mbed-os-examples / Mbed OS mbed-os-example-ble-EddystoneObserver

The Eddystone Observer scans for Eddystone beacons that are running the Eddystone Service example (see there for general information about Eddystone beacons). It reads the advertising packets broadcast by these beacons, and prints a human-readable version of the advertised URLs to the serial console. he canonical source for this example lives at https://github.com/ARMmbed/mbed-os-example-ble/tree/master/BLE_EddystoneObserver

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Table of Contents

  1. Running the application
  2. Requirements
  3. Building instructions
  4. Checking console output

The Eddystone Observer scans for Eddystone beacons that are running the Eddystone Service example (see there for general information about Eddystone beacons). It reads the advertising packets broadcast by these beacons, and prints a human-readable version of the advertised URLs to the serial console.

Running the application

Requirements

General hardware information is in the main readme.

This sample requires two devices - one to broadcast the beacon and one to scan for the broadcast. If you have more devices, you can use them as extra beacons.

You need a terminal program to listen to the observer's output through a serial port. You can download one, for example:

  • Tera Term for Windows.
  • CoolTerm for Mac OS X.
  • GNU Screen for Linux.

Building instructions

Building with mbed CLI

If you'd like to use mbed CLI to build this, then you should refer to the main readme. The instructions here relate to using the developer.mbed.org Online Compiler

In order to build this example in the mbed Online Compiler, first import the example using the ‘Import’ button on the right hand side.

Next, select a platform to build for. This must either be a platform that supports BLE, for example the NRF51-DK, or one of the following:

List of platforms supporting Bluetooth Low Energy

Or you must also add a piece of hardware and the supporting library that includes a Bluetooth Low Energy driver for that hardware, for example the K64F or NUCLEO_F401RE with the X-NUCLEO-IDB04A1

Once you have selected your platform, compile the example and drag and drop the resulting binary onto your board.

For general instructions on using the mbed Online Compiler, please see the mbed Handbook

  • Build the Eddystone Observer application and install it on your board as explained in the building instructions. Leave the board connected to your computer.

Checking console output

To see the application's output:

  • Check which serial port your Eddystone Observer is connected to.
  • Run a terminal program with the correct serial port and the baud rate set to 9600. For example, to use GNU Screen, run: ``screen /dev/tty.usbmodem1412 9600``.
  • The Eddystone Observer should start printing URLs of nearby Eddystone beacons to the terminal.
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