BTLE (Bluetooth Low energy) development kit - must have proximity profile

Question

Can anyone point me towards a tried and tested development kit (board) for Bluetooth Low Energy?

I am especially interested in the proximity profile, and compatibility with smartphone (especially iPhones and Android devices - but also any other that would have BTLE).

Also, can you tell me which smartphones would support the proximity profile?

Breughel

This is not a programming question (it's a hardware recommendation question) and is therefore off-topic for StackOverflow. (If it were a programming question, asking for "The Best" would get it closed as not constructive, because it would be asking for opinion and discussion.) The FAQ has more info on what types of questions are appropriate to ask here. Staying on-topic is part of the reason SO remains a valuable programming resource. Thanks. – Sanbenito

I disagree - it is a programming question - it is related to a new technology that, I imagine, has an API in smartphones today. Therefor it is relevant. I will change the title, you are right about that. – Breughel

Your question is about finding a (board) and which smartphones support the proximity profile. It's hardware. – Sanbenito

Ken, you can really see from the answers that everything is related - embedded software(or any software) cannot exist without the hardware. Any RF technology starts at the hardware, then middleware and so on. – Breughel

Ken, I completely disagree with your assessment. In fact, I found this question because I'm looking for almost exactly the same thing. Whether or not it "is about find a (board)" is irrelevant- that just happens to be the way the majority of solutions are packaged in the bluetooth space. – Unesco

Answer 1

I note that tod list devices that have BT4.0 functionality. Of course that does not guarantee that APIs will be exposed in the SDK. If you stick with an already implemented profile then you may be ok but as I said, you certainly will not find that in the Android API16. SO, custom implementations. One of the nice things with BT LE is that profiles are relatively "light" and hence, you can pretty easily make your own...but if the phone side API does not give access to the lower level (only talking GAP and GATT here) then not much use..

Ijssel

Hi Andy, ofc tod, like any other commercial product just launched, will claim functionality and interoperability far beyond reality. It's a marketing thing :D. However you are on to something when you say only lower layers are supported in all devices (and maybe not on all of them). So I suppose the technology is not mature at all. – Breughel

Answer 2

If you are looking for API support for BT LE features then there is very little at the moment. For example, Android at API16 does not support. It is all rather disappointing so far. In many instances the HW supports it but the middleware / upper layers do not. There is SOME support on iOS (with Iphone4s) and with certain Moto phones (need the SDK add on) but it is limited. iOS is probably your best bet (who'd have thought that). Personally I am looking to use the GAP and GATT interface on Android (ICS/JB), which is mandatory for a BT4.0 listed device (such as the BT ICs in high end smartphones) but GAP does not seem to be exposed.

Oh, and if you need a dev kit (for SW dev then this link might help > http://blog.bluetooth-smart.com/2011/10/05/bluetooth-low-energy-development-kits-2/)

Ijssel

So another epic fail for Bluetooth technology. You can see in the Android devices for example that few of the normal Bluetooth profiles are implemented at API level...Guess there will be much of the same for BTLE... – Breughel

Answer 3

The Bluegiga DKBLE112 Development Board (out of the box) can communicate with the iPhone 4S on IOS 6. The IOS code tutorials by http://olesitune.mine.nu/blelogg/?page_id=78 and http://olesitune.mine.nu/blelogg/?page_id=180 will discover the DKBLE112, the built-in thermometer service, and the associated characteristics. The code displays the BLE information on the iPhone and in the Xcode Console if the iPhone is tethered through USB. The DKBLE112 is expensive (nearly $400) but it does include many capabilities that I have not yet explored.

Po

Custom solutions are not accepted: such vendors encapsulate a Bluetooth chip with their own software. Then you interface to their SoC via UART or something similar. Basically the problem is costs: the cost of their SoC is double, triple the price of the chip itself(because they have the SoC which is more expensive to build + custom software). Plus, sometimes you may find limitations in their software - what then? – Breughel

Answer 4

The guys who produce the tod seem to have done pretty well with a BLE device that functions as a proximity sensor.

They've managed to get their device working on the following phones:

iPhone 4s, Droid Razr and Razr Maxx, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One S, X, V, LG Optimus LTE2, Droid 4, Droid Incredible 4G LTE, HTC EVO 4g LTE, HTC Desire C, Sony Xperia GX, Sony Xperia SX, ASUS PadFone

So it is possible. My recommendation for a dev kit is the Bluegiga BLE112 with a CC Debugger from Texas Instruments. Your options for programming are either the $4,000 IAR compiler, the proprietary Bluegiga API "BGScript" (if you don't have access to IAR), or use an external microcontroller with the compiler of your choice.

Mom

I found on Google that it is based on CC2540 from Texas Instruments. From my previous work on Bluetooth, I would prefer working directly with the Bluetooth Chip - no SoC solution(it is also cheaper in mass production...). 3rd party APIs may be incomplete, and worst of all, may obscure features and functionality. However, your answer indicates CC2450 may be the chip to look for. – Breughel

Most of the bluetooth modules available at the moment are based around the TI CC254x chip, so most likely this is the chipset you'll be working with. For prototyping, the CC2540DK-MINI is also a very good choice if you don't want to use a BLE module. – Mom

Answer 5

I am using a TI ez430-rf256x development kit with "IAR Embedded Workbench for MSP430 v5.51.5". When TI 1st released the ez430, they were using a crappy stack that was buggy and just wasn't capable. They have now switched to a Bluetopia based stack and it is great! It comes with a LOT of samples, supports ALL profiles (including all the new low energy profiles), and is easy to use. I believe the Bluetopia stack also supports I have it talking to my Galaxy Nexus over classic bluetooth, but unfortunately, as of Android 4.2.2, there is still no support for Bluetooth low energy (which the ez430 does support.) It appears that Google may address this issue in Android 4.2.3. In my opinion, there is no reason to use something like Bluegiga, as you will pay more in licensing costs to them, than you will spend on a compiler like IAR. This is a link to an explanation of the new stack that TI is using: http://www.stonestreetone.com/bluetopiaLE.cfm

Boor

Yes but don't forget the IAR Embedded Workbench is worth quite a lot...And it is a crappy old IDE that is really embarassing. – Breughel

Isn't this Bluetopia stack commercial? What is the licensing cost for it? – Breughel

Answer 6

I realize this is an old question and in disclosure I am a developer on this project: Anaren Atmosphere.

Anaren has produced a Bluetooth Smart Multi-Sensor Development Board with the A27037 module based on the Broadcom BCM27037 that is compatible with the Wiced SDK. It also features an online development environment that is a GUI/IDE that allows you to both program the module and create associated iOS and android applications to communicate with it.

The development kit is available from various distributors and the development tool is free to use.

Outweigh