Does anyone here used BlueTooth connections to NOT send audio, but other stuff?

[shykitten55]

I am wanting to know if I can connect two devices with bluetooth and send messages from one to the other and maybe even back.

I am THE bottom level of understanding how it works.

Just if anyone here has any working knowledge on it.

[and...@arcadius.com.au]

Yes, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) can do this.

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[shykitten55]

But not normal Bluetooth?

[and...@arcadius.com.au]

Well, regular BT can if you have a device that can act as a master.  I don’t know what is required for that. Currently swimming in the deep end of the BLE swamp myself at the moment.  BLE has been around for a long time now (4.2, maybe earlier).

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[shykitten55]

Again, thanks.

It seems that what I want to do would be a lot easier via WiFi, so I may have to go down that path.

[Patrick Barnes]

As others have hinted at - Bluetooth can be COMPLICATED. There are many many layers, and profiles, and attributes. (and fully explaining what those things are would take a textbook)

There will probably be some modules that help hide that complexity (eg an input on one side drives a relay of no the other side) but they might not meet your requirements.

Wifi is comparatively much simpler, or at least the ugly details are much better hidden from the average developer. 😉

If you're using ESP microcontrollers, have you considered ESP-NOW?

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp-now-two-way-communication-esp32/

-Patrick

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[shykitten55]

Thanks.

That looks interesting.

Yeah, the "BlueTooth" idea is now kind of dead.  :(

As you said, it is complicated and as WiFi is just that much easier, I shall accept that the original way is not viable for me.

[Madox]

Why is Bluetooth dead?  And why do you need to know the 'details' of how it works? 

I wanted to reply earlier but can't figure out how on the mobile web interface...

There are numerous applications with Bluetooth that won't be covered by Wi-Fi

- If you're after simple communications and want to use Bluetooth you can use the serial modules such as the HC-05 and HC-06's.

- If you want a simple HID such as a mouse/keyboard, the ESP-32 modules are pretty nifty and I was patting myself on the back a couple of weeks ago for ~20 lines of code sorting out a problem I had.... I wanted to laze around on the couch and read manga without moving my arms to flip the page...

Code :

Video of me showing my kid :

  https://photos.app.goo.gl/mv1mMPsFtg1Tj29x8

- If you want to mimic sensors etc, there's enough Arduino libraries and documentation on the GATT profiles for you to do a working implementation.  I mimicked a bike speed and cadence sensor last year based on an exercise pedal bike I bought for myself for the lockdowns, so I could log/track using standard apps.

- If you want to make gadgets/widgets move/do stuff without the user needing to join your AP or having your widget on the same Wi-Fi as the user... WebBT is a nice option... there's a nice primer here - https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/02/introduction-to-webbluetooth/  Nordic also has an example controlling a quadcopter - https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/posts/nrf52-quadcopter

tl;dr; BlueTooth is still alive surely, and you can potentially use it with a handful lines of code in Arduino with the right module.  PS M5Stack makes lovely ESP modules such as the M5STICK-C etc - https://shop.m5stack.com/collections/m5-controllers