, where it will first make sure all LEDs are off and then start BLE advertising.

The loop iterates through all four LEDs. In every iteration it turns one LED on and advertise the LED name then continue to the next LED. This will continue until the script is aborted.

import serial
import time
import Adafruit_BBIO.GPIO as GPIO


LED_USR0 = "USR0"
LED_USR1 = "USR1"
LED_USR2 = "USR2"
LED_USR3 = "USR3"

GPIO.setup(LED_USR0, GPIO.OUT)
GPIO.setup(LED_USR1, GPIO.OUT)
GPIO.setup(LED_USR2, GPIO.OUT)
GPIO.setup(LED_USR3, GPIO.OUT)

LED0_ON_ADV_MSG = "10:09:42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:30:20:4F:4E:"
LED1_ON_ADV_MSG = "10:09:42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:31:20:4F:4E:"
LED2_ON_ADV_MSG = "10:09:42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:32:20:4F:4E:"
LED3_ON_ADV_MSG = "10:09:42:6C:65:75:49:4F:20:4C:45:44:20:33:20:4F:4E:"

# Turn off all LEDs
GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
time.sleep(0.1)
GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
time.sleep(0.1)
GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
time.sleep(0.1)
GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
time.sleep(0.1)

print("\nBlueIO BeagleBone Example!\n\n")
connecting_to_dongle = 0
com_input = ""

start_input = 0
valid_input = 0
while start_input == 0:
    com_input = input(
        "Enter Com port of Dongle (default for BeagleBone: '/dev/ttyACM0'):\n>>"
    )
    print("\nComport to use: " + com_input)
    input_continue = input(
        "If your happy with your choice just press Enter to continue the script. Else type E to exit or R to redo your choice. \n>>"
    )
    if input_continue.upper() == "E":
        start_input = 1
    elif input_continue.upper() == "":
        start_input = 1
    elif input_continue.upper() == "R":
        valid_input = 0
        start_input = 0
if input_continue.upper() == "E":
    print("Exiting script...")
    exit()

console = None

while 1:
    try:
        print("Please wait...")
        time.sleep(0.5)
        console.write(str.encode("AT+DUAL"))
        console.write("\r".encode())
        time.sleep(0.5)
        print("Starting Advertising...")
        console.write(str.encode("AT+ADVSTART"))
        console.write("\r".encode())
        time.sleep(0.5)
        led_turn = 0
        # Turn off all LEDs
        GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        while True:
            if led_turn == 0:
                print("\nTurning LED USR0 ON")
                console.write(str.encode("AT+ADVRESP="))
                console.write(LED0_ON_ADV_MSG.encode())
                console.write("\r".encode())
                GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.HIGH)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
                led_turn = led_turn + 1
            elif led_turn == 1:
                print("\nTurning LED USR1 ON")
                console.write(str.encode("AT+ADVRESP="))
                console.write(LED1_ON_ADV_MSG.encode())
                console.write("\r".encode())
                GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.HIGH)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
                led_turn = led_turn + 1
            elif led_turn == 2:
                print("\nTurning LED USR2 ON")
                console.write(str.encode("AT+ADVRESP="))
                console.write(LED2_ON_ADV_MSG.encode())
                console.write("\r".encode())
                GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.HIGH)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
                led_turn = led_turn + 1
            elif led_turn == 3:
                print("\nTurning LED USR3 ON")
                console.write(str.encode("AT+ADVRESP="))
                console.write(LED3_ON_ADV_MSG.encode())
                console.write("\r".encode())
                GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
                GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.HIGH)
                led_turn = 0

            time.sleep(8)

    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        GPIO.output(LED_USR0, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR1, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR2, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        GPIO.output(LED_USR3, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(0.1)
        print("Exiting script...")
        exit()
    except:
        print("\n\nDongle not connected.\n")
        connecting_to_dongle = 0
        while connecting_to_dongle == 0:
            try:
                print("Trying to connect to dongle...")
                console = serial.Serial(
                    port=com_input,
                    baudrate=57600,
                    parity="N",
                    stopbits=1,
                    bytesize=8,
                    timeout=0,
                )
                if console.is_open.__bool__():
                    connecting_to_dongle = 1
                    print("\n\nConnected to Dongle in port: " + com_input + ".\n")
            except:
                print(
                    "Dongle not found. Retrying connection to port: "
                    + com_input
                    + "..."
                )
                time.sleep(5)

3. Using the example project

3.1 What you will need

• A Computer
• A BleuIO dongle (https://www.bleuio.com/)
• A BeagleBone Black (https://beagleboard.org/black) with Beaglebone Firmware installed (https://beagleboard.org/latest-images)

4. How to setup project

4.1 Downloading the project from GitHub

Get access to the project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/beaglebone_bleuio_example

Either clone the project, or download it as a zip file and unzip it, into a folder on your BeagleBone.

You can also create a new python file using the Cloud9 IDE from the BeagleBone (run by going to http://192.168.7.2:3000/).

Copy the code and pasting it into the newly created file.

4.2 Installing pyserial

To run the script you will need to install the python library pyserial.

The easiest way of doing this is just connecting to the BeagleBone via shh (the default password is temppwd):

or using the bash tab in the Cloud9 IDE and type:

 sudo pip3 install pyserial

5. Running the example

Go to the folder where you have the python script file and run:
(Pyserial needs sudo-privileges to function.)

sudo python3 name_of_script.py

1. Introduction

The project is a simple example showcasing a quick way to setup an Arduino with a USB Host Shield as a USB CDC Host capable of communicating with the BleuIO Dongle.

When a BleuIO Dongle is connected to the USB port, the BleuIO Dongle will start advertising. It will then act as a terminal, taking input and sending data to the Arduino Virtual Com Port.

We have used an Arduino Uno Rev. 3 with SparkFun’s USB Host Shield (DEV-09947) for this example.

2. About the Code

You can get project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/arduino_bleuio_example
This project based on the ‘acm_terminal’ example in the Host USB Shield Library 2.0

The largest possible max.packet size for the function Acm.RcvData() is 64 bytes, so to accommodate the amount of data we will receive, we are using three buffers to receive the data from the BleuIO Dongle.

If the buffers have received any data, we print it out to the serial terminal connected to the Virtual COM Port.

void loop()
{
    Usb.Task();

    if( Acm.isReady()) {
       uint8_t rcode;
       uint8_t rcode2;
       uint8_t rcode3;

       /* reading the keyboard */
       if(Serial.available()) {
         uint8_t data= Serial.read();
         /* sending to the BleuIO Dongle */
         rcode = Acm.SndData(1, &data);
         if (rcode)
            ErrorMessage<uint8_t>(PSTR("SndData"), rcode);
       }//if(Serial.available()...

        if(start_flag == 0x00)
        {
            rcode = Acm.SndData(strlen((char *)START_CMDS), (uint8_t *)START_CMDS);
            if (rcode)
            {
                ErrorMessage<uint8_t>(PSTR("SndData"), rcode);
            }

          start_flag = 0x01;
        }
        /* reading the BleuIO Dongle */
        uint8_t  buf[64];
        uint16_t rcvd = 64;
        uint8_t  buf2[64];
        uint16_t rcvd2 = 64;
        uint8_t  buf3[64];
        uint16_t rcvd3 = 64;
        uint8_t  dongle_input[3*64];
        uint16_t input_indx = 0;

        memset(dongle_input, 0, sizeof(dongle_input));

        rcode = Acm.RcvData(&rcvd, buf);
        delay(1);
        rcode2 = Acm.RcvData(&rcvd2, buf2);
        delay(1);
        rcode3 = Acm.RcvData(&rcvd3, buf3);
         if (rcode && rcode != hrNAK)
         {
            ErrorMessage<uint8_t>(PSTR("Ret"), rcode);
         }

         if (rcode2 && rcode2 != hrNAK)
         {
             ErrorMessage<uint8_t>(PSTR("Ret"), rcode2);
         }

         if (rcode3 && rcode3 != hrNAK)
         {
             ErrorMessage<uint8_t>(PSTR("Ret"), rcode3);
         }


            if( rcvd ) { //more than zero bytes received
              for(uint16_t i=0; i < rcvd; i++ ) {
                Serial.print((char)buf[i]); //printing on the screen
                dongle_input[input_indx] = buf[i];
                input_indx++;
              }
            }

            if( rcvd2 ) { //more than zero bytes received
              for(uint16_t i=0; i < rcvd2; i++ ) {
                Serial.print((char)buf2[i]); //printing on the screen
                dongle_input[input_indx] = buf2[i];
                input_indx++;
              }
            }

            if( rcvd3 ) { //more than zero bytes received
              for(uint16_t i=0; i < rcvd3; i++ ) {
                Serial.print((char)buf3[i]); //printing on the screen
                dongle_input[input_indx] = buf3[i];
                input_indx++;
              }
            }
            dongle_input[input_indx] = 0x00;

            // Example on a way for the Arduino to react to BleuIO events
            if(strlen((char *)dongle_input) != 0)
            {
              if(strstr((char *)dongle_input, "handle_evt_gap_connected") != NULL)
              {
                Serial.print("<<CONNECTION DETECTED!>>");
              }
              else if(strstr((char *)dongle_input, "handle_evt_gap_disconnected") != NULL)
              {
                Serial.print("<<CONNECTION LOST!>>");
              }
            }
    }//if( Usb.getUsbTaskState() == USB_STATE_RUNNING..
}

We also store the latest data from the dongle into the dongle_input buffer and run it through a simple “parser” to showcase an easy way of how you can react to events and have the Arduino do something.

In this example, we are explicitly looking for BLE connection or disconnect events. When found, we just print out “<<CONNECTION DETECTED!>>” or “<<CONNECTION LOST!>>” to the terminal.

3. Using the example project

3.1 What you will need

• A BleuIO dongle with firmware version 2.1.0 or later (https://www.bleuio.com/getting_started/docs/release_history/#release-v210)
• An Arduino Uno Rev. 3 (https://store.arduino.cc/products/arduino-uno-rev3)
• An USB Host Shield (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9947)
• The Arduino IDE (https://www.arduino.cc/en/software)
• Host USB shield library 2.0

3.2 Requirments for the SparkFun board

• With the SparkFun board, it seems like you MUST supply external power on Vin or the barrel jack. 5V from the USB cable did not work.
• You must also apply a jumper from pin D7 to RESET.

4. How to setup project

4.1 Downloading the project from GitHub

Get project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/arduino_bleuio_example

Either clone the project, or download it as a zip file and unzip it, into your Arduino folder.

4.2 Downloading the USB Host Shield Library 2.0

Either download the Library from Here (https://felis.github.io/USB_Host_Shield_2.0/) and place the folder into your libraries folder inside your Arduino folder. (For information on installing libraries, see: http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Libraries)

Or download it through the Arduino IDE:

• In Arduino IDE choose Sketch>Include Library>Manage Library
  
  
• Search for USB Host Shield Library 2.0 and click ‘Install’
  
  

5. Running the example

• In Arduino IDE click the upload button to upload the project to your Arduino.
  
  
• Open up the ‘Arduino Uno Viritual COM Port’ with a serial terminal emulation program like TeraTerm, Putty or CoolTerm.Serial port Setup:
  Baudrate: 115200
  Data Bits: 8
  Parity: None
  Stop Bits: 1
  Flow Control: None
• Or inside the Arduino IDE open up Arduino Monitor and in the bottom right corner select ‘Carriage Return’ and ‘115200 baud’
  
• You should see the word ‘Start’ and then see the dongle running two commands: setting response data and starting the advertising. You can now type commands to the dongle.
  
  

1. Introduction

The project is a simple example showcasing a quick way to set up a STM32Cube project as a USB CDC Host capable of communicating with the BleuIO Dongle.

When a BleuIO Dongle is connected to the Nucleo boards USB port the STM32 will recognize it. It will then accept 3 different inputs from the UART and send one of 3 preprogrammed commands to the BleuIO Dongle based on the input. The commands that are used in this example are:

• ATI (Dongle Information)
• AT+ADVSTART (Starts Advertising)
• AT+ADVSTOP (Stops Advertising)

We have used a STM32 Nucleo-144 development board with STM32H743ZI MCU (STM32H743ZI micro mbed-Enabled Development Nucleo-144 series ARM® Cortex®-M7 MCU 32-Bit Embedded Evaluation Board) for this example.

If you want to use another setup you will have to make sure it support USB Host and beware that the GPIO setup might be different and may need to be reconfigured in the .ioc file.

2. About the Code

You can get project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/stm32_bleuio_example

This project based on a new STM32 project with these changes in the .ioc file:

Under ‘Connectivity’ the ‘USB_OTG_FS’-mode is changed to Host_Only and in the NVIC Settings all global interrupts are enabled.

And under ‘Middleware’ the ‘USB_HOST’- ‘Class for FS IP’ is set to ‘Communication Host Class (Virtual Port Com)’.

---

To make sure the host would recognize when the bootloader is done and the BleuIO firmware is running this was added in the USBH_UserProcess function in ‘usb_host.c’ (found under ‘USB_HOST’ -> ‘App’ folder):

static void USBH_UserProcess  (USBH_HandleTypeDef *phost, uint8_t id)
{
  /* USER CODE BEGIN CALL_BACK_1 */
  switch(id)
  {
  case HOST_USER_SELECT_CONFIGURATION:
  break;

  case HOST_USER_DISCONNECTION:
  Appli_state = APPLICATION_DISCONNECT;
  isBleuIOReady = false;

  // Turn on Red LED, turn off Green and Yellow LED
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_0, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOE, GPIO_PIN_1, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_14, GPIO_PIN_SET);
  break;

  case HOST_USER_CLASS_ACTIVE:
  Appli_state = APPLICATION_READY;
  // Check if BleuIO firmware is running
  // (idProduct:0x6001 = bootloader, idProduct:0x6002 = bleuio fw)
  if(phost->device.DevDesc.idProduct == 0x6002)
  {
      isBleuIOReady = true;
      // Sends message to uart that BleuIO is connected and ready
      HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t*)BLEUIO_READY, strlen(BLEUIO_READY), HAL_MAX_DELAY);

      // Turn on Green LED, turn off Yellow and Red LED
      HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_0, GPIO_PIN_SET);
      HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOE, GPIO_PIN_1, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
      HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_14, GPIO_PIN_RESET);

      // Start receiving from usb
      USBH_CDC_Receive(&hUsbHostFS, CDC_RX_Buffer, RX_BUFF_SIZE);
  }
  break;

  case HOST_USER_CONNECTION:
  Appli_state = APPLICATION_START;
  isBleuIOReady = false;
  // Turn on Yellow LED, turn off Green and Red LED
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_0, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOE, GPIO_PIN_1, GPIO_PIN_SET);
  HAL_GPIO_WritePin(GPIOB, GPIO_PIN_14, GPIO_PIN_RESET);
  break;

  default:
  break;
  }
  /* USER CODE END CALL_BACK_1 */
}

The Green, Red and Yellow LEDs on the Nucleo board is also setup to change based on the connection status.

Red = Disconnnected.
Yellow = Connecting.
Green = Connected.

An external variable bool isBleuIOReady is also set so the status of the dongle is accessible from main.c.

Once the BleuIO dongle is confirmed to be connected the USBH_CDC_Receive function is run to start reciving data from the USB CDC.

The USBH_CDC_ReceiveCallback also needs to be implemented:

void USBH_CDC_ReceiveCallback(USBH_HandleTypeDef *phost)
{
    if(phost == &hUsbHostFS)
    {
        // Handles the data recived from the USB CDC host, here just printing it out to UART
        rx_size = USBH_CDC_GetLastReceivedDataSize(phost);
        HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, CDC_RX_Buffer, rx_size, HAL_MAX_DELAY);

        // Reset buffer and restart the callback function to receive more data
        memset(CDC_RX_Buffer,0,RX_BUFF_SIZE);
        USBH_CDC_Receive(phost, CDC_RX_Buffer, RX_BUFF_SIZE);
    }

    return;
}

In this example the recieved data is just echoed to the UART.

---

To send data to the Dongle the USBH_CDC_Transmit function is used. In this example UART input is used to send different commands.

For this purpose a wrapper function has been created that can be accessed from main.c:

/**
  * @brief Simple function that takes a string and transmit it to the dongle
  * @retval None
  */
void writeToDongle(uint8_t * cmd)
{
    USBH_CDC_Transmit(&hUsbHostFS, cmd, strlen((char *)cmd));
}

In main.c HAL_UART_RxCpltCallback is implemented to recieve input from Uart and a simple UART input handler:

void HAL_UART_RxCpltCallback(UART_HandleTypeDef *UartHandle)
{
    if(UartHandle == &huart3)
    {
        RX_value = (int)aRxBuffer[0];
        uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;

        switch(RX_value)
        {
            case UART_RX_0:
            {
                uartStatus = UART_RX_0;
                break;
            }
            case UART_RX_1:
            {
                uartStatus = UART_RX_1;
                break;
            }
            case UART_RX_2:
            {
                uartStatus = UART_RX_2;
                break;
            }
            default:
            {
                uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;
                break;
            }
        }
        // Resets uart recieve interrupt mode
        HAL_UART_Receive_IT(&huart3, (uint8_t *)aRxBuffer, RXBUFFERSIZE);
    }
}


/**
  * @brief Simple uart input handler
  * @retval None
  */
void handleUartInput(UARTCommandTypeDef cmd)
{
    switch(cmd)
    {
        case UART_RX_0:
        {
            // 0
            uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, "\r\n(0 pressed)\r\n");
            HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            if(isBleuIOReady)
            {
                writeToDongle((uint8_t*)DONGLE_CMD_ATI);
            } else
            {
                uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, BLEUIO_NOT_READY_MSG);
                HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            }
            uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;
            break;
        }
        case UART_RX_1:
        {
            // 1
            uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, "\r\n(1 pressed)\r\n");
            HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            if(isBleuIOReady)
            {
                writeToDongle((uint8_t*)DONGLE_CMD_AT_ADVSTART);
            } else
            {
                uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, BLEUIO_NOT_READY_MSG);
                HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            }
            uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;
            break;
        }
        case UART_RX_2:
        {
            // 2
            uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, "\r\n(2 pressed)\r\n");
            HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            if(isBleuIOReady)
            {
                writeToDongle((uint8_t*)DONGLE_CMD_AT_ADVSTOP);
            } else
            {
                uart_buf_len = sprintf(uart_tx_buf, BLEUIO_NOT_READY_MSG);
                HAL_UART_Transmit(&huart3, (uint8_t *)uart_tx_buf, uart_buf_len, HAL_MAX_DELAY);
            }
            uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;
            break;
        }
        case UART_RX_NONE:
        {
            break;
        }
        default:
        {
            uartStatus = UART_RX_NONE;
            break;
        }
    }
}

The handleUartInput() handles the inputs 0, 1 and 2 and maps each to a certain Dongle commands. The handler is then put inside the main loop.

  /* Infinite loop */
  /* USER CODE BEGIN WHILE */
  while (1)
  {
    /* USER CODE END WHILE */
    MX_USB_HOST_Process();
    /* USER CODE BEGIN 3 */
    // Simple handler for uart input
    handleUartInput(uartStatus);
  }
  /* USER CODE END 3 */

3. Using the example project

3.1 What you will need

• A BleuIO dongle (https://www.bleuio.com/)
• A board with a STM32 Microcontroller with a USB port. (A Nucleo-144 development board: NUCLEO-H743ZI2, was used developing this example. (https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-h743zi.html)
  To connect the dongle to the Nucleo board a “USB A to Micro USB B”-cable with a USB A female-to-female adapter can be used.)
  
  
• STM32CubeIDE (https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeide.html)

4. How to setup project

4.1 Downloading the project from GitHub

Get project HERE
https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/stm32_bleuio_example

Either clone the project, or download it as a zip file and unzip it, into your STM32CubeIDE workspace.

4.2 Importing as an Existing Project

• From STM32CubeIDE choose File>Import…
  
• Then choose General>Existing Projects into Workspace then click ‘Next >’
  
• Make sure you’ve choosen your workspace in ‘Select root directory:’
• You should see the project “stm32_bleuio_example”, check it and click ‘Finish’.
  

5. Running the example

• In STMCubeIDE click the hammer icon to build the project.
• Open up the ‘STMicroelectronics STLink Virtual COM Port’ with a serial terminal emulation program like TeraTerm, Putty or CoolTerm.Serial port Setup:
  Baudrate: 115200
  Data Bits: 8
  Parity: None
  Stop Bits: 1
  Flow Control: None
• In STMCubeIDE click the green play button to flash and run it on your board. The first time you click it the ‘Run Configuration’ window will appear. You can just leave it as is and click run.
• Connect the BleuIO Dongle.
• Wait until the message: “[BleuIO Dongle Ready]” is shown.

– Press 0 to get device information:

– Press 1 to start advertising:

– Press 2 to stop advertising:

BlueIO dongle responses will be printed out to Virtual COM Port.

Suppose you have some BLE devices at your home and want to control or scan for those devices while at your workplace. In this project, we will discuss how to access BLE data remotely.  

We have already created a script that communicates through BleuIO dongle remotely and gives us the response. You can access the script at 

https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/bledata_remote_access.git

You are free to clone the script and make changes as you wish. 

In this script, JavaScript is used to connect to the dongle using google chrome’s serial port. There is a simple PHP script that helps pass data through the cloud.

Step 1: Uploading

Upload the API folder in any server that supports PHP. This script reads and writes data to a JSON file upon request.

We have uploaded the file at http://smartsensor.io/api/api.php

You can use this URL if you don’t have a server to upload.

Step 2: Home computer setup

Open the index.js file found in the root folder and update the URL of the API file on both occasions. 

You can leave the url as it is if you want to use file from our server.

Now connect a BleuIO dongle to your home computer and open the index.html file from the root folder.

Click connect and select the COM port where the dongle is connected.

Step 3: Office / Workplace / remote computer setup

Open the index.html file found in the user folder and update the URL of the API file on both occasions.

You can leave the url as it is if you want to use file from our server.

Now open this file in a browser and start writing AT commands.

Currently, You can access the following AT commands 

• ATI ( Returns firmware version, hardware type and unique organization identifier, device connection status )
• AT+CENTRAL (Sets the device Bluetooth role to central role.)
• AT+PERIPHERAL (Sets the device Bluetooth role to the peripheral.)
• AT+DUAL (Sets the device Bluetooth role to dual role. Which means it has both Central and Peripheral role capabilities.)
• AT+ADVSTART (Starts advertising)
• AT+ADVSTOP (Stops advertising. Returns ERROR if not already advertising)
• AT+GAPSTATUS (Reports the Bluetooth role)
• AT+GAPSCAN=2 (Starts a Bluetooth device scan with the timer set in seconds. Make sure to set a timer for the scan.)

Once you type one of the above commands, you will start to see the response from the dongle on your browser screen.

I am trying to scan for BLE devices at my home where BleuIO dongle is connected. Here I got a list of devices showing on my browser screen. Make sure the device is on central mode to scan for devices.

You can add more AT commands to the script as required. All you need to do is update the index.js file found in the root folder. 

Find the list of AT commands our from getting started guide at

https://www.bleuio.com/getting_started/docs/commands/

The BleuIO is Bluetooth low energy USB dongle that can be used to create new BLE 5.0 applications in the fastest and easiest way. The BleuIO comes with a bootloader that allows you to update the firmware or flash your own application to the dongle. 

This guide will show you how to get started with making your own firmware for the BleuIO Dongle by importing our advertising example project and running it on the BleuIO dongle.

Introduction

This project has both USB CDC and BLE in Peripheral Mode. This allows you to create your own command interpreter that takes in commands to the Dongle via a serial terminal. You can then use this to execute BLE tasks such as start set advertsing or response data, start and stop advertsing etc.

The project, like the previous, uses FreeRTOS and handles the usb cdc functions in the usb_cdc_task located in the usb_cdc.c:

And the ble functions in the ble_peripheral_task located in ble_peripheral_task.c:

The example will start advertsing and is connecteble. It also has the Device Information Service (DIS) with some default values taken from Dialog Semiconductor’s ble_peripheral example. This and the advertising data can be changed in ble_peripheral_task.c:

Setup

Download the example project HERE (bleuio_advertising_example.zip or you can clone it from Github at https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/bleuio_ble_advertising_example.git

Follow the guide for Build Your Own Firmware to import and build the project.

Running the Application

• When running the example it will, just like the previous example, open a com port that will echo what every you type into the terminal. It will also start advertising with the name “BleuIO Example”.
• You can scan for it using another dongle with the BleuIO firmware or download a BLE scanning App like ‘BLE Scanner’ or ‘LightBlue”.

Introduction

The BleuIO is Bluetooth low energy USB dongle that can be used to create new BLE 5.0 applications in the fastest and easiest way. The BleuIO comes with a bootloader that allows you to update the firmware or flash your own application to the dongle. 

This guide will show you how to get started with making your own firmware for the BleuIO Dongle by importing our example project and running it on the BleuIO dongle.

The project itself is a modified version of Dialog Semiconductor’s ‘usb_cdc’ example project made to work on the BleuIO Dongle.

The ‘usb_cdc’ example will echo anything typed in the terminal back.

Setup

• Go to https://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/products/bluetooth-low-energy/da14682-and-da14683#tab-field_tab_content_resources and download the latest SDK for DA14683 under SDK (You will need to register an account to access the SDK) and the IDE SmartSnippet Studio under Development Tools.
• Install Smart Snippet Studio
• Unzip the SDK into a folder where you want your Smart Snippet Workspace to be located 
  
  
• Download the BleuIO own_application_example project HERE (bleuio_example_project.zip.
• Unzip the project and place it inside the SDK like this: 
  
  

Importing project

• Open Smart Snippet Studio and when prompted, select the SDK you just downloaded: 
  
  
• Now click the IDE: 
  
  
• Right-Click in the Project Explorer window and select import: 
  
  
• Select ‘Projects from Folder or Archive’ under the ‘General’ tab: 
  
  
• Click the ‘Directory…’ button and find the ‘bleuio_own_application_example’ project folder inside your SDK folder: 
  
  
• Finally, click ‘Finish’. You have now imported the project!

Building project and creating an image file

• To create an image file that you can use to flash to the BleuIO Dongle via the bootloader, you must first build the project to create a bin file. To do that, click the ‘Hammer’ icon in the toolbar. Be sure to build the project for DA14683. 
• Dialog Semiconductor has a file called mkimage.exe included in the SDK for generating image files. It can be run using the mkimage.bat file located at [SDK_Root]\utilities\scripts\suota\v11. It needs to point to the bin file you want to generate an image file from.
• You can open up the command prompt in the same folder and run mkimage.bat like this:

mkimage.bat ..\..\..\..\bleuio_own_application_example\DA14683-00-Release_QSPI\bleuio_own_application_example.bin
Copy

You should now have an image file inside your build folder DA14683-00-Release_QSPI named bleuioown_application_example.1.0.0.1.img that can be flashed to the BleuIO Dongle using the ‘_host_usb_updater.exe‘ (More info about updating the firmware: [Firmware Update](../firmware#How to update your firmware)).

Running the Application

• After you flashed the firmware to a BleuIO Dongle, open up a Serial Communication program (like TeraTerm, Putty or CoolTerm etc.), just like you would with the BleuIO Firmware. When first started you should be greeted by this: 
  
  
• If you type any text, the application will now echo what you type in the terminal.

Distance to a Bluetooth device can be measured using RSSI value. The following script will help you locate nearby unique BLE devices within a selected range.

This script scans for nearby unique Bluetooth devices within the given range using a well-known RSSI to distance formula. 

Requirments

• You need to have a BLE USB dongle BleuIO https://www.bleuio.com/
• To run the script, you need a web application bundler. You can use parceljs. https://parceljs.org/getting_started.html

Instructions

git clone https://github.com/smart-sensor-devices-ab/device_within_range.git

Go inside the folder type in terminal

parcel index.html

The script will scan for five seconds for nearby devices within range. You can update the value based on your requirements.

You can also run this script from online at

https://smart-sensor-devices-ab.github.io/device_within_range/dist/index.html

**Make sure your BleuIO dongle is connected

Read more about how to calculate the distanceHow to Calculate Distance from the RSSI value of the BLE Beacon