BleSerialPort
=============

A virtual [node-serialport] implementation that uses [BLE] as the transport.

Prerequisites

First you need [git] and [node.js] to clone this repo and install dependencies:
``
git clone https://github.com/elin-moco/ble-serialport
cd ble-serialport
npm install
`

Secondly, you'll need an [Arduino] board with [BleShield] added on top of it,
put an LED on pin 7, connect Arduino to you computer,
and upload this [BleFirmataSketch] firmware to it.

To use BLE to send/receive data to the device with [firmata] or [Johnny Five],
run below gulp tasks to [browserify] them like:
`
gulp build
`

You'll find the browserified scripts in build folder

Use with Johnny Five

Include Johnny Five bundle script in your html file:
`html

`
To use with [node.js], you'll need these two require statements:
`javascript
var BleSerialPort = require('ble-serialport').SerialPort;
var five = require('johnny-five');
`

Then use it directly in your script:
`javascript
var bsp = new BleSerialPort({address: 'd0:6a:cf:58:ee:bd'}); //put your device name or address here
bsp.connect().then(function() {
var board = new five.Board({port: bsp, repl: false});
board.on('ready', function() {
var led = new five.Led(7);
led.blink();
});
});

`

And you should see the LED blinks once you have the webapp(page) opened.

Use with Firmata

Include the firmata bundle script in your html file:
`html

`
To use with [node.js], you'll need these two require statements:
`javascript
var BleSerialPort = require('ble-serialport').SerialPort;
var firmata = require('firmata');
`

Then use it directly in your script:
`javascript
var bsp = new BleSerialPort({address: 'd0:6a:cf:58:ee:bd'}); //put your device name or address here
bsp.connect().then(function() {
var board = new firmata.Board(sp);
board.on('ready', function() {
board.digitalWrite(7, board.HIGH);
});
});

`

And you should see the LED on once you have the webapp(page) opened.

Runing Examples

For the [fxos-j5] and [cordova-j5] example,
run following commands to copy bundle script to example/fxos-j5 directory:
`
gulp dist
`

For the [fxos-j5] example,
modify example/fxos-j5/fxos-j5.js for your device address.
Then install app via WebIDE.

For the node-j5 and node-firmata examples, just update the address and run with:
`
node node-firmata.js
`
or
`
node node-j.js
``

For the [cordova-j5] example,
See [cordova-j5] readme file for instructions for initialization and deployment.

Support

Currently this implementation uses WebBluetooth V2 API on FxOS,
which is still experimental and requires certified permissions for now.

For the hardware part, now only tested with [Arduino]+[BleShield], might need some tweaks for different BLE modules.

See [blue-yeast] if you are interested in enabling this for other platforms.

[BLE]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy
[Arduino]: http://arduino.cc/
[BleShield]: http://redbearlab.com/bleshield/
[node-serialport]: https://github.com/voodootikigod/node-serialport
[firmata]: https://github.com/jgautier/firmata/
[Johnny Five]: http://github.com/rwaldron/johnny-five/
[BleFirmataSketch]: https://codebender.cc/sketch:128276
[blue-yeast]: https://github.com/elin-moco/blue-yeast
[WebBluetooth V2 API]: https://wiki.mozilla.org/B2G/Bluetooth/WebBluetooth-v2
[browserify]: http://browserify.org/
[node.js]: https://nodejs.org/
[git]: https://git-scm.com/
[fxos-j5]: https://github.com/elin-moco/ble-serialport/tree/master/example/fxos-j5
[cordova-j5]: https://github.com/elin-moco/ble-serialport/tree/master/example/cordova-j5