blueTune - New iOS app For Logging/Tuning over Bluetooth
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:36 pm
Hi,
New to posting on the forum here, been a MS user and enthusiast for about 6 years now. I'm currently working on a new iOS app for logging and tuning Megasquirt wirelessly over Bluetooth Low Energy. I started work on this project when I realized no one was making a mobile app capable of not only monitoring, but tuning also. I worked on a research grant this past summer where I was brought on as an iOS developer, but quickly had to learn all about Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) - a new, totally redesigned BT protocol (not backwards compatible) that is supported on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPad 3. I thought this would be a really cool project to give back to this great community, and progress has been going very well.
So what's the big deal with BLE?
As it turns out, Apple has historically been very protective over 3rd party hardware made to talk to iOS devices. Because of that, a developer can't gain access to the full capabilities of the standard BT features (BT 2.1) on the device without joining their "Made For iPhone" program at the cost of around $30k (or by jalibreaking). This explains the lack of proprietary (i.e. not keyboards or headsets) external BT peripherals being used with the iOS devices thus far. However, with BLE, Apple has gotten very cool and given developers full access without any cost. But since there's no Serial Port Profile for BLE (which is because it wasn't designed to be used like that), no one has made a BLE to RS-232 interface - so I did. I'm posting this because I need to know who would be interested in this system. I'm considering a Kickstarter project.
Check out the demo video I made of the system and let me know what you think and if you'd be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwNZK93HS9M&feature=plcp
Thanks,
Jay
New to posting on the forum here, been a MS user and enthusiast for about 6 years now. I'm currently working on a new iOS app for logging and tuning Megasquirt wirelessly over Bluetooth Low Energy. I started work on this project when I realized no one was making a mobile app capable of not only monitoring, but tuning also. I worked on a research grant this past summer where I was brought on as an iOS developer, but quickly had to learn all about Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) - a new, totally redesigned BT protocol (not backwards compatible) that is supported on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPad 3. I thought this would be a really cool project to give back to this great community, and progress has been going very well.
So what's the big deal with BLE?
As it turns out, Apple has historically been very protective over 3rd party hardware made to talk to iOS devices. Because of that, a developer can't gain access to the full capabilities of the standard BT features (BT 2.1) on the device without joining their "Made For iPhone" program at the cost of around $30k (or by jalibreaking). This explains the lack of proprietary (i.e. not keyboards or headsets) external BT peripherals being used with the iOS devices thus far. However, with BLE, Apple has gotten very cool and given developers full access without any cost. But since there's no Serial Port Profile for BLE (which is because it wasn't designed to be used like that), no one has made a BLE to RS-232 interface - so I did. I'm posting this because I need to know who would be interested in this system. I'm considering a Kickstarter project.
Check out the demo video I made of the system and let me know what you think and if you'd be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwNZK93HS9M&feature=plcp
Thanks,
Jay