Bluetooth and arduinos

1

i just want to know whether a bluetooth chip by itself can connect with a phone or if you need the whole arduino for this to work

thanks

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Hi Emma!

What are you planning on making? You could connect your Bluetooth chip to your phone without an Arduino, but you need the Arduino to send data over the Bluetooth connection. If it was a wired system, we would have the Arduino/microcontroller, the wire to carry data, and the phone. Bluetooth takes the place of the wire only.

Let us know more about your project!

3

Hi Stephen

Thanks for replying, I am just researching more into how smartphones are able to connect with watches and other devices like fitbits and stuff via bluetooth, and was wondering whether this system relies solely on the bluetooth chip.

Say the watch needs to transmit the location of the person wearing the watch over to the smartphone (and the smartphone is within a suitable distance), is this just done by bluetooth or is this where the arduino is needed in order to carry the data?

Thanks!

4

Hi Emma,

Bluetooth is it’s own thing; for maker-type hardware the Bluetooth wizardry is usually done within it’s own hardware, and the Arduino/microcontroller would send simple serial data (via a wire) to a nearby Bluetooth module.

Many modern smart devices use proprietary methods which prevent makers from using/creating their own products to connect with stuff like Apple hardware, etc. Android is more flexible, but even easier would be to make your own project with a local/remote device using Bluetooth.

If you are new to Arduino/serial communication, then it’s perhaps best to take a step back and start with a kit which walks you through how to code/develop with Arduino. Bring Bluetooth into your project once you’re familiar with the ropes.