i think Codea is the solution for something i dream of, since i got iPad:
http://sv1cox.posterous.com/ipad-as-a-dashboard
can you think any misconceptions or problems? I did tests feeding data with the bluetooth keyboard and it seems feasible.
If it’s a Bluetooth keyboard, it’s a keyboard…
yes… Will iPad recognize any HID BT keyboard ? And What data rate to except (at least at receiving side -Codea) ? I can not simulate it with keyboard and that is my concern right now . If its a decent rate then there is a potential for a great new world of possible applications.
I don’t know if it will take “any” HID keyboard, but from what I recall, that should work.
I thought more about your propsed solution this AM - there’s a significant challenge you’ll face - streaming bluetooth keys to an iPad may work (ignoring data rate for the moment), but if the user switches tasks to something like the text editor, you’re going to end up both losing data and making a messy text file, and the user won’t know or udnerstand why.
For safety, you might be better off creating your binary data into an external file or feed and read chunks off of that external data. Maybe a bactch of PNG files as your data set, which you could also archive? Or read off of an http request?
i understand, but what i need is to read real-time data… think abt a dashboard showing multimeter values , or frequency, amperage, power output, other settings of a radio. Such things. You can read them all with an arduino or other really cheap micro-controller and have them as serial data, the lost link was how you can send them in a custom app on iPad. Same concept apply if you have a meteo station capable to provide serial data. The lost link was always a mean to send them on iPad without setup a wifi server.
@PanosGR I’m in exactly the same spot. I’d really like to use the iPad to display real time data, in my case coming off PLCs in a vehicle health system. I can get the data out to modbus, or maybe even an OPC server… But right now I can’t get it to Codea without going through a little pc that exposes the data as http.
But I’d love to do without the pc and bring the connection down to something cleaner.
… (Raspberry Pi) …
Yes… Arduino is much cheaper raspb is little long shot and somehow spoil to work only as a buffer (IMO). @Mark I think that the BT scheme with Spark’s shield is feasible. We will soon know.
Y’all might have to write some type of actual Xcode app that is a Bluetooth driver for Codea
I wouldn’t say much cheaper. Arduino seems to start at 16UKP and the Pi at 30UKP. For what you get in terms of flexibility, I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.
Yes @Andrew just half the price… We will not start the debate ard via pi, ard pro mini is 5x2 cm, cheap and capable enough for the job. It’s a pity to close a pi in a box just as a buffer for serial data. Otherwise no one will disagree that Pi is a more capable and completed hardware for embedded applications. But I could have regrets to spare one for many less demanding applications where I can use just a tiny ard and forget that it is there. Whatever we say the fact is that we are all badly hooked with all these and we will for sure enjoy anything on hand
I was objecting to the “much cheaper”. I interpret that as comparing, say, an iPad with a Pi or Arduino.
Looking at what people use Pis for, sticking one in a box and letting it do just one thing doesn’t seem to be considered wasteful (I particularly like the one where someone stuck it into his camera to make it wi-fi capable).
But you’re right: debating Pi versus Arduino is not something worth doing. I wanted to bring it up so that those who read this thread to get ideas would be aware of the Pi. I’d like to see what you end up with for the Arduino and I’m sure I could (maybe with a little help from my friends here) adapt it for my Pi (so I’m in the opposite situation: have a Pi so wouldn’t bother getting an Arduino when I could just use the Pi).
The sort of thing I’d like to be able to do is take readings from school experiments, so hook up a little circuit to the experiment, read in the raw data to the Pi, maybe do a little preprocessing, and then serve it wirelessly to some other device, such as an iPad.
One very nice thing about doing the communication via bluetooth (whence simulating a keyboard) is that the communication is (to a certain extent) initiated by the sender rather than the receiver.
What about getting a pi and using that as the wifi and web server for data? It would be self enclosed, simple to connect to, and local. Http requests can be bidirectional, and the pi can buffer data for you.
Duh just re-read Andrew’s post.
There is this:
http://www.robotshop.com/bluetooth-modem-bluesmirf-hid.html
And somebody got it to work with Arduino:
Thanks @WilliamOckham this is the same device I will try with. The second link is exactly what I need . Thanks agn.
You are welcome. Please let us know how it works out.