/BlueDuino

Bluetooth programmable, controllable and debugable Arduino

BlueDuino

Bluetooth programmable, controllable and debugable Arduino

The aim of this project is to create a small Arduino board that replaces the USB connection. This allows to debug/control a robot or LED Table withouth having to connect your PC over USB.

In the case of the robot, this is usefull as it's a moving object and in the case of the LED table, you can have the PC completely isolated from the LED power supply (the LED's draw a lot of current, which your USB port cannot provide). Also, it adds to the ease of use.

This project has auto-reset (for programming) and proper level shifting. Which is (usually) not the case on a lot of projects you may find online. It's also very compact and relatively cheap (PCB is very small and a few quite cheap parts are required).

Preview image

Hardware

Please note you could use an 3.3V Arduino with the 3.3V bluetooth module.

Parts

Software

Notable is that the Serial Baudrate of your Bluetooth module, has to be set to the upload/communication speed of your Arduino! When using USB, the IDE will take care of this when selecting a board, but THIS IS NOT THE CASE WHEN USING BLUETOOTH. You can check the boards.txt file or external resources for the correct baudrate. Arduino Micro/Mini's may differ! Some have Atmega328P and some Atmega168 and the baudrate for these differ!

AT+NAME=BlueDuino                   //Set the name of the module (this is how it's visible under bluetooth devices)
AT+POLAR = 1,0                      //Set the polarity of the state pin (which is used as a reset line, automatically resets on connection)
AT+UART=<<INSERT_YOUR_BAUDRATE>>    //Set the UART baudrate (nano 57600, uno 115200) check your boards.txt file
AT+PSWD=<<INSERT_YOUR_PASSWORD>>    //Set passcode for the bluetooth module, to avoid others playing around with it

For me, under windows (clean install) I was able to connect to the bluetooth module directly (would show up as COM port) and it would work directly as if it's an USB/Serial cable.

TODO/Notes

I've lost the original board schematics for this project, but the board files are uploaded to this Git as well.

Contributions or discussions are greatly appreciated.

TODO:

  • Recreate original board files
  • Test and improve above instructions
  • Create 3D printable enclosure
  • Potentially add build video/instruction
  • Add FAQ for common problems.