Thursday, June 09, 2011

Android: Bluetooth Low Energy vs USB

With all the hype about adding devices/peripherals to Android via USB, I desperately want a low energy wireless means of adding devices. A number of my (yet-to-be-started) CFT projects involve collecting sensor data for correlation/display on smart phones.  ANT has always looked appealing, but with next to nothing in way of smartphone support, the new Bluetooth 4.0 BLE support looks like it may capture the market.

This year promises new Android devices with BLE.  On the peripheral/sensor front, we seem to have 2 major vendor choices: Nordic and TI.

I'm not ready to drop money on a kit just yet, but my "body worn" sensor projects may get a kickstart knowing that a suitable means of data display is coming soon.